ON7DQ SOTA Roadtrip to Friedrichshafen 2018

10 Days on the road ... to the Hamradio 2018 and lots of SOTA !

This would be my fourth visit to Friedrichshafen, and the third time I drove there with my own car.
Last year I enjoyed the trip so much that I added another day, so I had even more SOTA fun.

Here some statistics. I stayed in several AirBnb places, and met very nice people everywhere ... some young, some older, but always very helpful. As you will read later, I could use some help at one instance.

Equipment used

KX3 + homebrew headset with PTT for SSB, Palm Pico Paddle for CW

Mini 6-button memory keyer with DigiSpark ATTiny CPU (I will make a post about that when I find some time). This saves the use of the memory buttons on the KX3. 

Battery : homebrew 4S2P Li-Ion pack, giving 16.8V when fully charged, so using the automatic voltage reducer by AD5X , giving 15V at the KX3, so I could always use 15W (on 80-20m).

Antenna : homebrew EARCHI type antenna, consisting of 9.15m random endfed radiator, homebrew 9:1 UNUN, 4m counterpoise, 3.5m RG58 coax. Some pieces of rope.

A 6m fishing pole from Decathlon, free standing in a ground anchor, also by Decathlon, positioned "10 steps" away from the operating position, so the endfed mostly works as a sloper.

Several large and small umbrellas, folding chairs and mini tables, all used depending on weather, terrain and  walking distance. 

And 1 telescopic walking stick, sometimes also used to keep the UNUN off the ground.

And here is the (long) list of summits - click on each link for a detailed report, including parking position, tracks when available, and other useful information. And above all ...some nice pictures !

As in previous trip reports, all is organized per DAY, so you may find several summits on one page.

29/May/2018 ON/ON-017 (Bois Haut)
29/May/2018 FL/VO-057 (Côte de Drince)
30/May/2018 FL/VO-153 (Bois de Montenoy)
30/May/2018 FL/VO-002 (Le Hohneck)
30/May/2018 FL/VO-001 (Le Grand Ballon de Guebwiller)
30/May/2018 FL/VO-017 (Le Molkenrain)
31/May/2018 DM/BW-018 (Blauen)
31/May/2018 HB/SH-002 (Wannenberg)
31/May/2018 DM/BW-193 (Schächer)
01/Jun/2018 DM/BW-348 (Gehrenberg)
01/Jun/2018 DM/BW-854 (Höchsten)
03/Jun/2018 DL/AL-272 (Altringenberg)
04/Jun/2018 DM/BW-195 (Zundelberg)
04/Jun/2018 DM/BW-228 (Hummelsberg)
04/Jun/2018 DM/BW-042 (Rainen)
04/Jun/2018 DM/BW-046 (Plettenberg)
04/Jun/2018 DM/BW-156 (Lindenberg)
05/Jun/2018 DM/BW-077 (Braunberg)
05/Jun/2018 DM/BW-019 (Hornisgrinde)
06/Jun/2018 DM/SR-006 (Trautzberg)
06/Jun/2018 DM/SR-012 (Schaumberg)
06/Jun/2018 DM/SR-075 (Langensteinchen)
06/Jun/2018 LX/LX-002 (Grengenwald)
07/Jun/2018 ON/ON-016 (Les Aisances)
07/Jun/2018 ON/ON-021 (Plantis de Mesnil)

Continue reading ... go to DAY 1