so i finally did my first activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from my house. been wanting to try this for probably 6 months but kept putting it off for one reason or another. anyway i packed up the KX2 and a random wire antenna, found a picnic table near the parking lot and just went for it.

got my 10 contacts in about 35 minutes on 40m which honestly surprised me, i expected to be sitting there forever calling CQ. a few of the contacts were hunters who clearly knew what they were doing and gave me signal reports super fast and moved on, which was great. one guy stuck around and chatted for a few minutes which was nice too.

my questions are -- do i need to spot myself on the POTA website before i start operating or can i just start calling CQ and hope people find me? i spotted myself but it was kind of awkward fumbling with my phone while trying to set up. also is there a standard way people announce their park reference during the call, like do you say it every transmission or just when someone asks? i was saying "activating K-2345" every single CQ which felt like a lot but wasnt sure what the practice is.

also wondering if 40m is the go-to band or if people have better luck on other bands depending on time of day. i want to do another one next month and just want to get a little smoother at it.

congrats on the first one, always feels good when it clicks. for spotting yourself -- yeah most people try to get the spot up before they start calling CQ, even if its just a quick entry on the app while youre still setting up the antenna. the hunters watch the spotting page pretty closely so you'll get a pile pretty fast once you're on there. that said ive definitely had activations where i forgot to spot and still got my 10 because someone heard me and spotted me for me. the community is good about that.

on the park reference thing, you dont need to say it every single transmission honestly. most hunters already know the reference from the spot, but its good practice to throw it in every few CQs or whenever you work someone new. something like "CQ POTA this is W4XYZ activating K-2345" every 3rd or 4th call is plenty. if you go too long without saying it someone will ask anyway.

40m is probably the most reliable especially mid morning and afternoon for regional contacts. 20m is great if you want to reach further or if 40m is noisy. i usually start on 40 and move up if things slow down. sounds like you've already got the hang of it though, 10 contacts in 35 minutes for a first activation is solid.

nice work getting out there. im pretty new to POTA myself, only done like 4 activations but ive been hunting a lot more. from the hunter side i'd say just get that spot up as early as you can even if your signal isnt quite perfect yet, because some of us are literally just waiting and watching the page for new parks to pop up. when i see a new spot i jump on it fast so the sooner its up the more hunters you'll probably get.

oh also one thing nobody told me until my third activation -- if you can activate the same park on multiple bands in the same outing that counts as separate activations for your log, or at least separate band activations. i dont remember exactly how the rules work but worth looking into on the pota.app site because it might mean youre getting more credit than you think for a single trip out.