Welcome to xOTA

xOTA is a free and open platform for licensed amateur radio operators to share and find spotting information, short weather reports, atmospheric conditions, and more — especially when you’re out of range of normal internet or cellular service. Using satellite messengers or radio-based data links, operators can still send and receive information and will always have a method to self-spot.

For hunters and activators, xOTA also includes a simple logging and alert system. You can set it up to ping you when a park or callsign you’re chasing goes live, or keep track of your own activations without juggling multiple tools. It’s meant to be a one-stop-shop for portable activations.

Mobile applications are also coming soon. 📱

This project has been a long-running passion of mine — it’s gone through several redesigns and rebuilds over the past few years. What started as a quick weekend experiment turned into something much bigger than I expected.

The whole thing started with a simple question: how do I post a spot when I’m activating out of cell service? Like a lot of us who spend time outdoors, I might be off the grid, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely cut off. As amateur radio operators, we already have the gear and skills to get messages out. When I’d go portable, I’d usually bring a satellite messenger and text a friend asking them to post a spot for me — if they happened to see it in time. It worked, but it wasn’t ideal. Eventually I figured I could automate it.

What began as a tiny self-hosted script for self-spotting turned into a multi-year side project. One idea led to another, and before long I was building out a full system that could handle alerts, logs, and multiple data sources.

There’s still plenty left to do, but I think we’re finally at a point where it’s ready to share. For updates and notes on what’s coming next, keep an eye on this blog.

If you’d like to help out — whether you’re a developer, tester, or just curious — feel free to get in touch.

73, Will Pfanner