There are stories in amateur radio that show passion knows no age. The story of Domenik Luca Hochegger-Hafner, OE8DDX, from Wolfsberg in the Lavanttal valley of Carinthia is one of them. At eleven years old, he passed the amateur radio exam as Austria’s youngest licensee. Today, at 17, he has achievements that would impress many an OM with decades of experience: 277 DXCC entities, nearly 79,000 QSOs, member of the Austrian HST national team and regular operator at international contests. On top of that, he plays the Styrian button accordion and performs as a musician on stage. A portrait of a remarkable young person who shows where enthusiasm and versatility can lead.
Radio Runs in the Family
To understand how an eleven-year-old gets the idea to become a radio amateur, you need to look at the family. Because at the Hochegger-Hafners in Wolfsberg, things really do “click” – in every sense of the word. Father Wolfgang Hafner, OE8HAQ, has been a passionate radio amateur for over 37 years. In the basement of the house there is a fully equipped radio room with Yaesu FTDX-3000, FTDX-101D and Icom IC-9700. In front of the house, a 20-metre lattice tower reaches into the sky, equipped with a Force12-6BA for 10 to 40 metres and a Create CD-78 for 80 metres.
Mother Michaela Hochegger, OE8YXK, is equally active: she is a multiple winner of the All Austrian AOEC Contest and also serves as branch leader of AMRS ADL 084 Wolfsberg. That Domenik Luca – called “Luca” by everyone – would reach for the microphone and the Morse key was almost inevitable.
Since November 2024, Luca also carries responsibility within the organisation himself: at the AMRS general assembly on 16 November 2024 at Fliegerhorst Vogler in Hörsching, a dedicated youth department was created – and Luca was appointed Youth Officer of the AMRS at national level. He thus represents the interests of young radio amateurs across the entire umbrella organisation of Austria’s military radio groups. Serving on the board of a nationwide organisation at age 16 – that too fits the picture.
Even before his licensing, Luca gained his first on-air experience. At the International Kids Day on 5 January 2019, he operated as a ten-year-old under his father’s callsign OE8HAQ – and made 182 QSOs across 35 countries on 20m, 17m and 80m. His “perfect operating technique” was expressly noted by the OMs present. Even the blind mountaineer Andy Holzer, OE7AJH, who had summited Mount Everest in 2017, conducted a QSO with the young operator and subsequently became a friend of the family.
Austria’s Youngest Radio Amateur
On 20 November 2019, the moment had come: Domenik Luca passed the amateur radio exam in Klagenfurt – at just eleven years old. He thus became Austria’s youngest state-certified radio amateur. The news made waves: the ÖVSV reported on its website, the Kleine Zeitung and MeinBezirk in the Lavanttal dedicated an article to the family, and even the DARC Deutschland-Rundspruch 48/2019 mentioned the young Austrian.
Less than a year later, on 30 September 2020, the upgrade to Class 1 followed – the highest licence class in Austria with full CEPT licence privileges. Since Luca was only 12 at the time, he was not yet allowed to operate independently – Austrian law only permits autonomous radio operation from age 14. So he had to wait two more years before he could finally go on air under his own callsign OE8DDX on 31 May 2022.
DXCC in 527 Days – and Then Some
What followed can only be described as a fireworks display. From the very first day on air, Luca systematically chased DX contacts. And with great success: on 8 November 2023 – after just 527 days on air – he held his DXCC certificate #70,744 in his hands. One hundred confirmed countries in less than a year and a half of active operating time.
But Luca had no intention of resting on his laurels. The stickers came in quick succession: 150, 200, 250 and most recently – on 16 August 2025 – the sticker for 275 confirmed DXCC entities. The counter now stands at 277 – his next goal is firmly in sight: the magic mark of 300.
Particularly noteworthy: Luca works exclusively with paper QSL cards. No eQSL, no LoTW – every single confirmation comes by post. The QSL cards from around the world that he has collected now fill entire folders. He is particularly proud of his collection of American and Japanese cards.
Nearly 79,000 QSOs and a Passion for DXpeditions
The numbers on Club Log speak for themselves: by March 2026, Luca has logged nearly 79,000 QSOs. For someone who has only been allowed to operate independently since May 2022, that’s a remarkable average of over 55 QSOs per day.
