Some SOTA basics
For those who are wondering what Summits On the Air, or SOTA, works here's a quick summary. SOTA got is start in the United Kingdom, and has been popular in Europe for years. It has gained popularity in the US the last few years. The object is to make two-way communication with another amateur station that is being operated portable on a summit. People activating from a summit are activators, those working them from home or other summits are chasers. Summits are designated by location. Summits in Arkansas are W5A (US fifth call area and Arkansas) and a alphanumeric designation. When I refer to summits I'm activating, I will give both the common name and the SOTA designation. Every summit is assigned a point value given that is awarded to chasers who work the station and to the activator. An activator has to make four contacts to count it as a an activation. Lots of information is available at SOTA's web site , which is comprehensive and very well o...