Make a contact
Hosts and chasers exchange messages to make a contact. In ham lingo, this is often called a QSO, a Q-code that originally meant “I can communicate with”. Part of that completed contact is the acknowledgement of the receipt of a message from the other party, which is called a QSL.
Making a contact follows this pattern of message exchange between the host, the chaser, and the OTA bot.
Step 1 - chaser initiates contact
Use the CHASE command to tell the OTA bot that you want to make a contact with an operator hosting an op. See Chase an op for more information.
The position report must be sent from the same callsign and SSID that sent the
message. In this example that means W1XYZ-5 and not W1XYZ or W1XYZ-9. The
position report must be received within 5
minutes. Beacons from other SSIDs will be ignored. When you chase someone, the
host’s SSID is optional, because a callsign can only have one op on the air
at the same time. CHASE K7ABC finds the same op as CHASE K7ABC-6.
When this handbook refers to a position report it means a native APRS position
report with a valid latitude and longitude. These coordinates typically
originate from a GNSS device. Position reports are often called APRS beacons.
The OTA bot does not recognize gridsquares that you type into the
messages you send. Many web based APRS services can send APRS messages but
cannot send an APRS position report.
If the position report isn’t received in time, the OTA bot lets you know so you can try again:
Once your position report has been received, you are chasing the op. That means you have completed your half of a QSO.
If the host described their op when they sent HOST, the OTA bot will send
their description of the op in another message after the “Now chasing” one.
Now it’s up to the host to confirm.
Step 2 - OTA bot notifies the host
The OTA bot sends a message to the host so they know the chaser wants to make a contact. This message includes the chasers location encoded as a maidenhead grid subsquare. If there are many chasers at the same time (a pileup), it may take a while for your message to get through, and it may take the host some time to respond to all the chasers who have initiated contact.
Step 3 - host sends QSL
The host sends a QSL to the OTA bot. QSL is a Q-code that means “I am acknowledging receipt”
The callsign is what tells the bot which chaser the host is answering.
Like on the CHASE command, the SSID is optional.
Step 4 - OTA sends QSL to chaser
When the OTA bot receives the QSL from the host, it logs it for the website and passes it along to the chaser:
There has now been a confirmed bidirectional exchange of callsigns and locations. The QSO is complete and has been logged and scored on the website. A chaser’s first contact with the host during an op scores points. Repeat contacts in the same op are logged but do not earn points.
See the QSL reference for more information.