Hunter FAQs

A "Participant" is a ham radio operator that is listening or hunting for one of the 16 states club call signs being activated for the LCTOTA event.

An "Activator" or "Activating Station" is one of the clubs listed on the LCTOTA home page that will be actively calling CQ as one of the 16 states associated with the Lewis and Clark trail.

It is as easy as turning on your radio and listening for a LCTOTA activating station calling CQ. A list of the club call signs and the schedule of activating times and modes can be found on the LCTOTA home page. When you hear a LCTOTA calling CQ, respond with your call sign, name, state and RST.

Nothing for LCTOTA. Only the activating stations submit a log to LCTOTA. However, you are encouraged to submit your log to Logbook of the World, eQSL or another on-line logging database.

LCTOTA is not providing a QSL card for the entire event. Participants can request a certificate confirming their participation. Each club activating for the event can be contacted directly to determine if they return QSL cards for contacting their club station.

At the LCTOTA home page, navigate to "Request Certificate". Enter your call sign to see how many states on the Lewis and Clark trail you have contacted. If you contacted all 16 states, you can request a certificate for an LCTOTA Expedition Partner. If you contacted 1-15 states, you can request a certificate for an LCTOTA Trail Companion.

A bonus station contact can be used to substitute for a contact with a missing state. For example, If you have contacted 14 states and have also made contact with the 2 bonus stations, you will reach Expedition Partner status.

Please be patient. Not all activating stations are uploading their logs on a daily basis. Activating stations are requested to have all logs uploaded no later than 7 days after the event ends and most stations are trying to upload every day. Some operators are activating in the field on the Lewis and Clark Trail and it takes a little time for them to upload their logs. LCTOTA only accepts logs from activating stations. Logs are not accepted from participating stations.

Yes. LCTOTA is not a contest and there is no limit on how many times you can contact the same activating station. We would request that if you have already made contact with a station that you wait until they clear a pile up to make contact with the station again.

No. The only criteria for the Expedition Partner certificate is to contact all 16 states. This can be any combination of bands, modes and days of the event.

Nothing. Some of the activating stations will also be activating a park for POTA at the same time. There is no connection between LCTOTA and POTA. However, the activation station for LCTOTA can submit their log to both entities for credit. We would encourage you to sign-up with POTA at https://parksontheair.com to also enjoy their activities.

The preference would be No. All activating stations for LCTOTA are only calling CQ. They are not searching and pouncing for stations looking for LCTOTA activating stations. If a participant calls CQ for an LCTOTA station, it is too likely you will confuse other operators looking for an LCTOTA station.

The bonus station call signs are K7L operating from the western US and W0C operating from the eastern US.

The Add to your calendar button on the LCTOTA home page downloads a calendar file — its name ends in .ics — that adds the event, along with a reminder the day before it starts, to whichever calendar you use.

• Outlook or Apple Calendar: open the downloaded file and confirm when you are asked to add the event.
• Google Calendar: go to Settings, then Import & export, then Import. Choose the downloaded file, pick the calendar to add it to, and click Import.
• iPhone or iPad: tap the downloaded file, then tap Add All.

The event runs on UTC time, so it will show in your own time zone once it has been added.