so i finally did my first real solo activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from my house. ive been hunting other peoples activations for a few months now and figured it was time to just go do one. threw the KX2 in a bag with my end fed half wave and a collapsible fishing pole and drove out there.

managed to get 12 contacts in about an hour and a half which i know isnt amazing but it counted as a valid activation so im pretty happy. mostly 40m with a couple on 20m. the hardest part honestly wasnt the radio stuff it was figuring out where to set up — the park has a lot of trees but also a lot of people walking by asking what im doing which i actually didnt mind, turned into some nice conversations about ham radio.

my question is about spotting yourself on the POTA app. i was using it but i felt like i was getting spotted and then the pile kind of died down fast, maybe 10-15 minutes after i posted? is that normal or was i doing something wrong. also does anyone have tips for getting more hunters to find you, like is there a better time of day or something. im on HF general class if that matters.

congrats on the first one, 12 QSOs is totally solid especially if conditions were anything like they were here last weekend — 40m was kind of rough in the afternoon. the spot dying down quickly is pretty normal honestly, a lot of hunters are just scanning for new spots and once they work you they move on. what helps is re-spotting yourself if things slow down, you can do it through the app or just have someone spot you again. some folks do it every 20-30 minutes or if they switch bands.

timing wise i find mid-morning on weekends tends to be busiest for hunters, like 9-11am local time seems to get a lot of activity. also if you can work a park that isnt activated super frequently you'll get more pile up since hunters are chasing the rarer refs. the POTA website actually shows activation counts per park so you can look that up before you go out.

yeah the spot thing is just how it works, people see the spot, work you real quick, done. i usually just toss a new spot up if i havent had a contact in like 15 min or switch to a different band and spot again. also make sure your reference number is right in the spot or some hunters wont even bother, ive seen activators put the wrong park ref and wonder why nobody calls them lol