my plan is to bring the FT-818 with a 4ah lipo, end fed halfwave for 40 and 20m, a small tripod thing for the antenna, notepad for logging (not bothering with an app on this one), and obviously the summit reference is in the activator database already so that part is sorted.

my question is mainly about the self-spotting stuff. i know a lot of activators use SOTAwatch and the RBN to get spotted but i dont have cell service on this particular summit based on what other activators have noted in their reports. so what do i do, just start calling CQ and hope someone catches me on the RBN and reposts to sotawatch? or is there a way to pre-spot myself before i leave the house? i read something about scheduling spots but wasnt sure if thats still a thing people do. also how long do you guys usually stay on a summit, like is there a minimum time thing or is 4 QSOs and youre done?

sorry for all the questions, just want to do this right

first off, do i need to alert ahead of time or can i just show up and start operating? i've seen the alerts page on sotawatch but wasnt sure if that was like required or just a courtesy thing. also i'm planning to bring my ft-818 with a random wire antenna, probably just throw it over a branch or something. is 5 watts going to be enough to get my 4 contacts? i know i only need 4 to qualify the summit. and one more thing -- the activation zone, is that strictly the top or is there some flexibility there? the summit i picked has a pretty flat area near the top but i'm not sure exactly where the highest point is. thanks in advance, hope this makes sense

brought my FT-818 and a linked dipole i built from a kit, threw it up between two trees maybe 20 feet high and just started calling on 40m. honestly expected to maybe squeak out 4 contacts to qualify and call it a day but ended up with like 23 in about 45 minutes, bunch of those were S2S which i didnt even realize was a thing until someone called me and said summit to summit. the chasers were amazing, super patient with my fumbling around.

only hiccup was i forgot to self-spot because i was too excited and just started calling CQ, apparently someone else spotted me from the RBN which saved me because i had no cell service up there anyway. going to figure out the APRS spotting thing before my next one. anyone have tips for the Sotawatch alerts the night before? like how detailed do you make them, do people actually use those to plan their chasing sessions?

anyway a couple things i wasnt sure about. first, do i need to self-spot or will chasers find me if i alert ahead of time? i did put an alert on SOTAwatch but im not sure i did it right because the time zone thing confused me. second, the summit reference i used -- how do i know if its actually valid and in the database? i looked it up on the SOTA mapping page but wasnt totally sure i was reading it right. and honestly just wondering if most people use SSB or CW for this because i felt like 40m SSB was getting crowded and someone suggested i try CW but im still pretty slow at it.

my plan is to bring the KX2 with the AX1 antenna but im second guessing that combo for 40m, the AX1 is really more of a compromise on a good day. was thinking maybe just bring a wire dipole cut for 40 and throw it up between two trees. the summit has decent tree coverage so that should work. anybody done this particular summit or have thoughts on the antenna question?

also i know you need 4 contacts to get the activation points but do they all have to be on different bands or can they all just be on 40m ssb? i read through the rules on the SOTA website but sometimes those things are written in a way that makes me read it three times and still not sure

posting my alert on SOTAwatch tonight either way, just wanted to see if anyone had advice before i head out saturday morning

made 11 QSOs on 40m and a few on 20m, got my 4 points which i guess qualifies it, but im reading conflicting stuff about the activation zone. like the rules say you have to be within 25 vertical meters of the true summit but some summits have these huge flat tops and i wasnt sure exactly where i was. does it matter a ton as long as youre clearly on the summit itself? i didnt want to be that guy who gets dinged for being 30m off or whatever.

also noticed a few guys spotted me on SOTAwatch pretty fast after i self-spotted via the app, within like 2 minutes i had a pileup which was kind of overwhelming for someone who just got their general last year. overall though it was a blast and im definitely going back out. any tips for working faster or managing a small pileup would be appreciated, i was fumbling around trying to log and key at the same time

anyway i have some questions for people who do this regularly. first, how strict are people about the activation zone? i was maybe 25 feet outside what i thought the boundary was and moved back but wasnt totally sure i was reading the map right. second, does it matter what bands you use for the log to count? i did mostly 20m SSB but someone told me CW contacts count more or something? and third, what app are people using to spot themselves, i was using SOTAwatch but it felt clunky on my phone in the cold with gloves on.

overall it was an awesome experience and im already planning the next one. my wife thinks im crazy for hauling radio gear up a mountain but she doesnt get it lol

my question is about the spots -- i used sotawatch before heading up and self-spotted from the summit using my phone (had barely any signal but it worked). i noticed some chasers were on me almost immediately which was cool, but then like 20 minutes in the pile kind of dried up. is that normal? do i need to keep re-spotting or do people just move on to the next activation? also not sure if i logged it right on the sota database, i entered the summit reference and date but wasnt sure if the grid square thing was mandatory. anyone done a bunch of these?

brought my FT-818 and a linked dipole i built from a kit, got to the top and started setting up and immediately the wind picked up like crazy. spent probably 20 minutes just trying to get the antenna sorted before i could even think about making contacts. posted my spot on SOTAwatch and waited and honestly thought nobody was going to answer me on 40m, the noise floor up there was surprisingly bad considering im on top of a hill.

eventually moved to 20m and started getting some responses, managed 4 contacts which i know is the minimum but it still counts right. one of the chasers was super helpful and told me to try calling CQ a bit slower which i think did help. came down feeling kind of mixed about it but also kind of hooked if that makes sense. anyone else have a rough first activation that still worked out?

