so i finally did my first parks on the air activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from my house, K-4829 if anyone knows the area. i'd been meaning to do this for like 6 months and kept putting it off because i was nervous about the whole setup and not knowing if id get the 10 contacts to actually count as an activation.

anyway i brought my FT-891 and a random wire antenna i threw up in a tree with a fishing rod, which worked okay but i had a heck of a time getting it high enough. the branch i wanted was maybe 30 feet up and i spent probably 20 minutes just trying to get the paracord over it before giving up and settling for something lower. lesson learned there.

i got on 40m and spotted myself on the POTA website and within maybe 3 minutes i had a small pileup going which honestly kind of caught me off guard, i wasnt expecting that many people to call at once. ended up with 22 contacts in about an hour and a half which i was pretty happy with for a first time. did have one guy who kept calling way off frequency and i couldn't figure out how to tell him nicely to move a bit, that was a little awkward.

overall though it was really fun and im already planning the next one. anyone have tips for antenna deployment, specifically getting wire up higher in trees? or any other things you wish you'd known on your first activation?

congrats on the first activation, 22 contacts is a solid start honestly. for the tree thing, most people i know use either a slingshot or one of those arborist throw bags with a weighted bag on the end of some thin nylon cord. the throw bag method is probably the easiest to get started with, you can find cheap kits online or just tie a small bag of sand or a fishing sinker to some 50lb braided fishing line and practice in the backyard a few times. once you get the line over the branch you tie on your antenna wire and pull it up. takes a little practice but way less frustrating than a fishing pole for anything more than like 15 feet.

the off-frequency caller thing happens all the time, dont stress it. usually if you just keep working split or say your frequency clearly they either figure it out or drift away. some folks are just not paying close attention or their rig is being weird. you handled it fine im sure.

oh man this makes me want to finally try an activation myself, ive been hunting for about a year but never activated. the pileup thing scares me a little if im honest, i'm still not super confident with operating when theres more than like 2 people calling at once. did it feel overwhelming or did you kind of get into a groove after a bit?