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What is HEMA?

Posted: 30 May 2021 08:30 PM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2021/05/31/what-is-hema/

What is HEMA?
HEMA is the acronym for HuMPs Excluding Marilyns Award. A HuMP is a summit
which has at least 100 metres of prominence. A Marilyn is a summit which
has 150 metres of prominence. The HEMA program commenced in the British
Isles.


Categorisation of mountains and hills in the British Isles
The mountains and hills of the British Isles

(England, Scotland, Wales,
Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Hebrides and other smaller islands) are
categorised into various lists based on different combinations of
elevation, prominence, and other criteria including isolation.
This includes:

P600 the MajorsMarilynsHuMPSSimmsTuMPS
What is a Marilyn?
The Marilyns are mountains and hills in the British Isles that have a
topographical prominence of at least 150 metres. As at April 2020, there
were 2,011 Marilyns in the British Isles.
The list of Marilyns was first compiled in 1992 by Alan Dawson. The name
was coined as a humorous contrast to the designation Munro, which is
homophonous with Marilyn Monroe.
A Munro is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over 914.4
metres

(3,000 feet).
Munros are named after Sir Hugh Munro

(1856-1919). In 1891, he produced
the first list of such hills, known as Munros Tables.

Above:- Sir Hugh Munro. Image c/o Wikipedia.
What is a HuMP?
HuMP is an acronym for Hundred and upwards Metre Prominence. The Marilyns
were expanded in 2007 by theÂ*HuMPs. Â*Though he did not use the term HuMP,
Eric YeamansÂ*Handbook of the Scottish HillsÂ*(1989) is considered an early
source as it included lists of hills with a prominence above 100 m. The
name and first formal British Isles list was compiled by Mark Jackson from
a number of sources and published online in 2010 inÂ*More Relative Hills of
Britain. As of April 2020, there were 2,984 HuMPs in the British Isles:
2,167 in Scotland, 833 in Ireland, 441 in England, 368 in Wales and 11 in
the Channel Islands.


What is prominence?
In topography, prominence

(also referred to as autonomous height, relative
height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in
British English) measures the height of a mountain or hills summit relative
to the lowest countour line encircling it but containing no higher summit
within it.

Above:- Vertical arrows show the topographic prominence of three peaks on
an island. The dashed horizontal lines show the lowest contours that do not
encircle higher peaks. Curved arrows point from a peak to its parent.
Image c/o Wikipedia
How does HEMA differ to SOTA?
In the Summits on the Air

(SOTA) program, a summit must have 150 metres

(about 492 feet) of prominence. In HEMA, a qualifying summit

(a HumP) must
have at least 100 metres of prominence. A Marilyn is a summit which has
150 metres of prominence and these do not qualify for HEMA. They have
their own program, SOTA.
What countries is HEMA operating in?
HEMA is active in 19 different DXCC entities, including Australia. In
Australia, there are currently qualifying HEMA summits in VK1, VK3, VK5,
and VK6.


Activation Zone
As is the case with SOTA, activations must take place within the activation
zone. The activation zone is defined as the area within 25 metres
vertically of the summits highest point.
When is the summit activated?
The HEMA summit is considered to have been activated when four successful
QSOs are obtained. It is important to note that the four QSOs must be with
different stations and operators. Previously this was four different
callsigns. However the rules have been re-written and different stations
and operators must now be logged. The HEMA website states:
This is a noteworthy revision from previous versions of the rules where
four different callsigns were valid. This will stop multiple contacts with
the same operator holding many callsigns which, it’s believed, is
contradictory to the spirit of the programme.


What is a successful QSO?
A successful QSO means a contact between a chaser and activator where
callsigns and signal reports are correctly exchanged.
What isnt allowed
Contacts via any relay including satellites, repeaters, the internet
Echolink, etc, are not allowed.
Gathering points as an activator
Each successful activation will earn you 1 point.
Only your first activation of a summit will qualify for a point in the
Uniques Table. You can attract another one point for that summit once per
calendar year. You can activate a HEMA summit as many times as you like
each year, however points will only be awarded for that summit once per
calendar year. Awards are available for both Uniques and Qualifying
points. Please see the awards section for further details.
Can I drive into a HEMA summit?
The HEMA website states the following:-
HEMA is a mixture of outdoor pursuit and amateur radio. To this end its
expected the equipment and operator arrive at the operating position by
traditional means

(walking, cycling, etc…) and the equipment is powered by
a portable energy source

(battery, solar panel etc…). The spirit of the
programme here is key. For example, operating from a vehicle or ascending
by quad bike is not permitted as a result.
Gathering points as a Chaser
Only your first chase of a summit will qualify for a point in the Uniques
Table. However, you may repeat your chase and accrue chaser points of the
same summit once per day and this will attract a point in the Qualified
Points Table. Awards are available for both Uniques and Qualifying points.
Database
In the HEMA database you can keep track of your progress as both an
Activator and a Hunter.


Awards
All HEMA awards are free of charge and are sent as a PDF file.
Classic The Unique Summit Awards for Chasers and Activators
This Award is based on the number of unique qualifying HEMA Summits
activated or chased.
For each 25 uniques HEMA awards a certificate. There is also a 10 unique
activations starter certificate to encourage activity.
Classic The Qualifying Awards for Chasers and Activators
In additon to the Unique Summit awards; additional awards are available
based upon Qualifying activations and chases. For every 50 qualifying
activations a certificate is available and also for every 100 qualifying
chases.
First H2H DXCC Award
In cases where two activators have a Successful QSO between each other and
they are both on HEMA summits this is called an H2H contact

(HEMA2HEMA).
Both activators will receive a special certificate where this is the first
ever H2H between two DXCCs.
HEMA Facebook page.
There is a HEMA Facebook page which can be found at..
https://www.facebook.com/groups/558986724305791/


More info on HEMA
More information can be found on the HEMA website at.
http://hema.org.uk/awardsWebsite.jsp
HEMA video

References.

HEMA, 2021, http://hema.org.uk/index.jsp, viewed 28th May 2021.Wikipedia,
2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_mountains_and_hills_in_the_British_Isles# Marilyns,
viewed 28th May 2021.Wikipedia, 2021,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_prominence, viewed 31st May
2021.