so ive been chasing parks for a few months now and finally decided to just do an activation myself. going out to K-4548 tomorrow morning, planning to set up my KX2 with a wire antenna, probably just a random wire tossed up in a tree or something. i have the reference logged in the POTA app and i think i have everything figured out but honestly im a little anxious about the whole process.

my main worry is just not getting 10 contacts. i know thats the minimum but what if its a slow morning or something. do people usually self spot on the POTA website or wait for someone to spot them? i havent really done this before and i dont want to mess it up. also do you have to stay at the exact same spot the whole time or can you wander around as long as youre within the park boundaries? pretty sure i know the answer but just checking. any last minute tips appreciated

dont stress about it, seriously. 10 contacts sounds like a lot when youre new to it but once youre spotted on the POTA network the pileup comes fast. definitely self-spot as soon as youre on the air, just go to pota.app on your phone and add yourself with your frequency and mode. hunters are constantly watching that page and youll have contacts rolling in within a couple minutes usually. 40 meters in the morning tends to be pretty solid for activations, maybe 20 if 40 is noisy.

and yeah you can move around the park, the rule is just that youre within the park boundary the whole time. some people do multiple references in one trip if parks overlap or are nearby, thats a bonus activation. just have fun with it, the community is super welcoming and even if something goes sideways people understand. log everything in your notebook and upload when you get home. youll be fine

i did my first one a few weeks ago and was totally the same way haha. ended up getting like 23 contacts in under an hour after i got spotted. the hunters are out there waiting trust me. one thing i wasnt prepared for was how fast people were calling, had to slow everyone down a bit because i was still getting used to running a pileup. bring water and something to write on even if youre logging on a device, my phone died halfway through and i was real glad i had a paper log as backup