HOTA Rules

Contest Rules

• Any licensed Radio Amateur may take part as an Activator or as a Chaser.
• An Activator is the individual who goes to the HOTA Point to activate it in one or more Modes.
• A Chaser is an individual who operates from any Home Base, Mobile or Field Station, for the purpose of contacting an activated HOTA point.
• The Management board of the Bo-Karoo Amateur Radio Club will act as custodians for HOTA, and in case of disputes, validation of new HOTA Codes or Points, have the final say. They will also be the custodians of the trophy used for annual recognition.
• Only Registered and Approved HOTA points can be activated and chased for score in the contest.

How to Register a New HOTA Point

The proposed new point is identified by an activator. The common denominator for a point must have something to do with either history, war, or telecommunication. The point must be at least 75 years old.

The Activator does historical research and compiles a 5-minute Voice Note summarising the proposed HOTA Point. The voice note should include:

1. Name of the proposed HOTA Point
2. Which HOTA Code it falls under (e.g. BF = Battlefield)
3. The 10-digit Grid Square Location of the point
4. The years in which the point was active
5. For what purpose the point was used
6. What type of Communication was used at the point
7. The proposed date and time, frequency and modes of the activation

The Voice Note is submitted to the HOTA Group for evaluation. If valid, it is registered and broadcast on the Bulletin of the Bo-Karoo Amateur Radio Club on Sunday 15:00 B (7.090 MHz).

The same procedure can be done by submitting information on the HOTA WhatsApp group.

QSL Cards

The Activator of a first-time HOTA Point must send a QSL Card with a photo of the activated point, plus detailed data in standard QSL Card format (A4 page size), to each Chaser that made contact on the initial day. For existing points, QSL Cards are optional.

Not more than 10 Activators are allowed on one HOTA point at one activation.

How to Take Part in a Contest

Activators use the “Activators Scorecard” sheet on the official spreadsheet and fill in the relevant information. Only the latest revision will be accepted — no custom-made logsheets.

A minimum of 5 contacts constitutes an activation (cumulative if not achieved on the first visit), with a maximum of 100 contacts per visit. These limits are enforced automatically when you submit your log.

Chasers use the “Chasers Scorecard” sheet to log each contact. Submit the spreadsheet per email when the contest opens for submission.

Distance Requirements by Age

What to Exchange

• Call Sign
• RST
• Name
• QTH and Grid Location

Scores & Points

Points are calculated automatically when you submit your log. Each contact in your log earns points according to this formula:

The First Activation Bonus is +5 applied once — on the first contact line of a first-activation log for activators, and on the first chaser contact with a newly first-activated site for chasers (from 1 May 2026). It is 0 for all other contacts.

For Activators

You earn points for every contact you personally log in your activation spreadsheet. Points are awarded as soon as you submit your log — no waiting for chasers to confirm.

A +5 bonus is added to your first contact when you mark a log as First Activation. This applies to all co-activators who were present at the first activation — each one who uploads their own log and marks it as “First Activation” receives the bonus on their first contact line. The system verifies that you are listed as a participant in the original first activation before granting the bonus.

Co-Activators — Each Operator Must Upload Their Own Log

From 1 May 2026 onwards, points are only awarded to the person who uploaded the log. Being listed as a co-activator on someone else’s log does not earn you points. Each operator must submit their own activation log for the contacts they personally made.

Activations before 1 May 2026 retain the old behaviour: all co-activators listed on a log share the points from that activation.

For Chasers

You earn points for every activation you chase and log in your chaser spreadsheet.

From 1 May 2026 onwards, chasers also receive a +5 bonus on their first contact with a site’s first activation. The bonus applies once per chaser per site — your very first logged contact on the day that site was first activated. Any further contacts with the same site on the same day (different modes) earn regular points only.

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Site Type Weights

Each HOTA code has a base weight that reflects the historical significance of the site type:

Mode Scores

Modes in the same group count as one contact per activation per callsign — e.g. a contact on SSB and another on FM with the same station on the same day at the same site counts as only one Radio Phone contact.

Year Factor

Older sites earn a higher multiplier, rewarding activations of historically significant locations:

Examples

Regular contact — Battlefield (BF, weight 2), built 1885 (factor 0.53), on CW (score +3):

(2 + 3 + 0) × 0.53 = 2.65 points

Activator — first contact of a first activation — same site and mode, +5 bonus on the first contact line only:

(2 + 3 + 5) × 0.53 = 5.30 points

Every subsequent contact in the same first-activation log earns the regular 2.65 points.

Chaser — first contact with a newly first-activated site (from 1 May 2026) — same site on SSB (score +1), +5 bonus on that one contact:

(2 + 1 + 5) × 0.53 = 4.24 points

A second contact with the same site on the same day (e.g. CW) earns the regular 2.65 points — the bonus is awarded once per chaser per first-activated site.

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Once a year, 2 weeks before the AGM of the Bo-Karoo Amateur Radio Club, entries are frozen. Activator(s) receive a Certificate for the First Activation of a new HOTA Point after submitting photos and logsheets.

Entering for Competitions

• Each activator and chaser keeps log on the provided spreadsheet.
• The Chaser spreadsheet accumulates over time.
• A separate spreadsheet is kept per Activator for each activated point, where scores accumulate per HOTA point over time.