Let's try a 10fer for @hamchallenge :
I went out today for POTA RO-0109 #HC29S in front of this communist mammoth #HC13S, operated all day on 36Ah #HC36S (ha!). I worked one DX, the ITU HQ, out of today's DXpeds PJ4M, VP8DPD and V73MT #HC07S, 14 DXCCs #HC37s, plus all xOTA #HC16S I heard. I had 20 contacts on CW #HC38S including @YO3AX and @G0TRT. I even heard F4JRC on 6m #HC28S. I fixed my audio card #HC45S and used the antenna I built with the YL #HC33S.
Details follow.
POTA RO-0109, The People's Palace, built on labour of communist political prisoners houses The Contemporary Art Museum. It is 270 by 240 by 90 meters tall, with another 90 meters of sub basements. Another less useful thing it houses beyond the museum is the Parliament and its two chambers.
There was a flurry of activity today in the park: Romania had a rerun of our presidential elections. I nominate this for my unusual location #HC13S #HC29S #HC28S
@hamchallenge #HC45S Before I used to activate with the SCU-17, I had a cheap $3 soundcard which had wires loose after every use. Today I fixed it #HC45S and incorporated it into a SlimDigi.
This is a neat design for a soundcard + hub for CAT on 891, which is tiny and uses USB-C. All credits go to LB8IJ. The choice of parts is great and while I'm not a fan of cables embedded in a device without a connector, I love how fast it is to deploy.
It took a few prints.
https://www.printables.com/model/1235849-slimdigi-by-lb8ij-digital-interface-for-yaesu-ft-8
@hamchallenge The condx were terrible and I really, really hoped for a 6m qso, but nothing happened. I did hear F4JRC, about 2000 km away, on the magic band #HC28S.
Contacting other xOTA stations wasn't as easy as the usual P2P or P2S, but I did get ~15 in the log, not counting multiple parks and multiple ops setups. #HC16S
I even had some CW qsos with other hams with whom I share this instance #HC38S, but I couldn't find someone for #HC30 #hamchallenge
@hamchallenge My usual setup involves a suitcase with 2 pcs 18Ah LFP4s in parallel, along with some 3D printed bulkhead connectors. The suitcase acts as a makeshift desk #HC36S. I don't operate much from home, so these 6 hours were my whole day of operating.
I was surprised only 3 DXpeds were active, but a fourth DX, the ITU HQ was lurking on 18MHz. #HC07S. Working 10+ DXCCs is rather easy in FT8 from Europe, when you're being chased in #pota #HC37S