Bob Wilson

So I finally did my first SOTA activation yesterday, went up W4T/SU-001 (at least I think thats the right reference, had to look it up three times before I left lol). Carried my KX2 and a linked dipole up there, took about 2 hours to summit. Got 4 QSOs on 40m and then managed to snag a couple on 20m before the weather got sketchy and I had to pack up fast. Here's my dumb question though — I logged the contacts when I got home on SOTAwatch but im not sure I entered the reference correctly. It kept autofilling something slightly different than what I had written down. Also I forgot to self-spot while I was up there, had a buddy watching SOTAwatch but he said he never saw me pop up. Does the activation still count if nobody spotted me? I thought you needed at least 4 QSOs for the points and I did get those, just want to make sure I didnt blow the whole thing on a technicality. Overall it was an amazing experience even if I was fumbling around up there. The linked dipole over a random tree branch actually worked way better than expected. Already planning the next one.

yeah the 17m opening was real, i was on around the same time and logged a YO station and a couple OM prefixes back to back which I dont see that often from here in the midwest. propagation has been pretty generous lately with the solar flux hanging up in the 150s most days. honestly feels like the good old days a little bit. on the Icom thing I saw a post on eham that someone spotted what looked like an FCC filing for an unannounced model but those things can mean anything or nothing at all. wouldnt get too excited yet. that said I am in the market for something to replace my aging IC-7300, its still a great radio but I keep eyeing the 7610 and wondering if I should just pull the trigger instead of waiting around for something that may or may not exist.

our club is actually setting up a table there this year, selling off some donated gear and doing a little membership drive. if you see the OARC banner stop by, we usually have some good deals on stuff thats been sitting in the shack since forever lol

so ive been on HF for about 8 months now and i still feel kinda awkward about when to use phonetics. like on 40m SSB sometimes i hear guys just rattle off their callsign normally and sometimes they go full NATO the whole way through. is there a rule for this or is it just feel? i tend to just say the letters and then if someone asks me to repeat ill go phonetic but is that backwards from what i should be doing also i noticed some older ops use different words than the standard ones, heard a guy say 'sugar' instead of sierra the other day which threw me off for a second. is that a regional thing or just old habits

CQ WW was my first real contest too and honestly just jumping in is the best way to learn. the exchange is pretty simple once you do it a few times — for phone you send your signal report (everyone says 59 basically regardless) and your CQ Zone. you can look up what zone you're in before the contest, its usually listed on the contest sponsor page. if you mess up an exchange the other station will just ask you to repeat, nobody's going to yell at you or anything and dont worry about the 100w and wire thing. you'll be surprised what you can work even without a big station. yeah the M/M contest stations with stacked yagis are doing crazy things but there are plenty of people running modest setups just like you. a dipole or end fed on 40 and 20 will get you in the log. your score wont win any plaques but that isnt really the point your first time through Field Day is great but its kind of its own thing — more about emergency preparedness and club camaraderie, the scoring is weird with all the bonus points. CQ WW is a more traditional contest experience if you want to learn how contesting actually works. do both eventually but CQ WW phone would be a solid first contest. just fire up N1MM or even just a paper log and go for it