so i finally did my first POTA activation last weekend at a state park about 45 mins from my house. been putting it off forever because i kept thinking my setup wasnt good enough but honestly i just threw the KX2 in a bag with my end fed and drove out there. set up on a picnic table took maybe 20 minutes and worked 15 contacts in like an hour and a half on 20m. got a few on 40 too before the band went to garbage in the afternoon.

the hardest part was honestly just finding a spot where i could hang the antenna without being in someones way. also a ranger came over and asked what i was doing and i just explained it and he thought it was pretty cool, no problems at all. cant believe i waited this long to do this

yeah the ranger thing is always a little nerve wracking the first time but most of them are genuinely curious. i carry a little laminated card explaining what POTA is and it's saved me a few awkward conversations. KX2 is a great first activation radio, that thing just works. once you do a few youll start figuring out the little tricks like which parks have good tree placement for the antenna and which ones are basically a parking lot with no good hang points lol

nice, which end fed you running? im trying to decide between building my own or just grabbing a sotabeams one for my first time out