SOTA is fully operational in nearly a hundred countries across the world. Each country has its own Association which defines the recognised SOTA summits within that Association. Each summit earns the activators and chasers a score which is related to the height of the summit. Certificates are available for various scores, leading to the prestigious "Mountain Goat" and "Shack Sloth" trophies. An Honour Roll for Activators and Chasers is maintained at the SOTA online database.

House Bill 673 also known as the “Hands Free Law” was passed by the Georgia General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Nathan Deal.  The Hands Free Law went into effect on July 1, 2018. But what about Amatuer Radio, well we are exempt but it might be a good idea to have a copy of the law and your FCC license in the glove box just in case. The following is a brief description what the law states. 

A driver cannot have a phone in their hand or use any part of their body to support their phone. Drivers can only use their phones to make or receive phone calls by using speakerphone, earpiece, wireless headphone, phone is connected to vehicle or an electronic watch.  GPS navigation devices are allowed.

Bob Woodstock was kind enough to share a document entitled, "Radio the Easy Way" for member inspiration. The following information is reproduced with permission of: W9INN ANTENNAS

The booklet was written by:

JOHN M. HAERLE, WB5IIR (SK)

TECH. COORDINATOR, ARRL

TYPED BY CAROLE MORRISSEY, KA2JTJ (SK)

It is a basic truism that you can't get something for nothing, but I am not using "easy way" in this context. Rather, I am using "easy way" as the opposite of "hard way"...and as I talk to hams, on the air or in person, I get the feeling that many of us are, indeed, doing it the hard way. A real challenge, though, is getting hams to believe what I am going to say.... and I am going set forth some principles that you must accept, without reservation, before we can develop what follows. Of course, I cannot expect you to accept this "gospel" from just one source, so I begin with qualifying words from several authorities who carry blue- ribbon credentials. More from the link below:

Presented to the Club during its scheduled July 2018 meeting was an update on the utilization of the Club's Website and Closed Group Facebook Page.

More information below in the PowerPoint Presentation.

Fellow Amateur Radio Operators please note this proposal from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The FY 2019 budget request includes shutting down “NIST radio stations in Colorado and Hawaii” — in other words, WWV and WWVH.