so i finally did my first activation last weekend, W4C/EM-001 up in the smokies. been chasing summits for about a year and kept telling myself id get out there and actually activate one. packed the KX2, a 40m EFHW, and way too much food apparently because my pack was like 35 pounds by the time i got to the trailhead.

the hike up was fine, took maybe 90 minutes to get to the activation zone. got the antenna strung up between two trees which honestly took longer than it should have, i was fumbling with the line thrower for a good 20 minutes. then when i finally got on 40m i could barely hear anything, turns out i had the volume knob almost all the way down like an idiot. once i figured that out things went pretty smooth and i got my 4 contacts for the activation, bunch of regulars on the SOTAwatch cluster who had seen my alert.

only real issue was the weather rolled in faster than the forecast said and i had to pack up quick with about 30 minutes of operating time still on the clock. still counts though. already planning my next one and thinking about adding 20m to the kit. anyone else find that first activations are kind of a mess even when they go okay?

haha yeah the volume knob thing is exactly the kind of thing that happens when you're nervous and trying to set up in a hurry. i did my first activation on a little 1-pointer about two years ago and spent the first 10 minutes wondering why nobody was calling me back before realizing i hadnt actually clicked over to transmit properly on the KX3. just sat there calling CQ into nothing.

adding 20m is a great idea, honestly i run a linked dipole now so i can switch between 40 and 20 pretty easily and it makes a huge difference especially if you're trying to get an S2S with someone far out. the cluster really does help for getting those initial contacts, once one person spots you it usually brings a small pileup pretty quick. congrats on the first one, it only gets smoother from here

W4C/EM-001 is a pretty solid choice for a first activation, good views up there if the weather cooperates which sounds like it did not quite cooperate for you lol. i chased you actually, saw the spot come up and tried to work you on 40 but i think by the time i tuned in you were already wrapping up. next time post your alert a little earlier if you can, some of us chasers are watching SOTAwatch all morning waiting for alerts to pop up and the more notice the better for getting the frequency clear