POTA Activators Quick Start Guide

To use QSOMate for POTA activations, you need to:

1. Create an activity for the activation
2. Log the QSOs
3. Export the QSOs to ADIF for uploading to the POTA website

Create an activity

To create an activity for your POTA activation:

1. Tap the Activities tab at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap the New Activity icon.
3. Tap the POTA icon.
4. Enter the park number(s) for your activation. If there are multiple parks, press the + button after entering each park.
5. The Activity Name defaults to the park number and date, but you can change it.
6. The My State field will be populated with the state the park is in. If the park spans multiple states, you will be prompted to choose one.
7. The My Grid field will be populated with the default grid square configured for the park. If the park is large, it may not be correct for your activation spot. At the spot, tap the Location icon next to the grid to update it.
8. If you are also on a SOTA summit, enter the SOTA reference in the SOTA Reference field.
9. Tap Save at the top right of the screen to save and enter the logging screen.

Logging QSOs

A few fields only need to be entered once when you start calling CQ on a frequency. They are retained between QSOs, so change them only when you change frequency or mode:

• Enter the frequency you are calling CQ on.
• Select the mode you are using.
• If desired, enter your transmitting power in Power TX, such as “100w”, “low”, or “high”.

Once you make a contact, enter the following information:

• Call sign. You can save the QSO after entering the call sign to accept the defaults for other fields.
• RST Snt. RST defaults to 59 or 599 depending on the selected mode.
• RST Rcv. RST defaults to 59 or 599 depending on the selected mode.
• Power RX. Enter the other station’s transmitting power if desired.
• State. Enter the other station’s state if exchanged.
• Their Park. If the other station is also a POTA activator, enter their park. Separate multiple parks with commas, for example K-1234,K-5343.
• Comment. Enter an optional short comment to save with the QSO.

Logging SKCC info

If SKCC integration is enabled, you can record these additional fields:

• SKCC Number. If lookup succeeded, press the paste icon next to the field to copy the number, or enter it directly.
• Name. Enter the other member’s first name.
• Key Type. If desired, enter the type of key you are using.

Saving the QSO

After entering the desired information, press Save at the top right of the screen. You may need to scroll up on a small screen. With an external keyboard connected, you can also save by pressing Return.

Hunting parks while activating

See Hunting Parks Using the POTA Spots Feature. You do not need to exit the logging screen to hunt parks.

Exporting contacts

To export your park contacts as an ADIF file:

1. Tap the Activities tab at the bottom of the screen.
2. Long press the activity (right click on QSOMate Desktop).
3. Tap Export.
4. Select the park number to export. If the activation contains multiple parks or a SOTA reference, there will be one export option for each. The POTA website requires each uploaded log file to reference only one park.
5. Choose the export location. The options depend on how your device is set up.