POTA, SOTA, WWFF and other programs
Award programs (parks, summits, lakes, islands…) have their own fields in the LogBook - separately for the other station and for you. The program was created with field POTA activations in mind, so these fields are always at hand.
Program fields
The LogBook has 12 program fields: POTA (parks), SOTA (summits), WWFF, LLOTA (lakes and lagoons), IOTA (islands), Field Day (class and section) and five user fields for your own programs. The LogBook window shows the first four:
- in the middle column - the other station's fields (e.g. Parks, Summit, Lake, WWFF Ref.),
- on the right - your fields with the same names (e.g. your Parks).
All fields open with the small button next to the fourth field. Its icon shows the first filled program (tree - POTA, mountain - SOTA, flower - WWFF, island - IOTA, waves - LLOTA, flag - Field Day), and +N shows how many filled fields are not visible. Rest the mouse pointer on it to see their values. The order of the fields and which of them are enabled is set in the configuration on the Programs page.
Template and programs
The LogBook template (STANDARD, POTA, SOTA, LLOTA, IOTA, WWFF, FIELD DAY) puts its program first. In a template other than STANDARD your first program field (e.g. your Parks) is required - if the program has validation switched on. Change the template in the configuration (LogBook template) or by double-clicking the template name next to the gear.
A park activation step by step (POTA)
- Create a new LogBook for the activation (e.g. SP-0123 2026-10-24) with the POTA template - how to do it.
- In your own Parks field (right column) type the park number, e.g.
SP-0123. Activating several parks at once (a park boundary)? Separate them with commas:SP-0123,SP-0456. - Check My Callsign (e.g. with
/P), My Grid and Power. Click Save defaults. - In the configuration (LogBook → Behavior) choose Field activation mode - Enter goes to reports if you type the reports for every QSO.
- Log the contacts. Stations in a park (park-to-park) have their park in the Parks field - when you click a POTA spot it fills in by itself.
- After the activation: Export ADIF with the POTA template - the program prepares the files in the format POTA requires (Import and export).
Several parks: on export each of your parks gets its own file, and a QSO with a station in several parks is written once for each of its parks - as POTA requires.
How to enter references
| Program | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| POTA | 2 letters, dash, 4 digits | SP-0123 |
| SOTA | prefix / region - 3 digits | SP/BZ-001 |
| WWFF | prefix FF - 4 digits | SPFF-0123 |
| LLOTA | LL, 2 letters, dash, 4 digits | LLSP-0001 |
The program checks the format only when validation is switched on for the given program (off by default).
Program data: park and summit names…
The program folder contains lists of POTA parks, SOTA summits, WWFF areas and LLOTA lakes. With them the program can suggest references, show the park name and position and calculate distances. You update the lists on the Programs configuration page with the Download data from POTA web page (SOTA, WWFF, LLOTA) buttons. The lamps next to the buttons show whether the data is up to date, and Status of current data shows the file date and whether the data is loaded.
To use them, enable them for the program: select it in the list and click Edit current program:
- Use information for map - right-clicking the program field shows the park / summit on a map (or a short info), and with two parks - the POTA info window with the distance between the parks;
- Use information for autocomplete - while you type, a list of matching references and names appears;
- Skip field validation when saving to LogBook - untick it to make the program check the format;
- Show spelling tips - e.g. Papa Lima zero… under the field.
These functions work for the first four programs in the window and not in contest mode. Big lists (especially POTA) use memory - on a weaker computer enable them only for the programs you actually use.
Your own programs
You can name the five user fields as you like (e.g. a national award). In Edit current program set
Displayed name, My field name, Their field name, tick
Program is active and set the order. You can also give a Custom CSV file with a list of references
in the FieldID;Name;Latitude;Longitude;Description format - then suggestions and the map work too.
Set default programs restores the initial set (cannot be undone). Changes on the Programs page require restarting the program.
Program spots
POTA, SOTA, LLOTA and WWFF spot lists are chosen in the LogBook window from the list source. Clicking a spot fills in the callsign, frequency, mode and the other station's reference. You can announce your own activation with a spot - Clusters and spots.