so i finally got out to do my first pota activation last weekend at K-2345 but man it was harder than i expected. brought my yaesu 817 and a 20m dipole thinking id work a bunch of stations but only logged 6 contacts in 2 hours. the park was super noisy too, lots of RFI from something. saw other hams mentioning they get 50+ contacts easy so im wondering what im doing wrong here. maybe my antenna setup wasnt right? just threw it up in some trees about 8 feet high

dont feel bad about the low numbers on your first try, happens to everyone! 6 contacts is still a valid activation. couple things that might help - try to get your antenna higher if possible, even 20-30 feet makes a huge difference. also timing matters alot, weekends during contests can actually hurt you because everyone is focused on the contest. check the pota website for when your park gets spotted, sometimes it takes a while for hunters to find you

yeah the rfi thing is brutal at some parks. i activated one near a cell tower last month and could barely hear anything. what band were you on? 20m can be pretty dead during the day sometimes, especially if propagation isnt great. might want to try 40m or even 80m if you have a tuner. also make sure you're spotting yourself on the pota website so hunters know youre there