so i finally did my first activation last weekend, W4V/SH-001 up in the shenandoahs. had been putting it off for like a year because i kept thinking my setup wasnt good enough but honestly just went for it and it was fine

brought my kx2 with a 40m EFHW and just draped it over some branches, not pretty but it worked. got 12 contacts in about 45 minutes which i think counts as activated? the summit wasnt super remote so i had cell service and used the sotawatch spotter thing which definitely helped people find me

only thing i'd do different is bring more water lol and maybe a better way to hold up the antenna, i was just kind of holding tension on it with a stick and a rubber band situation that kept slipping. also the kx2 battery ran lower than i expected, might have been the cold. anyway pretty hooked on this now

yeah 12 contacts is definitely activated, you only need 4 for a valid activation so you did great. the antenna thing is a real thing though, i carry a couple of those cheap fiberglass poles now and it changed everything. doesn't weigh much and you stop fighting with branches. also for the battery in cold temps thats just lithium chemistry doing its thing, either keep the radio under your jacket between contacts or just bring a backup battery pack, i use a small lipo that fits in a shirt pocket basically

nice, which kx2 battery do you use the internal one or external? asking because im about to do my first one and been going back and forth on this exact thing