Following up on last Sunday's WFD 2020 post, here are a few thoughts and notes.
- Section Hiker asks: Do you need a backpack rain cover? Uh, last Sunday, yeah.
- Getting into a comfortable operating position in a tiny tent was an issue. Laying on my left side, propped on left elbow, facing the door and radio worked best. But even that messed with my shoulders. I'm thinking an inflatable pillow to recline into, perhaps a half-inflated beach ball. Will be experimenting with this before the next trip.
- Hooking a total-current meter between the charger and the 12AH LiFePO battery for the recharge showed that I only used 4AH total. Coulda done the trip on the 4.5AH battery and saved 2.3 lbs pack weight. But I didn't know that going in, so it's all good. Conversely, I used the laptop battery up almost entirely (left just enough for a smooth shutdown), doing about 2/3 the operating on digital modes. This means that the laptop's battery and the 4.5AH battery are well-matched, and just right for one day of operation. It's a consideration when trying to minimize weight. Maybe bring the Eneloop Pro batts for a reserve supply, but probably not.
- Total points have not been tabulated (been putting away tent, etc. first), but I'm down one band from last year and up 2x on the number of contacts. Looking like close but slightly up this year.
Lessons learned, there're always lessons to be learned.
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