My setup is pretty minimal right now — just an FT-818 and a random wire antenna i threw together from some info i found online, maybe 40 feet of wire with a 9:1 unun. planning to run 5 watts on 40 and 20 meters mostly. is that actually enough to get 4 contacts or am i setting myself up to fail? ive heard some activators have trouble on low summits if the takeoff angle isnt great but i dont really understand all that yet.

also the self-spotting thing through SOTAwatch — do i need cell service for that or is there another way? i know some guys use APRS somehow but i dont have that set up. figured id just pre-announce on the cluster before i leave the trailhead.

My main question is about the logging and spotting side of things. I have the SOTAwatch app on my phone but cell service up there is basically nonexistent, does the self-spotting only work if you have signal or is there a way to do it via radio? I saw something about APRS spotting but im not totally sure how that works or if my HT even supports it.

Also just wondering if 5 watts on 2m FM is enough to count for the activation or do I really need to make HF contacts. I know you need 4 contacts minimum but wasnt sure if all 4 can be on VHF. My go kit right now is just a Yaesu FT-65 and a roll-up j-pole, dont have a proper HF portable rig yet. Maybe thats the bigger issue here haha.

Any advice from folks who have done activations would be really appreciated, especially around gear and what to actually expect up there. First time for everything I guess.

technically i got the 4 contacts needed to activate so it counts, and i did log it on SOTAwatch already, but i just feel like there was so much i did a poor job with. especially the antenna situation. i was trying to set up an inverted vee off a 20ft mast and it just kept tilting over in the wind. do people use guy wires or something? also i spotted myself via the app before the hike and still had chasers waiting when i got up there which was cool but i also panicked a bit because i felt pressure to go fast and made some logging mistakes i had to fix later.

anyway if anyone has done a bunch of activations and has advice on antennas in wind or just general tips for being more efficient up there i would really appreciate hearing it. im hooked on SOTA despite the rough start, planning to try again next month on a different summit in the same range

anyway i have some questions for the more experienced folks here. first, do chasers actually look at spots on sotawatch before calling or is it mostly just people scanning the bands? because i self spotted using the app and within like 2 minutes i had a small pileup which surprised me. second thing is i noticed some chasers giving me signal reports and then saying things like S2S which i didnt fully understand at the time, realized later it means summit to summit but i wasnt sure if i needed to do anything special to log that or if it just counts as a regular contact. third, and this might be a dumb question, but do i need to log anything special on the sota database site for the contacts that were S2S or does the other activator handle that?

either way cant wait to do another one, already looking at summits in the area with decent trail access before winter sets in

the whole thing with the antenna was a mess too, i brought my linked dipole and one of the links got stuck and i couldnt get 20m configured properly so i just ran 40 the whole time with the ends drooping because the trees werent cooperating. got home and realized i had the wrong summit reference in my log, had to go back and fix it before uploading to sotadata. anyway i did get the activation credit and im already planning the next one, just need to figure out the spotting thing before i lose cell signal next time.

my setup is pretty minimal — FT-818 with a homebrew EFHW that i tuned up in the backyard last weekend, feeds into a 9:1 unun wound on an FT140-43 and it seems to work ok on 20 and 40 at least. got a 5ah lipo that should be more than enough for a few hours at 5w. i know you only need 4 contacts to qualify but i want to actually make some decent contacts not just scramble for the minimum if that makes sense.

my main worry is the sotawatch alerts thing — i posted an alert last night for 0730 local but im not sure if i got the time zone right. i put it in as UTC and i think i did the conversion correctly but honestly who knows. and i dont really know the etiquette for spotting yourself vs waiting for a chaser to spot you. do people normally self-spot or is that frowned upon?

anyway just kind of rambling here but if anyone has done this summit or has tips for first activations in general im all ears

my plan is to bring the KX2 with a 40m link dipole, maybe 20m too depending on conditions. lithium battery pack, the whole deal. i know you need 4 QSOs to qualify but im not sure how realistic that is if i cant get spotted on SOTAwatch. do you just call CQ blind and hope someone hears you or is there a way to self spot without cell service up there? the summit im doing is kinda in a dead zone for AT&T at least. i have a friend who said he could spot me if i text him my freq but thats kind of a pain. anyway just wanted to see if anyone had tips or experience with low-cell-service summits

anyway my questions are kind of scattered so bear with me. first off the summit reference thing — how strict are they about the activation zone? i was like maybe 30 feet below the actual high point because there was this rocky outcrop that i really didnt want to scramble across with the radio gear. the sotamaps thing showed i was still in the zone but i wanted to double check that the zone is calculated from topo data and not like someone physically going out and measuring it.

also do most people self-spot on the reflector or do they pre-announce on the SOTAwatch alerts? i kind of just winged it and called CQ for a while before someone finally came back to me. felt like i was shouting into the void for the first bit. and one more thing — is there a good way to work chasers on 2m FM if youre not sure what repeaters are around? i brought my HT but barely used it.

