W6/SC-405 Sugarloaf Peak

In the mountain bike world, when reviewing trail maps and usage, I am always wary of areas that haven’t had much activity.  In the SOTA world, Sugarloaf Peak is one of those places.   Although it was not far away from civilization and close to a very popular trail, it had only been activated 5 times before.    Why?  Well, now that I’ve activated the summit, I can tell you why.  

If one was to hike up to this summit, it would be an all day hike for sure.  At roughly 11 miles round trip, over 2,000 feet of elevation gain …

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Running VARA HF with an Evolve Maestro III Laptop

If you were lucky enough to pick up the Evolve Maestro III from Microcenter for $60 (currently sold out), you may be wondering if it can be used for ham radio digital operations.  Yes, it can.  And the battery life is outstanding.  Here’s a recent video of me using it in the truck to operate VARA HF.  It also works great for WSTJ-X for other modes like FT8.

You may also be wondering, can I power this up with 12 volts?   Yes, you can.  I like Anderson power poles, so with a couple parts I can keep this …

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