So i finally did my first activation last weekend, W6/NS-168 up near the trailhead off highway 89. took me way longer to hike up than i planned so i was rushing a bit to get set up before the clouds rolled in. ended up making 4 contacts on 40m with my little KX2 and a wire i threw up in a tree, which i think is the minimum you need to log the summit? not totally sure on that

anyway the whole thing was really fun and im already planning the next one but i have a couple questions. first — how do you guys handle the alert system on SOTAwatch before you go out, like how far in advance do you post it? i put mine up the morning of and only got one chaser calling me before i had to start packing up. second question is about the summit reference thing, when i look at the database it shows the summit has like 10 points but i only see 4 in my log on the app. is that normal or did i mess something up with the upload

also had a great time just being up there with the radio, even with the wind. gonna be doing this a lot more i think

yeah 4 contacts is the minimum, you got it right, so that summit counts and you should get the points for activating it. the 10 points you're seeing is the summit's point value for the activator — that'll show up on your total once the log processes, sometimes takes a day or two depending on when you upload. the 4 in your log is just the number of QSOs you made, different thing.

for the alerts i usually post mine at least the night before, sometimes two or three days out if i know my plans are solid. the chasers in your region probably didnt see it in time since you posted same morning. also worth posting a spot on SOTAwatch once youre actually on the air, either from your phone or ask someone to do it for you, that gets the pile-up going way faster than the alert alone. once people see a live spot they start calling pretty quick especially on 40 during the day

NS-168 is a decent one, good choice for a first activation. i chased somebody off that summit maybe two years ago. the wind up there can be brutal in the afternoon which it sounds like you found out lol

one thing that helped me a ton when i started was joining the SOTA reflector email list, theres a lot of experience on there and people post trip reports sometimes which give you a feel for what works on different summits. also if you have an android phone the SOTA Goat app or just using the website from your browser to self-spot is a game changer. you kind of have to self-spot aggressively especially when youre new and the chasers dont know your callsign yet