Today, 21/06/2017. Tom M1EYP has reached his 2000th. Summit Activation. A Fantastic achievement. Many Congratulations.
Tom is Activating Summit G/SP-015, The Cloud, using several Bands/Modes.
M1EYP Tom 2000th Activation
m0cqe
#1
DD5LP
#2
Heās spotted as on G/SP-013 Gun not G/SP-015 The Cloud and I see a lot of spots for data modes from Tom at the moment.
G4OIG
#3
Yes, unfortunately not a thing from Tom on the screen here (it was the same yesterday when he ran JT65 from Gun), so a written congrats it will have to be. Well done Tom! Somehow I doubt this will signal retirement. 
G0RQL
#5
Well done Tom, congratulations and pleased to have worked you on the qualifying summit. 73 Don.
G0RQL.
M1EYP
#6
Confirm Iām on The Cloud G/SP-015 and have been all morning. Sorry for the spotting errors caused by lazy use of back button 
G4YSS
#9
Well done Tom. Thatās dedication. I think I can beat this if I continue at the current rate and live to 150.
73, John
M1EYP
#10
Thanks for the nice comments everyone. Unfortunately Jimmy never did get the opportunity to work me on my 2000th SOTA activation - because I was forced to abandon it before he was home from work!
I had intended/hoped to continue making contacts into the evening, but as I was nearly finished changing antennas (from the HBIV linked dipole to the 20m vertical with groundplane), I noticed something. There was a loud clicking noise every half second. I trained my ears to locate it and found my head homing in on the BNC connector plug on the feeder from the 20m GP antenna I had just put up.
Looking to the west, I could see a swirling thick bank of grey clag advancing, thankfully slowly, in my direction. I put two and two together and decided it was end of activation; I didnāt want to hang around.
Problem was, I had an antenna set up (that was clearly attracting some electrical charge; I could now hear the wires fizzing a bit as well), and two others lying on the ground. Grasping the base of the SOTA Pole, I carefully lay the mast and antenna on the ground, taking care not to contact any of the wires or connector. I then put my gloves on and packed away the two antennas that were on the ground. I wanted to give the 20m GP plenty of time to discharge, so I then packed away the rest of the kit into the rucksack. I now noted that there was no clicking at all coming from the BNC, nor hissing coming from the wires. I figured it was safe to pack this antenna away, though I kept my gloves on!
The rain actually never got properly going, so that was a huge assistance, as the operation could have been much more tricky if everything (including my clothing) was wet! In fact nothing got going at all. As I type this I am almost suffocating in the oppressive humidity. No hint of a thunderstorm yet - though it is desperately needed. Nonetheless, there was evidence of its impending presence over seven hours ago, and I still think it was the best call to abandon Activation 2K!
It had all started with an alarm at 5am. My first contact on The Cloud G/SP-015 was timed at 0555 UTC (6.55am BST), and was the first of 104, distributed as follows:
60m CW: 3
60m SSB: 5
40m CW: 2
40m SSB: 2
30m CW: 11
30m JT65: 1
30m PSK31: 1
20m CW: 32
20m JT65: 8
20m PSK31: 5
20m PSK63: 2
20m SSB: 9
2m FM: 22
70cm FM: 1
It was fun making the JT65 happen after my trial run yesterday. There is considerable room for improvement with the app, but it is usable.
Many thanks to everyone who called. The soup in the flask was indeed Baxters Lobster Bisque.
m0cqe
#11
Congratulations Tom. What a great achievement and fantastic journey. to your 2000th Activation. We now await, 2001 A Summit Odyssey.
Best Wishes. Paul M0CQE.
HB9DST
#12
Hi Tom,
I was delighted to have an S2S with you on this very special activation. Thanks for digging me out of the noise.
Congrats!
73
Paul HB9DST
M0JLA
#13
Congratulations on your 2000th activation Tom and bad luck on missing the contact with Jimmy.
I listened on several bands (ssb) and heard several chasers working you but barely a whisper from you. Certainly unworkable here and mostly completely silent. (s5 noise doesnāt help).
Interesting end to the activation. Immediate close-down a good choice even if the storm came to nothing in the end. Iāve never had an aerial buzz but have had the hissing fence and the hair standing on end several times; pretty scary.
73,
Rod
M1EYP
#14
Yeah I think so Rod. Iām not sure I would go as far as to say āthe storm came to nothingā. There might not have been a clap of thunder or a downpour, but there was very clearly āelectricity in the airā as evidenced by the buzzing wires and clicking BNC! āTime for a sharp exitā, as the old lager advert used to say.
Serves Jimmy right. I actually phoned him about 7.15am BST to invite him to work me before he went to work. He said no, heād have a QSO me after he came back from work later that day. Ya snooze, ya loseā¦
m0cqe
#16
Tom, you certainly did do the right thing,ending the Activation, packing your gear and leaving the summit when you did. Your health and safety are paramount, especially so when operating solo in the hills. Good Call Tom. In the, āGreat Outdoorsā, The Weather is King!
I hope to hear you again soon if I am lucky, from Summit Activation 2001.
73 de Paul M0CQE.
EA2IF
#17
Dear Tom,
My respect and recognition for the magnificent achievement of such huge number of activations.
I was very glad to chase you yesterday on QRP with my new home made endfed antenna at the balcony of the flat in Pamplona.
When I chased you I was not aware that you were carrying out your 2K activation, so itās been a nice surprise finding it out afterwards.
I read a few days ago about your activation 1995 and the open question about ideas or suggestions for the activation 2000.
I had little time and some problems to access to internet lately so I couldnāt post my recommendation for your 2000th activation, but Iām now delighted to see that youāve done exactly what I had wanted to suggest.
To me, The Cloud G/SP-015 well deserved the honor of being your 2000th activation, as it has given you soooo many good times radio so far.
Itās clear you thought exactly the same and Iām glad for that.
Shame that Jimmy let go the chance you offered him to chase you in the morning and he finally couldnāt chase you later because you had already left by the time he was out of work.
Iām amazed at how often you activate. It was just a few days ago when I read about your activation 1995 and you were already doing your 2000th yesterday.
Congrats again and Iāll be looking forwards to having many more QSOs with you.
73,
Guru
M6NSV
#18
Congratulations Tom, sorry I was not around to work you this time, busy sunning myself in Greece at the time.
Terrific achievement & one that few will match, well done.
Neil
M6NSV
M6BWA
#19
Many congratulations Tom on your 2000th activation. sorry I couldnāt listen for you. This is a great achievement and, according to my rather quick searches, makes you the second most prolific activator in the SOTA WORLD!!
However, there is bad news to come if you should wish to reach the very top. You have been beaten by OK2PDT, Jan from Brno in the Czech Republic, who has done 2256 activations, and amassed a (very) grand total of 12157 points! This includes a āMountain Goatā winter bonus of 1095 (only other holder is our own G4YSS on 1077 - have I missed anyone else??) and 1001 unique summits by October 2015. The really bad news is that Jan has in no way hung up his boots as he has gained 1728 new points in the 12 months to June 2017 - put on those running shoes Tom!
I am very glad that you got the aerial down safely and back to the home QTH ready for the next expedition. I hope you enjoy your trip to Northern Ireland and that you are luckier with the weather than us as we ran out of waterproof notebooks very quickly! Had we been 10 days later it would, briefly, have been too hot to walk up the hills but that is what our weather is doing this year. BTW I did notice Heinz vegetable soup was available in the local shops but no sign of Baxters Lobster Bisque so youād better pack a case!
73 Viki M6BWA
