Further OTA programmes
Islands, castles, bunkers, lighthouses and other OTA activation programmes.
Alongside the two largest activation programmes, SOTA (mountains) and POTA (parks), there is a whole range of other ‘On The Air’ programmes that allow you to activate various geographical, historical or technical sites — islands, castles, bunkers, lighthouses, shipwrecks, towers and more. Many can be combined with one another, creating attractive multiple activations.
WWFF / HBFF — World Wide Flora & Fauna
One of the best-known programmes — activations from nature reserves, biotopes and protected areas worldwide. Strongly rooted in Europe, with significant overlap with POTA. The Swiss section, HBFF, manages the Swiss references and maintains its own database with a logbook upload facility.
IOTA — Islands On The Air
One of the oldest and most prestigious activation programmes, founded in 1964 and now administered with the involvement of the RSGB. Officially recognised islands and archipelagos worldwide are activated. Ideal for DX-oriented portable expeditions — DXpeditions to rare IOTA references regularly generate pile-ups, comparable to DXCC ‘most wanted’ lists.
GMA — Global Mountain Activity
A more flexible counterpart to SOTA — not only mountains but also castles, lighthouses, parks and other reference points are recognised. Special feature: GMA also accepts references from other programmes (SOTA, COTA, WWFF, POTA, Lighthouses) and is therefore suitable as a meta-platform for multiple activations.
WCA / COTA — World Castles Award / Castles On The Air
Activations from castles, palaces and fortresses. Particularly active in Europe due to the high density of castles. WCA is the international database, whilst COTA-DL is the German section, which is particularly active. Swiss castles are also included — from the Habsburg Castle and Chillon to the Munot Fortress in Schaffhausen.
BOTA / HBBOTA — Bunkers On The Air
Activations of military bunkers, former observation posts and historic defence structures. The international umbrella programme WWBOTA (Worldwide Bunkers on the Air) was extended to Switzerland on 17 April 2026 with the launch of HBBOTA — the Swiss bunker landscape (Réduit, barrier positions, fortress artillery) offers a unique variety for this purpose.
- 🔗 International: wwbota.net
- 🔗 Full details on our website: BOTA — Bunkers On The Air
WLOTA / LOTA — World Lighthouses On The Air
International lighthouse activations — a world of their own, with the annual International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend (ILLW) in August. This can be easily combined with IOTA activations, as many lighthouses are situated on islands. Less relevant for Switzerland, but very popular in the portable DX scene.
TOTA — Towers On The Air
A smaller programme centred on viewing, radio and observation towers. The rules explicitly allow combinations with WWFF, GMA, SOTA, POTA and BOTA — so the same location can yield several OTA points at once.
SWOTA — Shipwrecks On The Air
A niche programme for activations at shipwreck sites and places of maritime heritage. Naturally, there is some overlap with the IOTA and Lighthouse programmes. Not very widespread in Central Europe, but exciting for coastal and island expeditions.
GoGreen XOTA — Cross-OTA with an environmental focus
Not a standalone location programme, but a cross-OTA initiative focusing on environmentally friendly activations (low carbon footprint, public transport, no litter, no noise). Takes WWFF into account, amongst other things, and applies across all programmes.
Swiss practical recommendation
Ranking by practical relevance for radio amateurs with a focus on Switzerland and neighbouring Europe:
- WWFF / HBFF — significant overlap with Swiss parks and nature reserves, established hunter network.
- WCA / COTA — excellent in Europe due to the high density of castles (particularly active in the DACH region).
- BOTA / HBBOTA — a very exciting new Swiss aspect, particularly for historic bunker complexes.
- GMA — useful as a meta-platform, as many other reference types are recognised.
- IOTA / WLOTA — less relevant to Switzerland, but attractive for travel and holiday activities.
👉 Tip: Using the ARO Field Atlas, you can overlay POTA, SOTA and WWFF references on a single map — very handy for planning multiple activations in advance (e.g. mountain peaks within a nature park).