so i finally did my first ever park activation last weekend at a state park about 45 minutes from my house (K-4566 for anyone who knows the area) and honestly it was a mixed bag. spent way too long setting up my end fed because i forgot the rope i usually use and had to improvise with some paracord i had in the trunk. got the antenna up eventually but it was pretty low, maybe 15 feet at the apex which i know isnt ideal.

ended up making 14 contacts in about 90 minutes on 40m SSB which i know is enough to count as a valid activation but i really wanted to hit 20 or 30. signals were decent going out, got a couple guys in florida and one in ontario which felt pretty good for a compromise setup. the logging was kind of a mess too because i was using paper and then trying to remember everything to upload to the POTA site later. anyone use an app for field logging that actually works well? i tried HAMRS a while back but kept having issues with it.

anyway, not complaining, it counted and ill do better next time. just curious if others had rough first activations and what you changed for your second one.

14 contacts on a compromised antenna with improvised rigging is honestly a solid first activation, dont be too hard on yourself. my first one i only got 11 and i had to count a couple sketchy contacts that i wasnt even sure copied my callsign correctly.

for logging i switched to the POTA app on android and it works pretty well for me now, uploads directly when you get signal. some guys use Wavelog or just a paper log and do the ADIF conversion later which is fine too. the main thing is getting the reference number right on every contact, ive seen activations get flagged because the operator forgot to log the park ref and then the hunter credits dont match up.

for your next one try to get the antenna higher if you can, even a cheap throw line makes a huge difference. and maybe spot yourself on the POTA spotting network early, the hunters will find you fast and you can rack up contacts way quicker than just calling CQ blind into the void.

omg yes my first activation was a disaster too, i forgot my feedline adapter and had to pack up and go home without making a single contact haha so 14 sounds amazing to me. i have done 3 now and it gets way less stressful each time once you build kind of a checklist for yourself of what to bring. i keep mine in the notes app on my phone now.