Thomas DF7TR is a mountain goat

People Milestones
22

Now it’s really time to answer here! I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for your kind congratulations and messages, and for all the QSOs — not only during that one activation, but throughout the whole journey towards it! They mean a lot to me.

Once again, you’ve reminded me that it’s not just the hiking, summits, and radio that I love about SOTA, but also the amazing community behind it. I’m really grateful to be a part of it! :heart:

I never focused on points while activating SOTA. When I reached the :goat:, I had 8,124 QSOs across 155 activations — an average of more than 50 QSOs per activation. I really enjoy making longer activations whenever possible, giving everyone the opportunity to chase me and the summit I’m activating.

I now reached the :goat: sooner than expected when I spontaneously decided to make a little DM/BM tour on my way to and from Jülich, and I really enjoyed that crucial activation!

My :goat: activation day started early on Milseburg DM/HE-007, where I made my first-ever summit-to-Australia contact with Bill VK4FW!
From there, I headed to Wasserkuppe DM/HE-001 for the VHF contest, where I made 49 QSOs, including many great S2S contacts! Then the :goat: was getting very close.
I sprinted up Großer Nallenberg DM/HE-427 and did a quick 40m CW activation to save as much time as possible for the crucial fourth summit, Große Haube DM/HE-570.
There, I started out on 2m from the lookout tower before switching to HF. I tried SSB first to give everyone a chance to work me. The QRN was insane that day - even later on CW, and 40m was absolutely packed. I enjoy working SSB just as much as I enjoy working CW. For me, it’s the mixture of both — and choosing whatever works best for the situation at hand. :blush:

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23

My first QSO from Große Haube was a 2m CW S2S with Hermann @DL3NE on Hoher :goat:spitz DL/AM-057 — he couldn’t have picked a more fitting summit for that special day! :blush: :joy:

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24

Hallo Thomas! Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur 1. Goaß von mir! Vielen Dank für die zahlreichen QSO’s! Weiterhin viel Spaß und Erfolg bei deinen Aktivierungen! Auf dass Du immer wieder gesund runter kommst! 73, Peter DC6PK

25

A big thank you to Joe at first who wrote this post while I was still on Große Haube activating on HF. It was a nice surprise to read it including the first anwers already on the same evening when I checked in at my accomodation :blush:

Das stimmt und freut mich natürlich sehr! :partying_face:

Vielen Dank auch für die Verbindungen vor allem am entscheidenden Wochenende auf 2m und bis auf viele weitere schöne Kontakte! :smiley:

Ich bin mir sicher, dass da noch einige folgen werden. So wie auch in der einen Woche jetzt schon wieder. :blush:

Thank you very much. We will see! :goat:

Ich freu mich schon aufs nächste QSO mit dir. Vielleicht wirds irgendwann ja auch mal wieder ein S2S. :slight_smile:

Für 2m CW bin ich immer zu haben. Da hatten wir dieses Jahr schon etliche tolle Verbindungen! :face_with_hand_over_mouth:

Thank you for the kind wishes. I am looking forward to the next QSO with you. :smiley:

Thanks for chasing me on HF recently and especially for all the 2m DX QSOs and S2S with you and Sabina! :heart_eyes:

I am definitely looking forward to both of that! :smiley:

Safe to say that you talk inspired me. Of course I was already interested in SOTA and CW before, but your talk gave me another bit of motivation to get into it that fast and it was totally worth it! :blush:

Thanks for one of my most memorable 2m CW contacts this year to PA! :heart_eyes:

Vielen Dank! Mal schauen, wanns soweit ist. Erst mal stehen auf jeden Fall die 10000 QSOs an. :slight_smile:

Thank you very much for that valuable exchange, too. And I would love to take a picture of such a beautiful bird some day with my camera. :camera:

Danke auch für all die QSOs. Jedes Mal aufs Neue gefällt mir der flotte Klang von deinem Rufzeichen in CW. :fire:

Ich freue mich auch. Vielleicht krieg ich dich ja doch noch zu 2m CW motiviert. :wink:

I still feel honored to be your first CW QSO ever after you have been licenced such a long time! :blush:

Vielen Dank und da freue ich mich natürlich auch drauf! :slight_smile:

Thanks a lot and maybe we will make it across the ocean for a QSO or even a S2S one day! :grin:

Thank you very much for all the great 2m QSOs this year including S2Ss. And I’d love to go on an activation together. :grin:

Vielen Dank natürlich auch für die netten Wünsche und die vielen 2m QSOs und S2S dieses Jahr. Ich freue mich noch auf einige weitere. :heart_eyes:

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26

Congratulations Thomas on achieving Mountain Goat.

