So I finally did my first WWFF activation last weekend at a state forest about 45 minutes from home, been wanting to try it for months and just kept putting it off. Set up my KX3 with a random wire thrown up between two trees, nothing fancy, and started calling on 40m around 10am. I honestly wasnt sure if anyone would even respond to a park-to-park or whatever but i had a decent pileup going within maybe 10 minutes which was kind of surreal for me since im used to just ragchewing on the local repeater.

Managed 47 QSOs over about two hours before the rain came in and I had to pack it up. Got the reference logged on WWFF Watch which was cool to see. My question is about the 44 QSO minimum for an activation to count — do partial activations where you dont hit 44 still show up in the database or do they just not count at all? I had a previous attempt at a different reference where I only got like 31 before my battery died and I always wondered if that one did anything.

Also does anyone bother with digital modes for these? wondering if FT8 would help rack up contacts faster or if that takes away from the fun a bit

congrats on the first one, 47 QSOs in two hours with a random wire is solid honestly. to answer your question — yeah the contacts still get uploaded and logged in the database even if you dont hit 44, they just dont count as a valid activation for the activator award. the hunters still get credit for working the reference though, so its not wasted at all. your 31 QSO attempt would have given credit to everyone who logged you, just doesnt count toward your activation tally. worth uploading it if you havent already.

on the FT8 thing, I know some folks do it and technically it counts but personally i find it a bit hollow for a parks activation. half the fun is the voice contacts and people asking what the reference is and where you are. but thats just me, some guys swear by it for getting the count up quick when conditions are rough.

I did my third activation a few weeks ago and ran into the same battery situation you mentioned, its always something right. I use a 4ah lipo now which gets me through a full morning pretty comfortably running 10 watts. anyway welcome to the addiction, once you start looking at WWFF Watch and realizing how many references are within an hour of you it kinda takes over your weekend planning a little bit