so i finally got out and did my first SOTA activation last weekend, summit was only a 2 mile hike which i figured would be easy but man carrying the gear up there is a whole different thing than just hiking. i brought my ft-818 and a buddistick clone i built and honestly the setup took way longer than i expected cause i kept second guessing where to put the counterpoise. wind was also brutal up top so the antenna kept wanting to fall over.

ended up making 4 contacts before i just gave up and packed out. i know you need 4 for a valid activation so technically i made it but barely. felt a little anticlimactic i guess. anyone else struggle their first few times out or is it just me being bad at this

4 contacts is 4 contacts man, activation counts. my first one i only got 3 and had to basically beg a buddy on the phone to get on and work me lol. the buddistick style antennas are kinda finicky in wind, i switched to just a simple linked dipole over a sotabeams mast and it made a huge difference. also throw your activation on sotawatch before you go up, chasers will be waiting for you and it makes getting those first few contacts way easier

yeah the weight thing is real, took me three activations to figure out what i actually needed vs what i was just hauling up for no reason. i left my big battery at home and just use a small 3ah lipo now, 5 watts is usually plenty for ssb if conditions are decent. also pota is a bit more forgiving if you want to practice cause you can usually drive right up to the park and just sit at a picnic table which is way less stressful when youre still figuring out your kit