Jimmy M0HGY

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27

During my ascent of the Hohe Ziegspitz, you had already hinted that this S2S activation held special significance for you. I could imagine all sorts of associations, but the perfect play on words never even crossed my mind. I am delighted to have been the first QSO of this pivotal activation, and I also often think back to the time we activated my first 3,500-meter peak, the Hochfeiler (OE/TI-702), together. Congratulations on achieving “SOTA Goat” status—my industrious radio friend, possessed of unparalleled stamina as a chaser and meticulous technical precision!

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28

Congratulations Thomas @DF7TR on that Mountain Goat! :goat: Welcome to the herd.

73 EA2WX Marcial

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29

…hi Thomas, congratulations in your achievement, well done :clap: Interested in your yagi used, can you tell me about it eg design details, matching etc.

Geoff vk3sq.

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30

spät aber doch,
Gratuliere auch von mir zur Ziege, @df7tr Thomas!

Es ist jedes mal eine Freude mit dir, egal ob als Chaser, Aktivierer oder auch bei gemeinsamen Aktiverungen wie beim COA.
Und die vielen 2m SSB punkte von dir aus Regensburg sind natürlich besonders super ^^.

Ich freu mich schon auf unser nächstes QSO!
(wenn das WX passt auch endlich in CW ^^)

73,
(noch) MM/OE5LAE

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31

Congratulations on reaching MG Thomas.

73’s

David

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32

Congrats on the MG Thomas and thanks for chasing me on 5B/CY-047 this morning.

73 Ed ( dd5lp / vk2ji / g8glm ) on holiday in 5B currently.

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33

Thank you for the kind words! And Hochfeiler was definitely a memorable trip and also my first time crossing the 3500 m altitude mark. I think we should go on another SOTA adventure some day :blush:

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34

Thank you for the many QSOs, Marcial @EA2WX. Especially our last one which was a S2S my first chase of the EA1/ZA region, the last region I was missing in EA1! The other times I mostly worked you “under cover” as DK0PT :victory_hand:

Vielen lieben Dank, Alan @OE5LAE! Und es war richtig schön, dass du am Dienstag bei DK0PT vorbeigeschaut hast :blush: Ich hoff, wir können bald mal wieder mitanand aktivieren. Und das CW QSO steht noch aus :upside_down_face:

Thanks for activating that 5B summit, Ed @DD5LP. It was a new one for me :cyprus:

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35

Thank you! And of course I can tell you about it. It’s the 6 element DK7ZB ultralight Yagi with PVC boom :grin:

Michael @OE5HKT, who has probably set it up on OE/NO-001 now and is waiting for the big VHF contest to start in ~20 minutes, designed 3d-printing parts in the beginning of the year and gifted me a set, when we met for a joint activation in the beginning of February. Since then I am using this Yagi with great success. And it is very fast to set up and take down! Take a look at this post here:

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36

Congratulations Thomas! Thank you for all the 2m SSB chases recently too!

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37

Congratulations Thomas :goat:.

73 Alex

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38

Thanks for all the activations! I feel like I chased half of DM/BW on 2m SSB now :joy: :flexed_biceps:

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39

Hi Thomas!

Belatedly my congratulations on your mountain goat :goat: :balloon:. Also very nice meeting you at the restaurant after OE5 SOTA Activity Day :wink:. Always happy to see ham radio operators younger than myself, especially with such passion for the hobby :wink:. Maybe there’ll be a chance for a Woidgipfel-Tag / SOTA activity day centered on the region Bayerischer Wald :grin::folded_hands:

Vy 73 de Alex, OE5LXR

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40

Thomas, Congratulations. Nice milestone.

73 OM1ALT Michal

41

Congratulations Thomas on Mountain Goat Award.

Nice to make S2S with you last weekend. Regards.

Ian vk5cz .. :goat: :goat:

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