so i finally did my first parks on the air activation yesterday at the state forest about 20 minutes from my house. been putting it off for like 6 months because i kept convincing myself i needed more gear or a better antenna or whatever excuse i could think of. finally just threw the KX2 in a backpack with my end fed and a crappy little tripod and just went.

made 12 contacts in maybe 45 minutes which i know isnt a huge number but for a first time out i was pretty happy. 40m was doing most of the work, tried 20m for a bit but kept getting walked on. the hardest part was honestly just setting up the antenna by myself without a second pair of hands. the tripod kept wanting to fall over in the wind.

anyway if youve been on the fence about trying it just go do it, the learning curve isnt as bad as i made it out to be in my head

12 contacts is a solid first activation, you only need 10 to count so you had some breathing room. wait til you get into a park where youre the only activation in weeks and the pile starts building up, thats when it gets addictive. i use a painters pole zip tied to a fence post or a tree branch for my end fed most of the time, way less fiddly than a tripod in the wind

nice, im jealous. been trying to find time to do my first one too. did you spot yourself on the pota app or did someone else spot you? that part confuses me a little, like do you have to have cell service at the park to do it yourself