SOTAMĀT SOTA / POTA Spotting

SOTAMĀT (pronounced "sota-mate") is for licensed amateur radio operators (ham radio) who want to self-spot SOTA (Summits On The Air) or POTA (Parks On The Air) with or without internet! It supports spotting 7 different ways, including over HF. It also allows you to send predefined messages (eMail or SMS) when you don't have cell service, much like a satellite 'spot' device to tell family members "I'm OK", or "Send help", etc.

What you can do "offline":

• Post a Self-Spot (SOTA or POTA) via HF radio (no internet, cellular, or satellite required!)

• Post a Self-Alert (SOTA) via HF radio (useful for CW operators to 'tickle' RBNhole)

• Select and send predefined SMS messages to predefined recipients via HF radio

• See reference materials such as band plans, the syntax of various services such as APRS, and more.

• Includes a "Hiking Time Calculator", sunrise and sunset times for any SOTA summit or POTA park.

The app works by encoding your commands into a special message which is modulated using your iPhone or iPad for transmission over HF (using a built-in FT8 encoder, or use PSK31 or RTTY). Over 130 monitoring stations worldwide (skimmers) pick up your HF transmission and relay it to PSK Reporter, which forwards the message to the SOTAMAT server for processing. SOTAMAT then connects to the official SOTA, POTA, or SMS services to carry out your instructions.

The amazing thing is that you don't need a computer (use your iPhone/iPad!) and you don't need special cables (use your phone's speaker directly into your HF radio's microphone input). The app not only computes the FT8 message, but also generates the FT8 audio.

For those times when you DO have cellular service, the app also allows for spotting via SMS, eMail, or satellite communicator. It even allows Alerting for CW users wanting to "tickle" RBNhole.

The app also has a database of every SOTA Summit and POTA Park worldwide and can help you navigate to the activation zone with maps and orientation feedback.

The app also has a reference table of additional commands you can use when you are "online" (via SMS, eMail, or satellite):

• Get current spots (SOTA/POTA)

• Get information (callinfo, peak info, park info)

• Get localized weather reports for specific SOTA Peaks and POTA Parks

• ...and more!

Owners of Elecraft KX2 or KX3 radios can use an optional "SOTACAT" device to allow SOTAMAT to control your radio over WiFi, and even spot using direct FT8 synthesis.

See the https://SOTAmat.com web site for details.