WELCOME

Welcome to my amateur radio BLOG. Here at N1CLC.com (aka HamNinja.com), I hope to cover my exploration of ham radio, summits on the air (SOTA) and general RF geek stuff.  My other BLOGS focus on technology (cloudrant.com), photography (cameraninja.com/blog), and life (thethroboflife.com). QSL via QRZ, LOTW, cards.

* Reference Links Page    * SOTA Specific Links  
* My Equipment Loadout    * DMR Tips    * My Youtube Channel

I monitor 146.520 and DMR SOTA (973), track me on the trail HERE.  Donate HERE, Mastodon

Check out the latest videos by the Ham Ninja

<<<Latest SAFETY TIPS can be found HERE.>>>

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A Look Back At 2025

 2025 Was a busy year for me

The stats from my Summits on The Air activities, although not record breaking, were edging closer to my personal best.

Year	Summits	Total Points	Hiked Miles	MTB Miles	Elevation Gain *	Uniques	First Activations
2017	13	17	42	4	10,375	9	1
2018	59	303	244	0	57,859	47	2
2019	62	367	207	0	50,273	21	2
2020	104	543	338	4	83,390	33	3
2021	85	537	294	32	74,394	23	3
2022	108	552	317	16	80,102	16	2
2023	161	792	489	25	119,586	34	0
2024	153	720	422	14	108,992	24	1
2025	161	747	429	0	107,971	20	1
Grand Total	906	4578	2782.55	95.03	692,942	227	15

* Elevation gain only counted for hiking or MTB.

<Click on photos for larger>

The Ham Ninja’s Top 10 Safety Tips

After surviving  880+ SOTA summit activations, I wanted to share what I’ve learned from my experience and from others about how to lower the risk of injury and death while doing this outdoor hobby.  In 2025, I published my “Top 10 safety Tips” in a weekly email series for SOTA (Summits On the AIR) operators. Later, I was asked to present my “Top 10 Safety Tips” to various Ham Clubs.  This article puts all if together in one place with a little more detail.  I hope you find some value here for you and your family.

Presented Safety Tips to LICW

I had fun presenting the Ham Ninja's Top 10 Safety Tips to the Long Island CW Club. 

You can find the presentation materials HERE.

TIP #11 - Site Safety & Respect

What

Ensure that your SOTA site is safe for you and others.  Don’t setup on unstable cliffs, or anywhere near powerlines.   In addition we share mountaintops with others so we should make the least amount of impact possible so others can enjoy the summit as well.

Why

Recently, a POTA operator died in a tragic accident when part of his station contacted high voltage power lines.  Failing to notice high voltage power lines near your operating position can result in severe injury or death.  The danger is NOT limited to direct contact.  Setting up an antenna too close to high power transmission lines can still result in a shock.

We also want to ensure that others can enjoy the summit and be safe as well, leaving a favorable impression with the public.

What I And Others Do

Survey the operating position for your safety and its impact to others who are also trying to enjoy the mountain.  Look at where you are setting up to avoid accidents with power lines as well as unstable cliffs and falling rock hazards.

Also, if you are setting up a mast, survey the area where it might fall and ensure that others will be outside the “mast fall zone”, and can’t trip over guy lines.

Don’t put up your antenna directly under or near high power transmission lines.  Transmission lines may be too high for your antenna to come into direct contact with, but the high electromagnetic fields of transmission lines can induce a voltage and current in the antenna. 

Setup in an area away from where others might want to visit.  Not only is this safer for everyone, people are there to enjoy the outdoor views.

Look for snakes in rocky areas. 

Use earbuds/headphones to listen to your radio.  People usually venture out of the city to get away from all the noise, and although we think our radio is cool, they may not.

Consider setting up below the summit.  If the area at the top is small, setup below the summit so that others can enjoy the summit, and / or use a small loaded antenna (I’m thinking about the Elecraft line of AX antennas here).

Pickup trash, even if it isn’t yours.  

My condolences to the family and friends of Tripp Owens (N4NTO).

If you’ve read this far, thank you.  I’ve enjoyed writing this series of safe tips for the SOTA community.

Visit HamNinja.com/safetytips to see all the tips as they are published. 

The Ham Ninja’s SOTA Safety Tips

SOTA Safety Tips is a weekly series of quick tips to remember to improve safety of the hobby.  This was inspired by the SoCal SOTA group’s meetings on this topic and will be sourced from my own and others' experience.  Don’t forget, you also need to support your group and others with this knowledge.  I’ll keep these as short as possible.  You probably also noticed I’m a pilot, steeped in the culture of safety, AKA try not to kill yourself.  Send feedback to safetytips@HamNinja.com.

TIP #10 - Avoid Sky Sparks

What

Don’t get injured by lightning.

Why

You’ll be shocked to know, but getting hit directly or being close to a lightning strike can be deadly.  According to NOAA.gov, each year in the United States, lightning kills 20-30 people on average and injures 100s more.

Studies have shown that most people struck by lightning are struck not at the height of a thunderstorm but before and after the storm has peaked. Most people are unaware of how far lightning can strike from its parent thunderstorm or what to do. Lightning can strike more than 10 miles away from the location of rainfall.  In addition, putting up an antenna when thunder storm activity is close can increase the risk of a lightning strike.

SOTA Safety TIP #9 - Layer for Safety and Comfort

What

Use the layering method when packing for an expedition to ensure you can survive unexpected cold conditions.

Why

Hypothermia can be life-threatening and it doesn’t have to be super cold to start cooling your body below 95 degrees f. Even in the summer, summits can be much colder than you think, especially when it’s windy.

The temperature drops 3.5 to 5 degrees f  per thousand feet of elevation gain.  Our hobby means you’ll most likely be climbing up in elevation and it will probably be cooler than the trailhead.  The weather can change unexpectedly; arriving on a windy summit while covered in sweat will cause you to chill fast. Additionally, you could be stuck on the mountain longer than expected if you or someone else gets hurt, you become lost, or other unforeseen events cause a delay.