So I finally decided to stop just chasing summits from home and actually go out and do an activation. Been licensed about 18 months, general class, been watching other peoples activation videos on youtube for like forever and figured I'd give it a shot. Picked W6/NC-192 because it looked relatively accessible and I'd hiked up there once before without radio gear.

So I packed up my KX2, a 40m EFHW wire antenna, some coax, my mast sections, feedline, spare batteries, logbook, and all the snacks you'd expect and hiked up. Got to the activation zone no problem, which was nice. Set up the antenna and immediately realized id only brought like 15 feet of coax when I needed probably 25 to get the feedline away from where I was sitting. So the antenna was basically right on top of me and I kept getting RF on the mic or at least I think thats what was happening - some stations kept saying my audio sounded weird.

Still managed 4 QSOs on 40m SSB before my knee started complaining and I had to pack it up. Got the required 4 for a valid activation but only barely. Anyone else have a gear list they rely on or lessons from their first activations? I feel like I'm still figuring out what I actually need vs what I thought I'd need.

yeah that coax thing bites everyone at least once haha. I started keeping a little laminated checklist in my pack after my third activation where I forgot the antenna feedpoint connector and had to improvise with some electrical tape. not ideal.

one thing that helped me a lot early on was switching to a linked dipole instead of the EFHW - easier to get the feedpoint up high and away from you without needing a ton of coax. but honestly the EFHW works fine once you sort the feedline length out. 4 QSOs is a valid activation, thats all that matters for your first one. the summit doesnt care how many you worked, you still get the points and so do the chasers.

also worth posting on the SOTA reflector or the facebook groups, people there are really helpful and a lot of activators post their full kit lists publicly. some of those ultralight guys have it down to like 12 pounds total which i still dont quite understand but its impressive.

congrats on getting out there, W6/NC-192 is a decent one. I've chased that summit a couple times from home. if you ever post your activation on SOTAwatch next time I'll try to spot you and get in the log - always good to have chasers lined up when youre scrambling to hit 4.