Malaysia Historic Towns & Places On The Air (9M PPOTA)

What is PPOTA?

PPOTA (Historic Towns and Places On The Air) is an amateur radio program encouraging operators to activate and make contacts from historic towns and culturally significant places worldwide. It combines a passion for amateur radio with an appreciation of global cultural heritage.

Whether you're an activator taking your portable station to a historic UNESCO site, or a hunter collecting contacts from your home station, PPOTA offers a unique way to enjoy amateur radio while promoting cultural preservation. Each eligible historic site is assigned a unique reference code (e.g., PPMY-0001 for Malaysia).

How It Works

• Activators set up their station within the designated historic zone or within 500m of the monument, and make at least 10 QSOs.
• Hunters contact activators from their home stations. QSOs are validated automatically when the activator uploads their log.
• Spots are posted to the live cluster so the community knows when and where historical activations are happening.
• Awards (digital diplomas) are earned by completing activations or hunting unique historical references worldwide.

Eligibility Rules

• Accepted: UNESCO World Heritage Sites, National Heritage monuments, historic districts, archaeological sites, and ancient temples.
• Excluded: Modern commercial buildings, non-historic parks, and restricted private properties without public access.
• Public access: The historical site must be accessible to the public (free, paid, or permit-based).
• Coordinates: Must point directly to the monument or the center of the historic town.

Activation Requirements

• Operator must be within 500 m of the historic monument or within the official historic district boundaries.
• Minimum 10 QSOs per activation to be valid.
• Log must be uploaded in ADIF format within 30 days, with <MY_SIG>PPOTA</MY_SIG> and <MY_SIG_INFO>PPMY-xxxx</MY_SIG_INFO> fields.
• Reference code format: PP prefix + country code (e.g., MY for Malaysia) + sequential number.