so i finally did my first SOTA activation last weekend, summit was only a 4 point but man i underestimated how much stuff id be carrying. had my ft-818 and a linked dipole and by the time i got to the top my legs were done. set up took forever because the wind kept collapsing my squid pole and i was fumbling with the feedline connector for like 20 minutes with cold fingers.

ended up only getting 7 contacts in about 45 mins before clouds rolled in and i didnt want to get caught up there. needed 10 for a valid activation so it doesnt count but honestly im not even that bummed, the view was insane and i learned a ton. gonna try again next month with a different antenna setup, thinking a end fed halfwave might be easier to deploy fast. anyone done both and have thoughts on which is quicker to get in the air?

yeah the EFHW is way quicker once you get used to it, especially if you pre-wind it on a winder card thing. i ditched the linked dipole after my second activation, just too fiddly when youre cold or tired. the 49:1 unun and some wire is basically all you need. only downside is you gotta get the far end up somehow but usually a tree works fine.

7 contacts isnt bad for a first go honestly, and at least you know what to fix now. the cold fingers fumbling thing is real, i started keeping a pair of thin gloves just for setup now even in not that cold weather

POTA is a bit more forgiving if you wanna get some activations under your belt before going back to summits, parks are usually flatter lol. but yeah efhw all the way, i can have mine in the air in like 5 mins now after enough practice