# Awards **URL:** https://forums.pota.news/c/awards/11.md [Latest](https://forums.pota.news/latest.md) · [Categories](https://forums.pota.news/categories.md) · [Tags](https://forums.pota.news/tags.md) --- ## [High-level PN&R awards framework](https://forums.pota.news/t/high-level-pn-r-awards-framework/36)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2025, 11:20pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/high-level-pn-r-awards-framework/36 "2025-11-06T23:20:37Z")
I’ve been thinking about how an awards system would function. The last thing I want to do is to write the matching code for things like the POTA operator-to-operator awards, or hunter awards. POTA has a fairly robust sys… --- ## [About the Awards category](https://forums.pota.news/t/about-the-awards-category/33)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 6, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/about-the-awards-category/33 "2025-11-06T15:08:18Z")
Top level discussion of awards. We can discuss hunter and activator awards in their own categories. Overall goals for the awards program: Promote POTA activity Variety Non-duplication of official POTA awards Fun Inclus… --- ## [Pack Mule](https://forums.pota.news/t/pack-mule/109)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [January 6, 2026, 1:05am UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/pack-mule/109 "2026-01-06T01:05:38Z")
I was on Eric N1JUR’s podcast this week, he graciously let me talk for nearly 90 minutes about what’s going on at POTA News & Reviews. A big piece was about the Pack Mule award. I just wanted to share this video from KD… --- ## [PN&R Awards are a cross between POTA and SOTA](https://forums.pota.news/t/pn-r-awards-are-a-cross-between-pota-and-sota/85)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [December 16, 2025, 2:25pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/pn-r-awards-are-a-cross-between-pota-and-sota/85 "2025-12-16T14:25:36Z")
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the awards program, and having some really good conversations with several of you about it. Paul and Santi have been especially insightful, thank you. I’ve been trying to shape th… --- ## [Eliminating n-Fers](https://forums.pota.news/t/eliminating-n-fers/80)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 15, 2025, 10:49pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/eliminating-n-fers/80 "2025-12-15T22:49:13Z")
Along with limiting the number of times a park can be used for an award, I’m leaning hard toward not accepting n-Fers. In a park with three overlapping references? Pick one. --- ## [SOTA or POTA style for activating more than once?](https://forums.pota.news/t/sota-or-pota-style-for-activating-more-than-once/77)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2025, 2:26pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/sota-or-pota-style-for-activating-more-than-once/77 "2025-12-02T14:26:13Z")
Here’s a fundamental question. For SOTA, you only get activation points once per calendar year. For POTA, you can log 365 activations from that same site in that year. Where do our awards fall? SOTA? POTA? In between? … --- ## [Awards technical architecture](https://forums.pota.news/t/awards-technical-architecture/83)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 25, 2025, 3:49pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/awards-technical-architecture/83 "2025-11-25T15:49:31Z")
I’m starting to work out the technical architecture of the awards engine, and I thought I’d periodically make notes here in case anyone is curious about the thought process or about how the system got to be how it is. I… --- ## [Activate / Hunted / Heard All US States](https://forums.pota.news/t/activate-hunted-heard-all-us-states/76)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2025, 9:51pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/activate-hunted-heard-all-us-states/76 "2025-11-24T21:51:16Z")
For WAS, I think the right thing to do is to issue a certificate on first completion, then endorsements for each subsequent year, the idea being to really drive home the notion that these reset each January 1st. --- ## ["Incomplete" activations](https://forums.pota.news/t/incomplete-activations/81)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 24, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/incomplete-activations/81 "2025-11-24T17:08:57Z")
I’ve always thought that an “unsuccessful” activation just doesn’t exist, if you are out there and have the radio on, you are activating. For activators, I’m thinking about bumping the number required for “completion” t… --- ## [Activator Awards](https://forums.pota.news/t/activator-awards/52)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [November 21, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/activator-awards/52 "2025-11-21T23:13:49Z")
Discuss potential Activator awards here. We’ll summarize them in Awards Summary. --- ## [Should we expand beyond POTA?](https://forums.pota.news/t/should-we-expand-beyond-pota/61)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [November 20, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/should-we-expand-beyond-pota/61 "2025-11-20T22:28:26Z")
I actually don’t know what I think about this yet but I want to put it out there: Should we include parks that POTA doesn’t? City parks? That sort of? --- ## [Complexity of 'matching' awards](https://forums.pota.news/t/complexity-of-matching-awards/59)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [November 18, 2025, 9:46pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/complexity-of-matching-awards/59 "2025-11-18T21:46:44Z")
I’ve been thinking a lot about the issues that POTA.app experiences with log ingestion. The current advice is to ‘avoid uploading between these hours’ due to problems in various batch processes. I’ve been avoiding even … --- ## [Awards API](https://forums.pota.news/t/awards-api/62)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 16, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/awards-api/62 "2025-11-16T17:47:30Z")
OMG I can’t leave out the reason any of this started… There WILL be a solid API behind all of this. --- ## [Hunter Awards](https://forums.pota.news/t/hunter-awards/53)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [November 15, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/hunter-awards/53 "2025-11-15T15:07:43Z")
Discuss potential Hunter awards here. I’ll summarize our work in Awards Summary. --- ## [SWL awards](https://forums.pota.news/t/swl-awards/38)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2025, 5:35pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/swl-awards/38 "2025-11-14T17:35:56Z")
Discuss potential SWL awards here. I think it would be really interesting to include awards for SWLs. I think I’d require that they submit a log entry showing both calls from an activator’s contact, so if I heard W1GRD w… --- ## [Awards Summary](https://forums.pota.news/t/awards-summary/51)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 14, 2025, 4:07am UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/awards-summary/51 "2025-11-14T04:07:12Z")
This is the summary topic for our awards conversation. I’ll update this as we converge on a set of awards. Goal The PN&R Awards Program is dedicated to promoting on-foot exploration of public lands. We encourage operato… --- ## [We're doing it](https://forums.pota.news/t/were-doing-it/50)
**Author:** [@W1GRD](https://forums.pota.news/u/W1GRD)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [November 13, 2025, 11:06pm UTC](https://forums.pota.news/t/were-doing-it/50 "2025-11-13T23:06:56Z")
I’m committing to an awards program, to launch January 1st, 2026. Over the next few days I’ll set up some topics here for hunter, activator, SWL, and general awards, and we’ll figure out under each which awards to do.I’l…