SOTA. Radio. Real Purpose.
Portable ham radio for the summits — and for the quiet work of getting better.
Portable ham radio for the summits — and for the quiet work of getting better.
SOTAsapper is a practical guide for veterans, hams, and outdoor-minded people using amateur radio on summits — and a tool for discipline, connection, and calm.
Step-by-step help to get your ham radio license with clarity and confidence.
Resources, tips, and real-world activation advice for summits that count.
Thoughts on radio, routine, resilience, and the uphill work we all carry.
After more than twenty years of service, multiple combat deployments, and the fruit salad to show for it, this isn’t about an antenna measuring contest.
I live every day with severe PTSD. My way through it is simple and hard at the same time: lace up, put a small pack on my back, climb a registered summit (SOTA) or a trail in a park (POTA), and put a signal on the air.
The parallels to military life are impossible to miss. We ruck-marched. We fought radios that never worked when we needed them most. Now I do both for the pure sense of accomplishment—standing on a summit I earned with my own legs and letting the world know, through a handful of contacts, that I’m still here and still thriving. I can still find a way to lead from the front.
My mission now is to show other veterans that there are still mountains left to climb and frequencies left to work. If the trail and ham radio can help one more brother or sister find a way to cope and keep moving forward, the activation was worth it.