CW Lover

so ive been playing around with online cluster spotting for a few months now and i think im getting the hang of it but wanted to see what others do. basically i have DXwatch open in one tab and then the QRZ logbook in another and i just kind of bounce back and forth when im looking for a new entity or a new band slot. works okay i guess but it feels clunky. someone at my club mentioned there's apps that kind of pull everything together? like Ham Radio Deluxe does some of this i think but i dont really want to pay for software if a free option does the same thing. also not sure if all the spots on dxwatch are reliable - i've chased a few that turned out to be pirates or busted calls which is frustrating. anyway curious what workflow other people are using especially if youre running a modest station, im just a100w and a dipole at about 30 feet so i have to be a little picky about what i chase.

yeah the yagi is going to murder the collinear for tropo work, no contest really. your x50 is probably doing around 3-4 dBd gain if youre lucky, a decent 5 el on 2m is going to give you maybe 7-8 dBd and thats before you factor in that its directional so youre not dumping power into the ground or the sky. for hilltop portable i bring a 7 element homebrew job, takes maybe 10 minutes to put together because i went with a boom that breaks into two pieces. the trick is having a good rotator or at least a simple az-el indicator so you know where youre pointing — on a hilltop you can usually see the terrain so its easier than it sounds. for the mast question, i ended up getting one of those surveying tripods secondhand, the kind that extend to like 2 meters. super stable, handles wind way better than any push up pole setup ive tried, and it sets up fast once you know what youre doing. only downside is it weighs a bit more than id like for a long hike

yeah i was terrified my first few nets too honestly. one thing that helped me was just listening for like a month before i ever checked in, just so i could hear how net control handles things and what the flow is. also the ARRL has a net directory thing and some nets actually publish their script or preamble online so you can read through it ahead of time and know what to expect. not all nets are the same either, some are pretty formal and some are super casual so it just takes a bit to learn each one's vibe

dont worry about embarrassing yourself, honestly most net controls are super patient especially with newer hams. when the net control says QNI or asks for check-ins, thats exactly your window. just key up and give your callsign clearly, sometimes twice if the band is noisy. something like "W1XYZ checking in" and thats really all you need. they'll come back to you and confirm. you dont need to pre-register for most casual nets, just show up and check in during that window. special event stations are a bit of a different animal though. those are usually set up by a club or group to commemorate something and they use a special callsign like K8S or W1AW or whatever. you just call them like a regular QSO, give your callsign and they'll work you. sometimes they issue certificates or QSL cards afterward which is kinda fun. the state parks on the air thing has a whole list of participating stations and frequencies on their website, worth looking at before the event so you know where to tune.