Summits on the Air, or SOTA is a fringe element of ham radio.
Here the image folks sitting in a room full of computers, screens, radios and electronics equipment hunched over a radio is replaced with hams of all ages filling a backpack full of gear and heading to the hills! Once reaching the top of the peak, unloading their gear and setting up a station with a goal to work other hams from this mountain peak.
I have done a little bit of SOTA activity in Maine, and now started up in Arizona as well, as the hiking season is a lot longer here, and you get summer bonus points for nabbing these peaks in the summer months. (Generally, the taller the peak, the more “points” the peak is worth. You can get awards based upon your lifetime total of points/peaks collected.)
Make sure to check the blog as I will be posting updates on some of the SOTA activity there.
If you think this is a neat idea – you have to check out this link.
SOTA Resources Awesome list of all the info you need to get started with SOTA and in on the fun.
Hiking + Sweat + ham radio = fun!