Reference lookup
Reference lookup searches the POTA, SOTA and WWFF lists by reference or name. Each reference has a public page with its details, when it was last activated, a heat map of activations and its top activators.
Why you’d use it
Section titled “Why you’d use it”You’re planning a SOTA activation and want to know how often W4C/CM-001 gets activated and by whom. Its page shows every activation Long Lines has seen, the bands and modes used, and the top activators.
How it works
Section titled “How it works”Searching
Section titled “Searching”Type a reference, part of one, or words from the name: US-2763, mitchell, falls lake. Every word
must appear in the reference or the name. A search is 2 to 64 characters and at most 6 words. Filter
with All programs, POTA parks, SOTA summits or WWFF references.
Results are ordered by activations, most first, and show the top 25. Retired references and ones never activated are included. With no search, the page shows Most spotted this week from the Stats page.
Activation counts in search results come from completed days only, so a reference activated today shows a lower count in search than on its page.
The reference page
Section titled “The reference page”Pages exist for POTA, SOTA and WWFF only, at addresses like /ref/pota/US-2763 and
/ref/sota/W4C/CM-001. WWBOTA bunkers and IOTA islands have no pages.
An activation is one activator (by base call) spotted at the reference on one UTC day. Only spots from the matching source count: POTA spots for a park, SOTAwatch spots for a summit, WWFF spots for a WWFF reference. A DX Cluster spot that names a park never counts. Long Lines sees spots, not logs, so its counts aren’t the program’s own.
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Header | Reference, name, location, grid, status, Get alerts, Share, and a link to the program’s own page |
| Last activated | The latest activator, frequency, mode and time, if within the last 14 days |
| Figures | Activations, Activators, Spots and First activated |
| Activations in the past year | A heat map; hover a day to see who |
| About this park (or summit, reference) | Details from the program’s list, refreshed weekly |
| Activity, Bands, Modes | Activations per month, spots by band and mode |
| Top activators | The 10 with the most activations here |
| Recent activations | The latest 10, with bands and modes |
| Recent spots | The newest 25 from the last 7 days |
A reference that isn’t in the program’s list but has been spotted still gets a page, with a note that it may be new or a typo. A retired reference shows when it was retired and has no Get alerts button.
Pages are cached for 15 minutes. Searches and pages count toward the 30-lookups-a-minute limit shared with callsign profiles.
Set it up
Section titled “Set it up”- Open Reference lookup.
- Type into Reference or name and select Look up.
- Select a result to open its page.
- To be told when someone activates it, select Get alerts for US-2763. A new connection opens on the matching source with Park, summit, or location is US-2763, named “Activators at US-2763”. Save it with a destination.
When it doesn’t work
Section titled “When it doesn’t work”“A search is 2 to 64 characters, at most 6 words.” Shorten or lengthen the search.
“No parks, summits or WWFF references match”. Every word must appear in the reference or the name. Drop a word, or check spelling. A reference that isn’t in the program’s list can’t be found by search; type its page address instead.
“Reference not found”. The reference isn’t in the list and has never been spotted, or it’s
mistyped. SOTA references keep their slash: W4C/CM-001.
“Showing the top 25. Add a word to narrow it down.” More references match than the page shows.
An activation is missing. It came only from DX Cluster spots, or the activator’s call is hidden.