So i finally pulled the trigger and did my first ever SOTA activation on saturday, been lurking on the reflector and watching videos for like six months and just kept putting it off because i wasnt sure i had the right gear or whatever. Ended up just throwing my KX2 in a pack with a 40m end fed and some coax and just went for it.

The summit was only a 4 pointer, nothing crazy, W6/NC-397 if anyone knows the area. Took about 45 minutes to hike up and i was kind of worried the tree situation would be bad for the antenna but i found a decent branch and got it up maybe 20 feet which seemed fine. Called out on 7.032 for a while and honestly was not expecting much but i got my four contacts within maybe 20 minutes and then just kept going for another hour or so. Ended up with like 23 contacts total including a couple S2S which i was not prepared for at all, had to scramble to find the reference in my notes app.

The KX2 at 10 watts was totally fine, conditions werent amazing but 40m was working. My only real issue was the logging, i was just using a paper log and my handwriting in the wind on a cold morning is... not great. thinking about using a phone app next time. Anyone use HAMRS or something similar for portable logging? or do most people just do paper and sort it out at home

Congrats on the first activation, that feeling when you get your four and qualify the summit is pretty great isnt it. S2S contacts always catch you off guard the first few times, now i keep a printed list of common activator frequencies and references in a ziploc bag in my pack just in case.

For logging i switched to HAMRS a couple years back and havent looked back. It exports to ADIF which uploads straight to sotadata without much fuss. only annoyance is sometimes the screen is hard to read in bright sunlight, i put my phone in a little shadow with my hand or tilt it. Some guys swear by sota goat for spotting and then just log on paper but i find having everything in one place on the phone easier. the main thing is whatever lets you focus on operating and not fumbling around.

W6/NC area has some really nice summits, youre going to get addicted to this i promise. Whats your next one?

nice work, 23 contacts on a first activation is solid especially at 10w. i use paper still, just a small weatherproof notebook and a pencil (pens freeze or skip in the cold). transfer it all when i get home, takes maybe 15 minutes and i kinda like having the physical record anyway. but yeah hamrs works great too if you want digital.