SOTA Activation
Mount Lincoln (W0C/RP-107)
Mount Lincoln (W0C/RP-107)
On Wednesday, February 8, I hiked to the summit of Mt. Lincoln north of Palisade to activate that mountain as part of Summits on the Air. Summits on the Air or SOTA is a worldwide ham radio game that combines hiking and ham radio. The idea is to travel via your own power to designated summits, set up your station and communicate with as many people as you can! Four contacts or QSOs are necessary in order to receive points for activating any summit. Points range from 1 to 10 and many have a wintertime bonus of 3 points, all depending on the elevation of the summit. The point value also varies based on which association (i.e. SOTA region) the summit is in. In the W0C association (Colorado) 10 point summits must be an elevation of 13,500 ft or higher above sea level. In Utah, (W7U) 10 points must be 10,500 or higher. Mount Lincoln is only worth one point and has no winter bonus, but its a summit I've been interested in hiking anyway, so I went for it. I was out and back in 6 hours including the time it took to hike to and from the summit, setup and tear-down of my station, and actual time on the air. I got a total of 10 QSOs, with 6 on 20 meters and 4 on 40 meters. Overall it was a very exciting experience, and I encourage anyone to give it a try. It is possible to participate in SOTA with a HT and a Tech License. I activated Crag Crest last summer strictly on VHF!
Here are a list of links, including photos from the activation: