so i finally did my first activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from me, K-4839 if anyone knows it, and wow i did not realize how much i had underestimated the whole thing. i brought my FT-891 and a end-fed halfwave strung up between two trees and it took me like 40 minutes just to get the antenna up because one of the trees was way further than i thought and i kept running out of paracord. anyway i finally got on the air around 11am on 40m and started calling CQ POTA and honestly i was kind of nervous, first time doing this in the field and there were hikers walking by giving me looks.

got my 10 contacts though, took maybe 25 minutes once i actually got going, and a few of the hunters were super patient with me when i fumbled the exchange. one guy had to ask me for my park reference twice because i forgot to say it the first time lol. logged it all on paper and then uploaded to the app when i got home. is that normal to just paper log in the field? i saw some people use phones or tablets but i feel like paper is more reliable when youre out there.

anyway just wanted to share, it was a blast even though it was kind of chaotic. already planning the next one.

congrats on the first activation, 10 contacts is all you need and it counts, dont stress about the fumbles. honestly most hunters have been doing this long enough that they expect new activators to be a little rough around the edges, we were all there once. paper logging is totally fine, i did paper for my first dozen or so activations before i started using HAMRS on my phone. the app works great as long as you have a decent screen protector and dont drop it in a creek like i did once. the end-fed in the trees setup is pretty much the classic POTA antenna, you'll get faster at stringing it up after a few times, i can have mine up in about 10 minutes now but the first few times yeah it was a whole ordeal.

paper logging is what i still do and ive done like 60 activations. less to go wrong. i just transfer it when i get home and its usually only 10-30 contacts so its not a big deal. also dont forget you can try 20m if 40 gets slow, sometimes 40 is weird in the late morning depending on where you are.