On my way back from Bochum I ensured that my path crossed with that of R2820221 launched from Essen. I arrived approximately an hour after the probe had landed in Kreuztal. The signal was still strong, so I could decode it:
[18664] (R2820221) So 2019-11-10 15:30:44.001 (W 2079) lat: 50.97407 lon: 8.01071 alt: 405.15 vH: 0.2 D: 341.0 vV: -0.2 numSV: 07
Walking toward the GPS position I already spotted the parachute in a tree. The probe was just lying next to the trail exactly on the decoded position. The parachute was entangled on the tree, so I could not recover it. The hunting season has started. Loud shooting not too distant away prompted me to quickly retreat to the car — hoping that those hunters wearing glasses with thick eyeglass lenses would not mistake me wearing a red jacket for red dear.
Continuing my drive back to Stuttgart, I received another RS41 probe launched from Idar-Oberstein near Karlsbad that had landed in a forest:
[14561] (P3330867) So 2019-11-10 20:34:35.001 lat: 48.90249 lon: 8.48929 alt: 388.85 vH: 0.1 D: 83.2 vV: 0.1
Its frequency (404.9 Mhz) was rather unusual for a probe from Idar-Oberstein. As it was already dark and I was lacking a torch, I forwent any recovery attempt and directly went home. Maybe Claus who only lives about 20 km away will want to give it a go sometimes…
Update on 2020-01-25: Recovery of P3330867
Claus went to recover P3330867 and found it on the ground near the position I had recorded on 2019-11-10 . The probe looks a bit worn suggesting that it made its way down slowly over the course of several weeks thereby dangling and being pushed by the wind against the trees. The parachute is entangled in a tree top. Claus could not recover it.
404.9Mhz is normal frequency. If the first start fails then Idar or Kümmersbruck use 404.9 because inteference, if the last sonde is going down to near.