so i finally pulled the trigger and did my first SOTA activation last weekend, summit was only a 3 mile hike which i thought would be easy but i forgot i was carrying about 20lbs of gear including the kx2, a 40m end fed, poles, batteries, the whole deal. by the time i got to the top my legs were done and then i couldnt get the antenna to tune properly for like 45 minutes which ate into my operating time way more than i expected

ended up making 6 contacts before the weather started turning and i had to pack it all up fast. didnt even get the full 4 QSOs on a second band which i wanted for the activation bonus. still counts as activated though so ill take it

anybody else have a rough first activation? wondering if the antenna thing gets easier or if im just doing something wrong with the efhw

yeah my first one was a disaster too, i brought way too much stuff and was completely gassed by the summit. the efhw thing is super common, what matcher are you using? some of the cheaper 49:1 ununs are pretty finicky and need the counterpoise to be just right or the tuner throws a fit. i switched to a 56:1 winding ratio on mine and it got a lot easier. also 6 contacts is still an activation so thats a win, plenty of chasers out there once you get your posting routine down on SOTAwatch

honestly the weight thing never fully goes away you just get smarter about what you bring. i left my big 5ah lipo at home after my third activation and just run a smaller pack now, 2ah is plenty for a few hours of ssb and way lighter. congrats on the first one tho, the second activation is always smoother once you know what to expect from your kit