FT8
POTA @ DA-0088 Laacher See
A volcanic caldera lake. End-fed wire slung into a young birch. Good afternoon, good coffee, good propagation.
COTA @ DE-00113 Festung Ehrenbreitstein
A Prussian fortress overlooking the Deutsches Eck. Operated from the ramparts with a clean shot across the Rhine.
Icom IC-705
All-mode, all-band QRP portable transceiver. Backpack-friendly, big colour touchscreen, built-in D-STAR and GPS. The daily driver.
End-fed Half-wave 40-10
Twenty metres of wire on a Kevlar winder with a 49:1 UnUn. The field workhorse — multiband, light, and forgiving of imperfect sky hooks.