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A little further down on 15m I heard 7X3WPL in Algeria. I checked out the call on QRZ.COM and this is a very active club called Sahara DX radio club. I gave them a call and I think they were not working split (can't remember) but there was a bit more of a pile-up. I decided to come back in a little while and see if things had calmed down. I came back about 5 minutes later and the log jam had cleared. I worked 7X3WPL and we exchanged signal reports. 

I then came across another Algerian station 7X4AN he was calling CQ with no answers but he was just above the noise floor so I put the APF on (audio peak filter) and this helped out a great deal. I gave him a call and we did some repeats but contact was made and he was in the log. After my contact, he was spotted and the pileup began. It was good I got in when I did. 

I also had CN8KD in Morocco booming in on 15m he was operating simplex and had a huge pileup. I did give it a go here and there but the number of stations calling him made it a waste of time for me to sit there and try. I moved on but he had a great signal at my QTH. 

DX Heat was also showing 10m to be pretty active. Now up to this point, I have seen many spots for 10m and when I have always tuned there at my end it is just plain dead, no signals at all. This time there was a spot for 7Q6M in Malawi. To my surprise, he was there and with a signal of S7! He was operating split and I could hear some of the stations trying to contact him but not many. I did try a few times but no luck but just hearing some DX on 10m was a huge step! 

Well, that was my afternoon on the radio. I was using my Icom 7610 at 100 watts into a multi-band End-Fed antenna about 30 feet off the ground. All contacts were CW with filter settings at 250 and now and then using the APF. Having the 2 independent receivers in the 7610 is a great help. I have VFO A in my left ear and VFO B in my right. When operating split it's a great help to hear both sides.

Hello and welcome to the 457th episode of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts invite co-host Conor Murphy of the Linux Lads podcast to talk about their show and a bunch of other topics related to Linux and Open Source. Also discussed is the Linux community in Ireland, specifically Dublin, and its global outreach. It's an entertaining and informative talk and we hope you enjoy it. Thank you for listening and have a great week.

73 de The LHS Crew

It's time once again for The Weekender. This is our bi-weekly departure into the world of amateur radio contests, open source conventions, special events, listener challenges, hedonism and just plain fun. Thanks for listening and, if you happen to get a chance, feel free to call us or e-mail and send us some feedback. Tell us how we're doing. We'd love to hear from you.

73 de The LHS Crew

Doing a simultaneous activation of a Summits On The Air (SOTA) summit and a Parks On The Air (POTA) park is becoming more common. There is a lot of crossover between the two programs. Here in Colorado, many of the SOTA peaks are in national forests or national parks, making them an ideal double activation.

Creating one file for logging both programs can be a challenge but I’ve settled in on an approach that works for me. I’ve decided to use HAMRS for this, whether it is real-time logging or transcribing a paper log after the event. HAMRS provides useful templates for both SOTA and POTA, but not both simultaneously. HAMRS still has a few quirks on entering callsigns and timestamps, but I am hopeful those things will get addressed in the fullness of time. If you are using a different logging program, you can probably still benefit from this post.

I wrote about the different ADIF fields that POTA and SOTA use here:

More Logging Tips for SOTA & POTA

Simplest Case: No P2P or S2S

For an activation that does not involve making contact with other parks or summits, the logging requirements are simple. POTA refers to these contacts as Park-to-Park or P2P, while SOTA refers to them as Summit-to-Summit or S2S. Same basic idea.

The ADIF file for POTA needs to have the usual logging information but the special POTA fields (MY_SIG_INFO, SIG_INFO) can be left blank. The filename will indicate the park you are operating from and must meet the standard POTA format. (Example: K0NR-K-4404-20211017.adi for K0NR operating from K-4404 on 17 Oct 2021). If you do have some simple P2P QSOs in there (one park contacting another single park, no double activations), the POTA database will attempt to identify these contacts by comparing the logs of the two POTA activators. I believe this works pretty well but I have not tested it extensively.

For the SOTA log, you must provide your SOTA summit using the MY_SOTA_REF field. If you use the HAMRS SOTA template, it will take care of this for you. Then you can use the same ADIF file for POTA by setting the filename to the right format. If you need to add the MY_SOTA_REF manually, ADIF Master is a good tool to use.

With P2P or S2S

When there are P2P or S2S contacts, things get a bit more complicated. The ADIF log needs to have MY_SIG_INFO for each QSO set to your POTA number and SIG_INFO set to the other station’s POTA number. If the other POTA station is activating more than one park, this can be handled by entering multiple QSOs in the file. (I think this is the cleanest way of handling it, but let me know if you have other methods.)

The SOTA logfile requires something similar, with MY_SOTA_REF set to your SOTA summit and SOTA_REF set to the other station’s SOTA summit.

One ADIF can be created that has all four SOTA/POTA fields set correctly but you’ll probably have to use ADIF Master or a text editor to get this all entered. HAMRS can help you with either SOTA or POTA, using the corresponding template. Normally, I try to determine if I have more P2P or S2S contacts and choose the template (POTA or SOTA) with that in mind. Then, I use ADIF Master to add in the other -OTA program logging info.

POTA does allow for simultaneous activations of more than one park. For example, the Continental Divide Trail is considered a park and it often runs through a national forest, so both can be activated together.) If you are activating more than one POTA park, you will need to create a log file for each park and submit them individually. A SOTA activation can only be from a single summit.

Wrap Up

I treat my SOTA/POTA logs as separate files but I also import them into my master logging program, which is currently Log4OM2. I also upload the file to Logbook of The World (LoTW). It is important to set up a new LoTW location with the grid locator, state and county set correctly. This may create a long list of locations in your LoTW account but provides proper confirmation for stations chasing grids, states, and counties.

These are some things I’ve learned along the way and I hope you find them useful.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Combined Logging for SOTA and POTA appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Hello and welcome to the 455th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short-topics episode, the hosts discuss the inevitable topic of the invasion of Ukraine and how amateur radio is related. Also discussed are the upcoming YOTA camp for 2022, the Steam Deck, the Github Advisory Database, a new release of FreeDV and much more. Thank you for listening and have a great week. Our thoughts are with the people of Ukraine. Stay safe out there and stay strong.

73 de The LHS Crew

In this episode, Martin Butler (M1MRB) is joined by Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode's feature Improving your SSB contact ratio.

We would like to thank Daryll McCathery (VK6DMC ), David Pyle (KW1DX), avid Reid (W6KL), and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

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Ham College episode 86 is now available for download.

Extra Class Exam Questions – Part 24
E6A Semiconductor materials and devices: semiconductor materials; germanium, silicon, P-type, N-type; transistor types: NPN, PNP, junction, field-effect transistors: enhancement mode; depletion mode; MOS; CMOS; N-channel; P-channel

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