so i finally drove out to a summit that was listed as an easy activation, W4C/CM-093 if anyone knows it, and yeah the hike wasnt bad but i completely forgot to account for the wind up there. had my ft-818 and a linked dipole and the whole setup just kept flopping around every time i tried to tune it. spent like 45 minutes fighting with it before i got 4 contacts and qualified.

honestly kinda embarrassing how unprepared i was for just the physical setup part. been doing portable ops from parks for a while but a summit is a different animal. anyone else have tips for keeping wire antennas from turning into a kite up there

yeah wind is the thing nobody warns you about until youve been up there struggling with it lol. what i started doing is bringing a couple of those cheap bungee cords and a small ground stake, just put some tension on the feedpoint end so it isnt swinging all over. also helped when i switched to a more vertical-ish setup instead of a flat dipole, way less surface area for the wind to grab. 4 contacts still counts though, activation is an activation

i had almost the exact same thing happen on my second ever POTA activation, wasnt even on a summit just a windy field and my end fed was basically a windsock. ended up just holding the feedpoint with one hand and keying with the other which was stupid but it worked. you'll figure out your system after a few more times out, the first few are always kind of a mess honestly