Search & pounce (hunting)

If CQ feels like a stage, hunt first. You still get P2P/S2S credit when you are the hunter. POTA hunter credit is honor system from activator logs — you do not upload to pota.app as a hunter, but you should still log for LoTW, QRZ, and your own sanity.

Official: POTA hunter guide · Community CW depth: potacw.guide · first phonetics: Get on the air

The hunter’s job in one sentence

Find a spotted activator, listen through a complete QSO, call once with clean phonetics (or once on CW with offset), exchange RST and references as needed, log it, move on. Do not upload that QSO to pota.app.

Before you call

Open pota.app spots (not pota.us) or SOTAwatch.
Tune the spotted frequency and mode. RF lies — confirm you hear that activator, not a different station nearby.
Listen through at least one full exchange. Learn their cadence: short vs ragchew, split or simplex, FT8 or SSB.
Match mode. Do not call phone on a CW spot.

Tip: If an activator has few QSOs toward a valid activation, working them again on a different band or mode (same UTC day) can help them — especially on POTA. See QRPer etiquette notes.

Calling on phone (SSB)

When they ask for callers, give your call once, NATO phonetics on first contact:

Kilo Bravo Three Charlie Mike Tango, portable.

Do not call if you cannot copy them, if they asked for a different region or P2P only, or if they are mid-exchange. One identity — do not send the call three times.

Exchange example:

You are 59 into US-1412, over.

Their grid is optional on the air. Your logger can look it up later (Polo Full export, AC Log Fill Fields). Do not stall the activator asking for FN31.

CW hunting

The hardest skill is silence during others’ QSOs.

Do not zero-beat in a pileup — use XIT +30 to +100 Hz so your pitch separates from the whale pod.
Send your call once per opening; do not tail-end after the pile ends.
Never tune up on or near the activator.

Full detail: CW operating

FT8 / WSJT-X hunting

From POTA hunter guide — digital section:

Do not transmit on the activator’s RX frequency. WSJT-X is designed for split — enable Hold Tx Freq, call on a clear waterfall slot.
Skip sending your grid when hunting an activator (saves time).
If you got a report and logged it, you have a QSO even if a final 73 never arrives in a pileup.

Setup: WSJT-X · Map assist: GridTracker

DX code of conduct (portable edition)

Adapted from DX practice and POTA docs:

Do	Do not
Send full call once	Double, tail-end, or “help” by transmitting over partials
Wait for QSO to finish	Tune up on activator
Step aside for P2P/S2S when asked	Long ragchew while others wait
Spot activators if they are not spotted and need QSOs	Argue frequency ownership

P2P / S2S as hunter

When you are portable in another park or on a summit:

Log their reference in Polo’s their-park field / AC Log SIG_INFO — not as your MY_SIG_INFO.
If you are also activating, both tags apply: yours in MY_, theirs in SIG_. Diagram: ADIF parks.

When you hear an activator call for P2P and you are not field-portable, stay quiet and let field stations through.

Logging as a hunter

Keep your own log even though POTA does not require hunter uploads. Stats on pota.app come from activator files.
Upload to LoTW/QRZ if you chase confirmations — TQSL Station Location is your grid, not the park.
For P2P, capture SIG_INFO on that row or it did not happen.

UTC midnight and the second sitting

POTA’s day is Zulu. If you already have the activator on 20 m SSB today-UTC, a second QSO on 20 m SSB is a dupe. Wait for 0000Z, or change band or mode. Hunters often pile right after midnight for that reason. Your shack clock must actually be UTC — Planning.

If the activator is struggling toward ten, a different band or mode (SSB then CW then FT8) is a real help, not a nuisance. Same-mode dupes are not.

Habits / gotchas / checklist (hunter)

Spots on pota.app, not pota.us. Mode on the spot = mode on the VFO.
One full QSO listened. One call, NATO first pass. No tail, no tune-up.
FT8: Hold Tx Freq, open slot, skip your grid. Log after a report even if 73 never comes.
P2P: their park in SIG_INFO. You are not portable → stay quiet when they ask for field-to-field.
You do not upload to pota.app. LoTW Station Location = your grid.
You already worked them this UTC day on this band/mode → stop calling.

Shack hunters

Fixed station with a beam still hunts POTA. Same etiquette — offset on CW/FT8, no tuning on top. Permanent station notes: Permanent shack.

Activate (flip side) · Pileups · Calling CQ
Ethics · Programs

Notes & edits

Comments and proposed markdown sit in a queue. Nothing is public until it is reviewed. How this works.