The November 19 Summits on the Air (SOTA) “Summit-to-Summit” event between Europe and North America is being called “a great success.” SOTA is an awards program that encourages portable operation in mountainous areas.

Despite cold, rainy weather in parts of Europe and just-average band conditions, all activators reported successful and enjoyable experiences. In addition to Europe-to-North America contacts, some stations logged contacts with other parts of the world; one activator was on holiday in the Canary Islands. Three bands were used for intercontinental contacts — 20, 17, and 15 meters — with most contacts made on 20.

“The consensus seems to be that, from a propagation point of view, 17 meters was the best,” said Ed Durrant, DD5LP. “We even have some reports of chasers from [Australia] catching some of the EU activators via short path.” Sixty-six summits had been announced, but 77 were activated.

A North America-Australia SOTA event may take place in 2017. — Thanks to Southgate Amateur Radio News