so i finally dragged myself up W4C/SM-003 last weekend with the KX2 and a linked dipole i built from a youtube video. got to the summit and realized i forgot the counterpoise for my end fed. spent like 20 minutes trying to figure out if i could just use a tree branch or something before i just said forget it and set up the linked dipole instead which actually worked fine.

only made 6 contacts before a storm rolled in and i had to pack up fast. still counts right? wasnt the epic pile up i imagined but at least i got the activation. already planning the next one, gonna make a checklist this time

6 contacts is plenty, activation is valid as long as you get 4. i did my first one last spring and was shaking so bad trying to log in my phone i dropped it in the mud. stuff always goes sideways out there, thats kind of the whole point i think. linked dipole is a solid choice for SOTA btw, dont let anyone tell you otherwise

yeah the checklist thing is real. i have a laminated one in my pack now after forgetting my coax adapter twice on two seperate activations. at some point you just learn what your brain will forget under pressure and you just hardcode it in somewhere