G4OBKs Summit On The Air (SOTA) Review of the year

Another year over and a new one just begun...so the festive song goes.... 

(G4OBK Left) Operating from a summit in Mid Wales in August 2014 (2E0NON Right)

2014 was the ninth year in which I have been taking part in Summits On The Air (SOTA), an idea which John Linford G3WGV and Richard Newstead G3CWI spawned in 2002. 

SOTA is a branch of ham radio that has grown into one of the biggest amateur radio award programmes in the world.

The attraction (Some call it "SOTA Fever") is that the scheme combines so many things I enjoy about life... Getting out into the great outdoors, keeping healthy through exercise and enjoying operating amateur radio equipment using Morse Code and Voice and Data Communications, at home and on the tops of hills. Add to that some international travel, meeting people on the air and in person from all over the world sharing a common interest. SOTA is also mildly competitive with league tables for different aspects of SOTA. 

As someone who makes contacts with station on hills and mountains from the comfort of my home radio shack I am a Chaser. I also like fellwalking and being outside so I am also one who operates from the hills and mountains - an Activator. 

Being both an Activator and a Chaser makes me a "SOTA Completer". This is the SOTA award which I am the most interested in.

SOTA Complete started in 2012, ten years after the start of SOTA. In 2014 I achieved the 250 points target - this means I have had contacts from 250 summits and I have made contact from home as a chaser with the same 250 summits. I went on in the course of the year to complete 285 summits.  This places me in the UK Complete Table in 7th position out of 318 listed stations. 

The top 15 UK Stations doing SOTA Complete 4th January 2015

2014 was my most active year since I started taking part in SOTA in 2005:

2014 Chaser Points claimed:  18399 (2013 = 10068)

2014 Activator Points claimed:   350 (2013 = 168)

2014 SOTA Complete Points claimed:  76 (2013 = 67)

2014 SOTA Country Associations Activated: 10 (2013 = 3)

2014 Number of SOTA Activations: 94 (2013 = 81)

Position in all UK SOTA Complete Table 2014 = 7th (318 entrants)

Position in Worldwide SOTA Complete Table 2014 = 10th (1199 entrants)

Position in all UK Chaser Table = 2nd (947 entrants)

Position in all UK Activator Table = 17th (835 entrants)

Position in all UK Chaser Unique Table = 2nd (868 entrants)

Position in all UK Activator Unique Table = 14th (635 entrants) 

So as I look forward to another year in SOTA. I will celebrate my 10th anniversary chaser contact on March 3rd, and my 10th anniversary activation, the first of which was in Scotland, on June 21st 2015.