My main question is around logging - do i need to pre-spot myself on SOTAwatch before i go up or can i just get up there and start calling? I have cell service on most of the ridge based on previous hikes so i should be able to self-spot once im set up. Also wondering if i need to register the activation ahead of time on the website or if you just log it after the fact.

Gear wise im bringing my FT-818 and a homebrew EFHW for 40 and 20m, plus a lightweight tripod to get it up. Figured id aim for SSB since thats what i know but i might try a few CW contacts if the band is cooperative. Planning to be up there around 10am local time Saturday if any chasers happen to see this.

Any tips from people whove done a bunch of these would be really appreciated, especially around the 4 contact minimum thing and whether partial activations count for anything.

well the hike was longer than i expected, like way longer, and by the time i got to the activation zone i was pretty wiped out. set up the antenna strung between two scrubby pines which took forever because the branches kept grabbing the wire. got on 40m and called CQ SOTA for maybe 10 minutes with nothing. starting to panic a little, then remembered i hadnt posted my spot on SOTAwatch before leaving the car because i had no cell signal. so there i am on a summit with zero chasers knowing im there.

switched to 20m just kind of hoping and managed to snag a couple contacts including one guy in Colorado who gave me a 57, which felt amazing honestly. then a W1 came back to me which i still cant believe. ended up with 4 contacts total, just barely qualified the summit. the hike down in the fading light was a little sketchy but i made it. already planning the next one and this time im going to actually self spot before i lose cell coverage.

first, does the summit reference have to be in the callsign area you're licensed in? like if i drove to a summit in a different state would i just use that summit's reference and alert on SOTAwatch? i think the answer is yes but i want to make sure before i plan a trip. also my signal reports were all over the place, some guys said i was 59 but a few said they could barely hear me. i was running about 10 watts into a linked dipole i threw up in a nearby tree, wind was picking up around the time i was operating so maybe that was it. also do chasers generally prefer CW or phone, because i noticed my spots got more responses once i switched to 14.285 from 40m.

anyway it was a great experience and already looking at my next summit, probably something with a harder hike just to make it more interesting

setup went ok i guess but i could only manage 3 contacts in about 45 minutes before my battery started dying. is this normal for a first timer or did i mess something up? heard plenty of people calling but couldnt seem to get through the pileups. one guy told me my signal was pretty weak but readable

thinking maybe i need a better antenna or more power but dont want to carry too much weight up these mountains. any tips from the sota folks here?

well. the trail was overgrown and i missed a turn and ended up adding like an extra mile each way, and by the time i got to the activation zone i was pretty tired and kind of rushed setting up the antenna. got it draped over a branch at a bad angle and my SWR was showing something ugly. managed to coax 4 contacts out of it before a storm started rolling in from the west and i had to pack up fast

technically i think i qualified the summit? i got 4 QSOs but one of them i'm not 100% sure i gave them my callsign correctly because the wind was picking up and things got chaotic. does that count or do i need to be sure all 4 were clean. also for next time, any tips on getting wire antennas up faster when you're alone and in a hurry. the branch method felt super sketchy

my plan is to run HF on 40m and 20m with my KX2 and a linked dipole i built from the sotabeams plans, plus i threw my HT in the bag in case i can hit a local repeater for the last contact if i need it. ive got a 3ah lipo that should be plenty for low power ops. gonna try to spot myself on sotawatch before i leave the car and then again once im set up if i have signal.

i know i need 4 contacts to qualify but im honestly hoping for more than that, seems like a waste to hike all the way up and only work 4 stations. is there anything dumb i trip up on that first timers usually miss? like i feel like ive read everything but you never know

anyway i brought my KX2 and a linked dipole i built over the winter, set up near the summit, called CQ SOTA on 40m and... nothing. sat there for probably 20 minutes, spotted myself on SOTAwatch and then got a little pile up which was great except my logging app kept crashing so i was just writing calls in the dirt with a stick basically. got my 4 contacts so the activation counts but man i was not prepared for how fast things move when people know you're up there.

my question i guess is do most activators pre-announce on the reflector or just self-spot when they get up there? and is there a good android logging app that people actually like for portable ops, i tried one but cant remember what it was called and it kept freezing on me

worked 6 contacts on 40m SSB which i know is the minimum but the band was doing weird things and i had to fight some QRM from what sounded like a net that wasnt paying attention to the dx window situation. anyway got the 4 points for the summit and i already want to go back and try it on CW because i think the QRM situation would have been way better. also somebody spotted me on a second cluster i didnt even know about so that helped. anybody else find that 40m gets really crowded around lunch time on weekends or is that just my area