This past week, I’ve been revisiting my shack, paring down, and reorganizing. By that, I mean separating the wheat from the chaff and reevaluating my grab-and-go radios and accessories.

Before Hurricane Helene (a moment in time I seem to use to benchmark events now), I picked up a few IKEA shelf organizers and was quite pleased with how neatly they displayed my gear. Over time, though, the shelves became a bit cluttered, so it was time to give them some care and attention.

While sorting through gear, I stumbled upon a small ditty bag holding my trusty portable ATU: the Elecraft T1.

I held it in my hand and tried to recall the last time I’d actually used it in the field. Maybe during this activation in July 2023? If I’ve used it since then, I can’t remember when.

A Shift in How I Pack

That moment made me realize I’d gradually changed how I pack for field outings without even noticing.

In my early days of POTA—2019 and 2020—I relied heavily on the Elecraft T1 and antenna tuners in general. I loved the flexibility they provided when paired with a random wire antenna.

Even now, I often carry an ATU as a form of first aid for antenna malfunctions. While rare, these issues do happen. In the past five years, an ATU has saved me twice—once with a broken Trail-Friendly EFT antenna and once with a Tactical Delta Loop mishap.

For mission-critical activations, such as remote or rare POTA sites, or during multi-week family road trips, I always pack an ATU. It’s a safety net.

Lessons Learned Over Time

With countless activations under my belt, I’ve learned a few things about myself and my gear:

1. Better Antenna Deployment

I’ve become more skilled at setting up antennas. I now avoid snag-prone trees and branches and have additional supports when nature doesn’t cooperate.

2. Easier Activations Thanks to More Hunters

The POTA hunter community has grown exponentially since the early days. Back then, frequency agility was critical because working the same hunter across multiple bands was sometimes the only way to log ten contacts. It wasn’t unusual for hunters and activators to coordinate activation times and frequencies in advance to increase the chances of logging each other.

These days, logging ten contacts is much easier, regardless of the antenna choice–POTA has grown so much. Case in point: as I write this post on a Thursday morning at 9:00 AM EST, there are 29 activators spotted on POTA.app. I can remember a time when you wouldn’t see that many activators even during a Support Your Parks Weekend, let alone on a random weekday morning!

My Current Default Strategy

For most field activities, I’ve streamlined my setup:

Radios Without Internal ATUs

If my radio lacks an internal ATU, I pair it with a resonant wire antenna that matches the bands I plan to use. For example, a 40-meter EFHW covers 40, 20, 15, and 10 meters without requiring an ATU. Similarly, my 30-meter EFHW with a 40-meter linked extension gives me resonant coverage from 40 through 10 meters—a perfect match for radios like my TR-45L Skinny.

Radios With Internal ATUs

When I want frequency agility, I pack a radio with an internal ATU, like the Elecraft KX1, KX2, KX3, KH1, K1, K2, Xiegu X6200, or Mission RGO One. Since the tuner is built-in, there’s nothing extra to carry or set up.

Of course, I still pack an external ATU for certain activations, especially those far afield or when I use a non-resonant antenna with a radio lacking an ATU.

Why Everyone Should Have an ATU

If you enjoy portable operations and your radio doesn’t have an internal ATU, consider adding a good external ATU to your field kit. It provides the flexibility to operate safely on non-resonant bands and can save an activation if your antenna breaks or is poorly deployed.

In addition, I feel an ATU is an essential part of any HF emergency communications system.

Not ready to invest in an ATU? At least carry a spare antenna to the field—it’s a simple way to prepare for the unexpected.

Click here to explore more of my thoughts on ATU options.

Do you pack an external ATU for your field outings? If so, I’d love to hear about your motivations and experiences!