So im finally gonna do my first flora fauna activation tomorrow at the state park about 45 minutes from here. Been putting this off for months but weather looks good and i got the weekend free. Planning to take the ft-891 and my buddipole, maybe try 20 and 40m if conditions are decent.

I already registered on the wwff site and got my reference number but honestly still feel like im missing something obvious. The logging part seems straightforward enough but what about qsl cards - do most activators send them or just upload to lotw? And should i be calling cq wwff or just regular cq portable?

Any other gotchas i should know about? Really dont want to mess this up on my first try.

you'll do fine, wwff activations are pretty relaxed compared to some of the other programs. I always call CQ WWFF when im activating, seems to help pull in the hunters who are specifically looking for those contacts. As for qsl cards, i upload everything to lotw and eqsl but also send paper cards to anyone who requests them - lots of wwff folks still like the paper cards for their collections.

Make sure you have your reference number handy and maybe write it on a piece of tape stuck to your radio so you dont forget it when people ask. The 10 qso minimum is pretty easy to make on 20m during the day. Have fun out there!

oh man i love wwff activations! That buddipole should work great, i use mine for most of my portable stuff. One thing i learned the hard way - bring more coax than you think you need because you never know where you'll end up setting up once you get to the park. Also check if the park has any antenna restrictions, some places are picky about temporary installations even though we're exempt under part 97.

The logging apps like hamrs or n1mm logger+ both have wwff support built in now which makes it super easy. Just remember to put the reference number in the comment field or wherever your logging software wants it. Good luck and 73!