so i finally did my first POTA activation last weekend at a state park about 40 mins from me, been putting it off forever because i kept convincing myself i needed more gear or a better antenna setup before going out. anyway i threw the KX2 in my backpack with a 20m EFHW and just went. set up on a picnic table near the parking lot which probably wasnt the most scenic but whatever.

first issue was the antenna, i strung it up between two trees but one end was way too low and i kept getting SWR around 2.8 which the KX2 tuner handled but i was not happy about it. made 10 contacts in about 45 minutes though so it counts as an activation, logged them on paper and uploaded when i got home. second activation done right would be better but honestly it felt good just to actually go do it instead of sitting at home planning forever

haha yeah the first one is always a bit of a mess, dont stress about the SWR too much the internal tuner on those rigs handles a lot. i did my first SOTA summit last spring and forgot to bring any water, did the whole thing dehydrated and then had to pack up fast because thunderstorms rolled in. still got my 4 contacts though so it activated. just getting out there is honestly 90% of it

the picnic table setups are underrated tbh. ive done plenty of activations from basically a parking lot and nobody cares as long as you're in the park boundary. also for the EFHW if you can get a 9:1 unun and just mess with the wire length a bit you'll probably find a spot that tunes way easier. what length wire were you running?