Preparation:

This “pilgrims trail” runs from the North of Germany down to Italy. I had planned it as a part of a “Two-Fer” with another POTA entity however as the opportunity came up to fit in a small POTA activation while taking my wife for an appointment, I decided to take the option to combine a POTA activation with walking the dog, before I needed to pick-up the wife again.

Lately, I have been doing what I call “PLOTA” activations where I operate from a parking lot within a POTA park or on a trail and this would be the same. In this case, I would park by the trail after it goes under the railway line near Kaufering, a suburb of Landsberg am Lech.

As usual, I was able to load all of the radio equipment onto the back seat of our car and put the magnetic base on top of the car the day before, so that the set-up would be quick as my time would be limited.

The Activation

POTA DE-0858

The weather was raining on and off, then, later after the activation and a meal at a Bavarian restaurant, that rain turned first into sleet and then snow in a matter of 15 minutes.

The location that I had marked out, behind the railway lines and near the water board base in Kaufering, was as expected. After the mandatory dog walk, set up was literally extending and then adding the Komunica HF-PRO2-PLUS-T antenna to the roof mount, getting in the back seat, connecting the LifePO4 battery to the radio and I was on-air.

I searched for a free spot on 20m, spotted myself on the pota.app website and then started calling CQ. Within a couple of minutes, I had calls coming in. One by one to start with and then a small pile-up later. The complete activation time was only 15 minutes but long enough to get 17 contacts in the log. It’s amazing what is possible with 20 watts of SSB and a loaded vertical whip. As you will see from the map below, contacts came in from all directions of the compass. several of the callers were people I knew from earlier activations which is part of the POTA community feeling.

After quickly packing up, I arrived back to collect my wife and then we went for a very nice (warming) meal before heading home in the rain/sleet/snow.

Photos:

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Equipment taken:

• Xiegu G-90 radio.
• 6-metre mast and linked dipole (not used).
• Komunica Power HF-PRO2-PLUS-T loaded vertical antenna.
• Three-magnet car roof antenna mount.
• 8 Ah LifePO4 battery.
• 2Ah Eremit LifePO4 battery (not used).
• Plastic painter’s sheet (used) and seat pad (not used).
• Lightweight headphones.
• Smartphone for spotting.

Log:

DE-0858 Via Sancti Martini National Trail

Conclusions:

• The activation went well. I am always amazed at how well this radio/antenna combination works. The simple car set-up works well in plans where others’ needs are to be considered.

73 ’til the next activation!