Quick activation of Königstuhl DM/BW-114

I am visiting Heidelberg with a good friend, our main goal was to visit the fabulous technical museum in Sinsheim, recommended! On the second day of our stay we walked up to the castle and from there we took the cable car to the summit. At the back of the summit you can find the remains of an old ice cellar. It’s a good spot with some space to put up an antenna and it has a large bench.

I set up 20/30m trapped vertical and made 8 QSO’s in 30 minutes. We had a lot of people passing who were very interested, so we had some explaining to do 😉

Activation of FL/VL-070

We are now close to Bourbon-Lancy, only 8km from Signal de Mont. This evening I left the campsite around 19:00 local time for a 8km bicycle trip.There is a road straight to a parking area close to the summit.

But … I had to walk the last 900 meters along my bicycle because it was simply to steep. At the top of the road there is a picnic area where I set up my station, about 10 meters below the actual summit.

Propagation wasn’t great, it took more than 30 minutes to get 9 QSO’s in the log with my QRP station. Great to work Jim, SV8ANW from Evia Island. We had a 10 minute QSO before I packed up.

Second SOTA activation by bicycle, 2 summits!

 From my home town it's a long way to ON/ON-28, Terril Waterschei (199 m). I stayed overnight in Lommel with friends and arrived 11 in the morning the next day close to the summit at the Genk soccer stadium, where I parked my bicycle. From there it is about a one hour hike to the summit, the last bit very steep...

It's quite a challenge putting up an antenna here. There's not much room and being very windy I did not want to extend the mast to it's full length. Also, no way to attach the radials...

Great views from up here! I could make 20 QSO's in about 30 minutes. Great to work K4DY, he gave me a 529 report.

After staying overnight in Genk, I arrived at D'n Observant (170 m) around 11 the next morning. This is a very touristy spot, lot's of hikers, bikers and runners. I could ride my bicycle all the way up to the top.

27 QSO's in the log after one hour, all from the east for some reason. Maybe because I set up my vertical at the eastern side of the summit?

From here it's only a 30 minute ride to the train station of Maastricht, where I took the train home. It's been a great 3 days, biking and hiking brings something special doing SOTA!

First SOTA close to home

From my home town it is a nice bicycle trip along the river Rhine towards Arnhem, a 50 km ride. From the outskirts of Arnhem it is less then one hour to Signaal Imbosch, the highest point in the national park Veluwezoom at 101 meters.

Close to the summit my path got blocked by a couple of dangerous looking Scottish highlanders, but they were quite relaxed and I saw several bikers passing them.

The last stretch I had to push my bike through the sand and up a steep path. The summit marker was easy to find and was enough space between the trees to put up my 20/30m vertical.

Good propagation and 61 QSO'S in the log after one hour. It may have helped that my activation was both valid for SOTA and WWFF. Equipment: QMX mini and a 30 Watt amplifier. Have been using a Palm mini paddle.