so i finally did my first parks on the air activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from my house, K-2847 if anyone knows it, and honestly i was kind of nervous going in because i had heard you need at least 10 QSOs to count it as a valid activation and i wasnt sure my little setup would cut it out in the field

i brought my IC-705 and a end-fed halfwave wire antenna i just threw up in a tree, ran it off a 5ah lipo battery and honestly the whole thing fit in a small backpack which still amazes me. set up on a picnic table near the parking lot. within about 20 minutes on 20m SSB i had my 10 contacts and ended up with 23 total before i packed up, couple of them were park to park which i didnt even realize was a thing until someone called me and said they were also activating a park in ohio

my tip for anyone nervous about their first one -- just spot yourself on the POTA website or the app and the hunters will find you almost immediately. i wasnt sure anyone would even be listening but the frequency got busy fast. also bring more water than you think you need, i was out there longer than planned because i was having too much fun

congrats on the first activation, that feeling when the pile-up starts is something else right? i remember my first one i was fumbling with the log sheet and trying to work the radio at the same time and it was a mess but i still made it count lol

park to park contacts are great, they count as a bonus for the hunters and you get credit too so its a win all around. if you havent already download the POTA app on your phone, makes spotting yourself really easy and you can see who else is activating nearby. some weekends there are parks all over the place getting activated at the same time

20m is usually the go-to for activation but dont sleep on 40m, especially later in the afternoon when 20 starts to die down. i've had some of my best contact totals just camping out on 40m SSB with a simple wire

this is making me want to finally try it, ive been a tech for two years and just upgraded to general last month so i can actually use HF now. been kind of intimidated by operating in the field but the way you describe it it doesnt sound as complicated as i thought. does the 705 handle field conditions ok? im looking at either that or the KX2 and cant really decide