so i finally got off my butt and did an actual SOTA activation instead of just chasing from home. took my FT-818 and a linked dipole up to a local summit, nothing crazy elevation wise but it counts. the hike was only like 45 minutes but man carrying all that gear plus the mast and tent stakes and rope and everything adds up fast. my back was not happy.

anyway what i wasnt prepared for was how long it takes to get set up once youre up there. i figured id be on the air in like 10 minutes but between finding a spot to anchor the mast and getting the feedline sorted and then actually alerting on the app it was almost 40 minutes before i made my first qso. wind was also way stronger than at the trailhead which i should have expected but didnt.

made 12 contacts on 20m SSB and 4 on 40m before the clouds started rolling in and i decided to pack it up. still qualified the summit which was the goal but i feel like i left a lot on the table. anyone have tips for speeding up the setup process, im thinking about pre-rigging more stuff at home before the hike

yeah the setup time thing is real, took me like 3 or 4 activations before i got my kit dialed in enough that i could be on the air in under 15 minutes. biggest thing for me was pre-cutting all my guy ropes to the right length and putting little loops in the ends so i wasnt messing around tying knots with cold fingers. also i stopped using the linked dipole honestly, switched to an end fed halfwave and just use a single wire which is so much faster to deploy. the tradeoff is you need a tuner but i keep mine clipped to the feedpoint so its all one piece.

40 minute setup is totally normal for a first time out though dont sweat it, you still qualified and thats what matters

nice work getting it done. i did a POTA activation at a state park few weeks ago and even that with a flat open field took me forever to get sorted. kept forgetting where i put things in the bag lol. i think having a dedicated activations bag where everything has a spot helps, now i keep a little checklist taped inside the top lid of my pack so i dont forget the stupid little things like the adapter for my key or whatever