so i finally did my first WWFF activation last weekend at a state forest near me, KFF reference, been wanting to try this for ages after seeing people post their logs on the WWFF facebook group. took my FT-818 and a linked dipole up a trail about a mile in and found a decent clearing with some tree branches to string the antenna between.

ended up with 34 QSOs over about 2.5 hours mostly on 40m with a handful on 20m when the band opened up a bit, which i think is more than enough to validate the reference but i wasnt totally sure — i read somewhere you need 44 contacts to qualify the activation? or is that for SOTA? i always get those mixed up. WWFF is just 44 right and thats it, there isnt a points system like SOTA has?

also wondering about logging — i used paper in the field then transferred to ADIF when i got home and uploaded to WWFF Logsearch. seemed to work fine but the reference didnt show as activated on my profile for like two days. is that normal or did i mess something up with the upload format? the date showed correctly at least.

overall it was just a really good time honestly. way less stressful than i expected, the park hunters were super patient and a few guys gave me signal reports and asked what gear i was running which was nice. definitely doing more of these.

congrats on the first one, that feeling when the pile starts calling you is pretty great isnt it. to answer your question — yeah WWFF is 44 QSOs to validate a reference, no points system like SOTA, just the flat 44 minimum. you had 34 so that one wont count as validated but it still gets uploaded and logged and the hunters who worked you still get credit for the contact toward their own awards. so not a wasted trip at all, just go back and finish it off sometime.

the two day delay on the profile updating is totally normal by the way. the WWFF Logsearch system doesnt update in real time, takes a bit for everything to process and the volunteers who manage it are doing it in their spare time so sometimes it takes a little longer on busy weekends. as long as your ADIF uploaded without an error message youre fine.

40m is the workhorse for these activations, you made the right call. i usually spot myself on the WWFF spotting page before i start calling which helps the hunters find you faster, did you do that? makes a big difference for building a quick pile.

oh man i did my first one about 6 months ago and made the exact same SOTA vs WWFF confusion haha. yeah its 44 for WWFF, i wrote it on a sticky note and put it on my go-bag until i remembered. your 34 still counts for the hunters though which is cool, those park chasers are dedicated and they appreciate every contact.

what linked dipole are you running if you dont mind me asking? im still trying to figure out a good portable antenna setup for hiking stuff