Log Your First GMA QSO

In 10 minutes from "app never opened" to your first logged GMA QSO (Global Mountain Activity) incl. award counter update.

Prerequisites

• HAM-Tools installed + license activated
• Your callsign + locator set in Settings → Station
• The summit database (33,761 refs) is preinstalled in the app bundle — no internet needed

Step 1 — Check the GMA Database

A snapshot of 33,761 summits already ships in the app bundle, so you can start right away.

1. Open Settings → Data (⌘, → "Data" tab)
2. At the GMA Reference Database entry the status pill shows "ready" with the summit count
3. Own / more recent list? → CSV import as an override (the source serves data per region; the bundled snapshot updates with the next app release)

Source

The summit data comes from the machine-readable GMA DB (cqgma.org): GMA code (<association>/<region>-NNN) + point value + coordinates + locator.

Step 2 — Create a GMA Log

1. Main window → QSO panel → click "Outdoor" → sub-tab "GMA" (mountain icon). If no GMA log exists yet, the wizard opens.
2. Pick Activator / Hunter:
   • Activator — you activate a summit (required: your own summit)
   • Hunter — you chase active summits (summit comes per QSO)
3. Your own summit (Activator): type a name or DA/AL- → auto-complete shows the matches (e.g. DA/AL-001); pick one
4. Cross-ref suggestion: if the summit carries a WWFF/SOTA reference, the app suggests it automatically (live from cqgma.org) — adopted as a dual program with one click
5. Click "Create" — the new log is active

Step 3 — Find an Active Summit (Hunter)

In the GMA Spots tab of the log you see the summit spots from cqgma.org's own GMA feed — unlike WCA/WWFF the DX cluster is not filtered.

1. Set filters if you want: band, mode, prefix (DA, OE, HB …)
2. Double-click a row → the summit reference is entered into the QSO form, and the frequency moves (if CAT is connected) to the spot frequency
3. The spot carries the summit, name and coordinates directly — no confusion with SOTA/BOTA, because the refs come from the GMA feed itself

What the feed shows

The GMA feed also aggregates the closely related WWFF activity — so you'll see not only pure summits but the whole GMA environment.

Step 4 — Fill in the QSO Form

When the summit was taken from the spot, most fields are already filled:

Field	What happens
Call	From the spot
Frequency	From the spot (or CAT)
Band	Automatically from frequency
Mode	From the spot (CAT mode overrides if connected)
Their Summit	From the spot (e.g. DA/AL-001) — DB lookup shows the summit name
RST	Default values per mode (59 / 599 / 599)
Name, QTH, Locator	Auto-fill via QRZ/HamQTH after TAB in the call field

What you have to type: RST received (what you actually heard).

Step 5 — Log It

Press Return or click the "Log QSO" button.

What happens in the background:

1. The QSO is stored in Logs/<your-log>.htlog SQLite
2. A duplicate check runs (same call + band + mode → warning)
3. If real-time upload is active: QRZ.com / eQSL / Club Log / LoTW get the QSO immediately
4. The activation counter rises — the GMA rule requires ≥ 4 QSOs per summit to score points. The app shows this as a hint, with no hard block.

Step 6 — Check the Award Status

1. In the logbook switch to the "Awards" tab → sub-tab "GMA"
2. You see:
   • Activator summits (+ QSOs)
   • Hunter summits (+ QSOs)
   • Summit-to-Summit (S2S) — QSOs between two summits
   • Programs (unique association prefixes like DA, OE, HB, …)

For the official GMA submission you export the QSO via ADIF (context bar → "Export ADIF"). The app writes MY_SIG=GMA/MY_GMA_REF; with multiple summits, one file per ref.

Multi-Summit Hopping (for Activators)

Activators who activate several summits on the same day use hopping. When creating the log (step 2, activator):

1. Fill the "Additional summits (hopping)" field as a comma list (e.g. DA/AL-001, OE/TI-001)
2. Live lookup shows each match with the summit name
3. Multi-ref split on export: the ADIF export writes one file per summit (HB9HJI@DA-AL-001 20260616.adi, each with a single MY_SIG_INFO; the slash becomes - in the filename)

Dual program

Is your summit inside a WWFF area or also a SOTA summit? The GMA wizard suggests the matching WWFF/SOTA ref automatically — each QSO then counts for all programs. An existing session of another program is tagged afterwards via "Edit cross-refs" (pencil button on the log).

Common Problems

Spot list is empty
→ Pure summit activations are rarer than POTA. Depending on the time of day there may be no summit spotted worldwide. The feed may then show only WWFF activity.

"Summit not found" on manual entry
→ If the summit is new and not yet in the bundled snapshot, you can still type the reference — an orange hint line shows that the ref isn't in the local DB; it is saved anyway, just without a name suggestion. Import a current list via CSV if needed (Settings → Data).

Next Steps

• Set up the LoTW pipeline — so your GMA QSOs get confirmed too
• CAT setup — read frequency automatically instead of typing
• GMA module docs — all features in detail