So ive been chasing SOTA for about 6 months now and finally decided to stop sitting at home logging other peoples activations and actually get out there and do one myself. Planning to do W4T/SU-001 this Saturday, its not a super hard hike so figured it would be a good first one to try.

My main question is about the logging and spotting side of things. I have the SOTAwatch app on my phone but cell service up there is basically nonexistent, does the self-spotting only work if you have signal or is there a way to do it via radio? I saw something about APRS spotting but im not totally sure how that works or if my HT even supports it.

Also just wondering if 5 watts on 2m FM is enough to count for the activation or do I really need to make HF contacts. I know you need 4 contacts minimum but wasnt sure if all 4 can be on VHF. My go kit right now is just a Yaesu FT-65 and a roll-up j-pole, dont have a proper HF portable rig yet. Maybe thats the bigger issue here haha.

Any advice from folks who have done activations would be really appreciated, especially around gear and what to actually expect up there. First time for everything I guess.

Welcome to the dark side, once you start activating you wont stop trust me. To answer your questions -- yes 2m FM contacts absolutely count, all 4 can be VHF no problem. The trick though is that you really need people to know youre up there or you might just be calling CQ into the void for an hour. Thats where the spotting piece matters a lot.

For spotting without cell service there are a couple options. APRS spotting is a real thing and works great if your radio supports sending APRS packets, you basically send a formatted message and the APRS network relays it to SOTAwatch. Look up the format, its something like SOTA followed by your callsign and summit ref in a specific order. If your HT doesnt do APRS natively it gets more complicated.

The other option honestly is just to pre-announce your activation on SOTAwatch the night before or morning of. Most chasers watch the alerts and will be listening around the time you said youd be up there. On 2m you might try 146.52 first and then put out a spot if you get any response. Some activators also text a friend at home who can self-spot for them if they have cell and you dont, works fine.

Have a great hike, post back and let us know how it went.

oh nice W4T/SU-001 is a good one for a first activation, not too bad of a trail if i remember right. i did my first one last spring and was way more nervous about the radio part than the hiking part lol. honestly once you get up there and start making contacts it just clicks.

one thing i'd add is bring way more water than you think you need and maybe a small tarp or something to sit under if weather rolls in, i got caught in a random afternoon storm on my third activation and it was Not Fun trying to keep the logbook dry