so ive been chasing summits for about 8 months now and finally decided to just go do an activation myself. picked out W6/NC-445 for my first one, its not super high but its a reasonable hike and i figured better to start easy than bite off more than i can chew on a first attempt.

my plan is to bring the KX2 with the AX1 antenna but im second guessing that combo for 40m, the AX1 is really more of a compromise on a good day. was thinking maybe just bring a wire dipole cut for 40 and throw it up between two trees. the summit has decent tree coverage so that should work. anybody done this particular summit or have thoughts on the antenna question?

also i know you need 4 contacts to get the activation points but do they all have to be on different bands or can they all just be on 40m ssb? i read through the rules on the SOTA website but sometimes those things are written in a way that makes me read it three times and still not sure

posting my alert on SOTAwatch tonight either way, just wanted to see if anyone had advice before i head out saturday morning

The 4 contacts can absolutely all be on the same band and mode, no requirement to spread them across bands. 40m SSB on a weekend morning you'll have chasers lined up, honestly getting 4 won't be your problem, stopping at 4 might be. Post your alert with a realistic time window and spot yourself as soon as you make contact, that'll bring the pile in.

On the antenna, ditch the AX1 for 40m if you can carry the wire. Even a simple end fed half wave with a 9:1 unun thrown over a branch is going to crush the AX1 on that band. I use a linked dipole myself, takes maybe 5 extra minutes to set up and the difference is night and day. Have a great activation, W6/NC-445 is a nice one I think someone activated it back in the spring.

yeah wire antenna all the way, i tried the AX1 on my second activation and got my 4 contacts but it was a bit of a slog compared to when i brought a proper wire the time after that. also dont forget to log the summit reference exactly right when you submit to the SOTA database, i got mine slightly wrong the first time and had to fix it, not a big deal but slightly annoying

good luck saturday, jealous you get decent weather out there right now