From superduck at suddenlink.net  Fri Jul  9 10:04:04 2010
From: superduck at suddenlink.net (Garry Dashner)
Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2010 09:04:04 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
Subject: [MOham] Pepsi-Cola radio grant
Message-ID: <4C372C54.00005F.03288@GARRY-957153C1F>

ADMINISTRATOR/MODERATOR:

I am sending this message to hundreds of Hams and Ham groups. The Pepsi-Cola
Company approved my application for a grant to teach kids Amateur Radio,
which will be vote on. I would appreciate all the votes and support I can
get. For information, please go to:

http://garry-dashner.tripod.com/amateurradio   (don't use "www")

If this message meets your approval, I'd like for it to be sent to your
subscribers.

Thanks,

GARRY DASHNER
KB0BOP

From kb0stn at sbcglobal.net  Sun Jul 18 16:27:31 2010
From: kb0stn at sbcglobal.net (Ray Brown)
Date: Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:27:31 -0500
Subject: [MOham] Fw: What is W5-SOTA?
Message-ID: <6D0CE0DA4302417CBF767F6823AAF3D1@dell332028a83b>


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Olbrisch" <mike-2007 at elp.rr.com>

 
> Howdy.
> 
> I have gotten several messages questioning me about the W5-SOTA activation I
> reported here.  Most of them asked - WHAT IS SOTA?  So I thought I would send 
> this to the group.  
> 
> SOTA = Summits On The Air.  http://www.sota.org.uk/
> 
> SOTA is an award scheme for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners that
> encourages portable operation in mountainous areas. SOTA has been carefully
> designed to make participation possible for everyone - this is not just for
> mountaineers! There are awards for activators (those who ascend to the summits)
> and chasers (who either operate from home, a local hilltop or are even
> Activators on other summits). 
> 
> SOTA as a CONCEPT has been around for years and years.  What operator hasn't
> looked at a mountain peak and wondered how well a handi-talki might work from
> "up there"?  When I was a young trooper in Germany, I often carried an ICOM
> IC-215 radio (about the size of a thick hard-cover book) to the local summits
> and did an "unofficial" activation.  Of course, back then it was all random, and
> you just did it for the fun of it.  Sometimes you made a lot of contacts,
> sometimes not so much.  I was doing all of this in the late 70s to the mid 80s,
> mostly on VHF.  It was all a lot of fun.  Sometimes we would hike into the more
> remote areas to activate a particular summit with a good view in a particular
> direction.  Other times I would find a nice summit with a restaurant on it, and
> with a nice table under an umbrella on the patio, and with a cold drink, I would
> call CQ on the FM simplex channels.  Often enough I could get a few of the local
> hams to join and we would have a Field-Day like operation.  Somehow it was
> easier to get them to come along on the restaurant-populated summits.
> Especially if they sold beer.  The more beer that went down, the less important
> the activation became.  It was certainly some of the best memories I have of
> amateur radio.
> 
> The actual SOTA program didn't really begin until 2002, again in Europe.
> England, Wales and Scotland to be specific, were the first three to activate.
> 
> SOTA is now fully operational in many countries across the world.  Each country
> has its own Association which defines the recognized SOTA summits within that
> Association.  At the moment I am typing this, there are 43 SOTA associations.
> Most of them represent a country, but some areas (like the USA) are so large the
> associations are broken into areas, hence the W5-SOTA association.  Currently in
> the USA, SOTA is represented in W1, W2, W3, W5, W6, and parts of W7 and W0.  
> 
> Each summit earns the activators and chasers a score which is related to the
> height of the summit.  Certificates are available for various scores, leading to
> the prestigious "Mountain Goat" and "Shack Sloth" trophies.  An Honor Roll for
> Activators and Chasers is maintained at the SOTA online database. 
> 
> SOTA is designed to be compatible with other mountain users. Please see the
> environmental statement for details. 
> 
> As I said earlier, what fun would it be to make a significant hike, set up and
> operate a radio, and not find a lot of folks to talk to?  The SOTA program
> encourages people to make contacts on the ground as well as on the summit.
> There are some who say it "commercializes" what used to be a random fun event.
> I say it "encourages" operation by giving people a reason to hike, and a reason
> to seek out the hiker.  I know of two people who have physical difficulties, who
> have sought out summits in their area and gotten them active.  If I know of two,
> how many are there that I do not know of?  I say - GOOD!  Get them active both
> physically and on the air.
> 
> You can view the W5 Association Reference Manual and summit lists here.
> http://www.sota.org.uk/Associations/viewAssociation/prefix/W5
> 
> The SOTA web site has a place where you can post your proposed operation ahead
> of time, and a place where your operation can be "SPOTTED" once someone hears
> you.  You can also spot yourself if you have a cell phone with internet access,
> or even TEXT messaging.
> 
> For those who are interested, I will be happy to answer any other questions.
> 
> And - I encourage all hams to get out and take a hike.  And take a radio along.
> H/T, qrp radio, FT-817 or whatever.  A local in my area says: HAM stands for
> Have Another Meal.  I would prefer it be: HAM = Healthily Activating
> Mountaintops.  I can afford to miss a few meals.  How about you?
> 
> 
> Mike - KD9KC.
> El Paso, Tx. 
> M.A.R.I.E.
> w5dpd.org
> 
> Molon labe. [mo-lone lah-veh] Google it...
> 


