SOTA Activation: Impressions of the Yaesu FTX-1 @ 14,115' + S2S Contact!

Hey Everyone! In this video, we head up to the summit of Pikes Peak for my first official Summits on the Air (SOTA) activation. The forecast called for temps in the 50s with light winds… but reality on the mountaintop had other plans. When we reached the summit, it was 42° and dropping fast. By the end of the activation, the wind had picked up considerably and I quickly learned I did not bring the right gear for 37° conditions! Nonetheless, we made the absolute best out of the activation and walked away with around 18 official contacts and many more that were unofficial because I made the contact outside the SOTA activation zone. Main Takeaways for my Next SOTA: Dress warmer and shed layers as needed Bring a small table for the Yaesu FTX‑1 Field Retire the rubber‑ducky antenna and run a 3‑element yagi Stick with the FTX‑1 so I can operate SSB reliably on 144.200 MHz Thank you to everyone who participated! SOTA Spotting: https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/ 00:00 - Intro 04:25 - View of the FTX-1 and scenery 06:50 - Pulling over and showing mobile antennas 07:50 - Mile Marker 7 10:00 - Working a station on 146.520 by KDEN 11:42 - Listening to my 2M beacon in Kansas 12:01 - Nearing the summit! 12:34 - At the summit! 13:00 - Beginning the activation, round 1 21:24 - Warming up and watching Superman run by! 21:30 - Starting round 2 33:37 - Round 3 of the activations 40:50 - Outro ☕ Support One Kilowatt: If you'd like to help support future station projects and videos, you can buy me a coffee here: https://ko-fi.com/onekilowatt Watching, commenting, and subscribing helps just as much! If you have questions, suggestions, or whatever the case may be, please feel free to get in contact with me. 73, Chad NØYK #hamradiooperator #hamradio #amateurradio #pikespeak