Dear all:
On my way to a family visit, I activated DM/BW-853 Blankenhalde today, an almost drive-by 10-pointer. The summit is a very easy hike from the nearby county street, but one should better park near the huge wooden cross a few hundred meters in the direction of the village of Leibertingen.
Equipment:
- TinySOTA station (i.e. MTR -3B all-in-one box)
- @HB9BCB 3-band EFHW with traps for 40-30-20m
- 6m carbon-fiber mast from Decathlon
The antenna was deployed as an inverted-V; with the help of a few branches, I managed to keep both ends 2m above the ground.
Activation:
I was QRV by 13:08Z and spotted by RBN on 7.031 by 13:09Z with up to 23dB, and spotted by RBNhole by 13:10Z.
Here is the RBN data that illustrates how I was heard:
Quickly, quite a pile-up developed and I bagged 12 QSOs. When the pile-up dried up, I QSYied to 20m and, to my surprise, was able to make four contacts into North America - with my tiny 5W station, a low 6m mast, operating from within the woods and that on a day with zero sunspots and A=4, K=1!
Thanks to @KA1R (Matt), @N4EX (Rich), @N1AW (Al) and @N1GB (George) for answering my call over the pond!
This was a nice, calm closing of a season that was full of real mountain adventures for me, an easy afternoon walk in sunny solitude. And the DX was the perfect icing on the cake!
May the attached pictures speak for themselves.
A big thanks to all chasers!
73 de Martin, DK3IT
