so ive been chasing summits for about 6 months now and finally got my first activation planned for tomorrow morning, going up W4T/SU-001 which isnt super hard but its still a real hike and im carrying way more radio gear than probably makes sense. right now the plan is HF with the KX2 and a 40m EFHW thrown up in a tree or over a branch or whatever i can find up there, plus i have the 2m HT as backup just in case i cant get enough HF contacts to qualify.

my main worry is honestly just the 4 contact minimum — like logically i know thats not hard to meet but what if propagation is garbage and nobody hears me or the alerts didnt go through right on SOTAwatch. i posted the alert last night so hopefully some chasers see it. also a little unsure about my reference number, i listed it as W4T/SU-001 in the alert but now im second guessing if thats the right format. the summit database showed it that way so i think im good?

anyway if anyone has tips for a first timer id appreciate it, mostly just trying to not mess up the log and have fun i guess

you'll be fine, honestly the 4 contact minimum sounds scary until you realize there are chasers literally sitting by their radios waiting for alerts to pop up. if you posted on SOTAwatch you should get spotted pretty quick, especially if you self-spot from the summit using the SOTA Spotter app once you're set up. that changes everything — before i figured out self-spotting i was calling CQ into the void, after that i had a pileup within a minute or two.

reference format looks right to me, W4T is Tennessee right? the association/region/summit number format is standard so dont sweat that part. one thing i'd add — dont forget to write down the exact summit name and reference in your paper log if you're keeping one, i forgot to do that on my second activation and had to look it up later when i was entering contacts into the database. small thing but annoying. and yes bring the HT, 2m FM is totally legit for getting your 4 and theres usually a local or two who'll come back to you if you call on 146.52.

have a good hike, post back and let us know how it went

I'm also pretty new to this (only done 2 activations so far) and the spotting thing is huge like the previous reply said. I was shocked how fast chasers responded once I got spotted. also just make sure your KX2 battery is fully charged lol, I made the mistake of assuming mine was fine and it was at like 40% when I got to the top. still worked out but stressed me out more than it needed to