Particularly impressive is his commitment to the DXpedition Super League – the ranking of the most active DXpedition chasers on Club Log. Luca has worked 33 of 46 eligible DXpeditions, with a total of 387 band slots. For the FP5KE DXpedition (St. Pierre & Miquelon), he achieved 38 slots, for 3B9DJ (Rodrigues) 37 and for 9U1RU (Burundi) 33.
Working every DXpedition on as many bands and modes as possible requires not just perseverance, but also a capable station and above all: skill in the pile-up. Anyone who has ever tried to work a rare DXpedition on 160m in CW knows what we’re talking about. Luca worked the J51A DXpedition in 2026 on 32 of 33 possible band slots – a result that can hold its own in any DX cluster.
High Speed Telegraphy: On the National Team at 16
CW – Morse telegraphy – is considered the supreme discipline by many radio amateurs. Luca goes a step further: since 2024, he has been a member of the Austrian HST national team (High Speed Telegraphy), organised through the ÖVSV CW department and the OECWG.
At the 20th IARU HST World Championship 2024 in Yasmine Hammamet, Tunisia, he competed as a 16-year-old in Category B (Youngster Males) and placed 5th with 96.4 points. He received letters at up to 80 characters per minute and numbers at 80 characters per minute without errors.
A year later, at the 21st HST World Championship 2025 in Herceg Novi, Montenegro, Luca had already moved up to the tougher Category D (Junior Males) – and still placed 5th again. His progress was impressive: the receiving speed for letters rose to 120 characters per minute error-free – a 50% improvement over the previous year. He received numbers at 100 characters per minute without errors.
The Austrian team placed 5th out of 17 nations in both years. In 2025, teammate OE3SPR provided a historic moment: he won Austria’s first-ever HST medal – bronze in the Men 40-49 category.
A Contester with Team Spirit
In the contest world too, Luca is no longer unknown. Since 2022, he has been a regular participant in major international competitions:
- CQ WW DX SSB 2022: First solo entry under OE8DDX in the Youth High Power category – 352,089 points
- CQ WW CW and SSB: Since 2023 a regular operator in the multi-single team OE6Z – with top scores exceeding 5.8 million points
- IARU HF Championship: Operator of the Austrian headquarters station OE0HQ – with scores exceeding 12 million points
The experience at OE6Z and OE0HQ with seasoned operators like OE6MMD has shaped Luca. In a multi-operator environment, you learn operating techniques that you can hardly develop alone at your home station: band-switching strategies, split operation, efficient logging under time pressure.
On the Road as 9A/OE8DDX and More
For Luca, radio doesn’t stop even on holiday – quite the opposite. Every year he spends a week in Porec, Croatia, and operates there as 9A/OE8DDX. The equipment is deliberately kept lean: a Kenwood TS-480S, a Palm Mini Paddle and a long wire antenna – all running 100 watts. Nevertheless, under this callsign he has already earned 18 international awards, including the “Master of Radio Communication” for five continents.
He has also been QRV from Albania (ZA/OE8DDX), and portable under OE8DDX/P he is regularly on the air anyway.
More Than Radio: Styrian Button Accordion and Musician
Besides amateur radio, Luca has a second great passion: music. He plays the Styrian button accordion (Steirische Harmonika) and performs at events and celebrations – an “outstanding musician”, as the website of his local club puts it. Anyone who has experienced him playing at a club celebration of AMRS Wolfsberg knows: here too, talent and dedication are at work.
The fact that a 17-year-old from the Lavanttal simultaneously competes at HST world championships, chases DXpeditions on 32 band slots and still plays the accordion shows a remarkable versatility that has become rare in today’s amateur radio.
A Role Model for the Next Generation
Perhaps the most important role that Luca plays in Austrian amateur radio is that of a role model. At a time when the average age in radio clubs continues to rise and new recruits are lacking in many places, he shows that amateur radio can also be fascinating for young people.
“I particularly enjoy making acquaintances and friendships with other radio operators from around the world.”
Domenik Luca, OE8DDX
This quote from an interview in 2019, when Luca was just eleven, has lost none of its validity. The fascination of reaching the world with a self-built antenna and a bit of technology drives him – then as now.
His next big goal: 300 DXCC entities. And anyone who looks at his career so far has little doubt that he will achieve it. The question is not if, but when.
We will continue to follow the achievements of Domenik Luca, OE8DDX, on oeradio.at with great interest. An OM who has come this far at 17 years of age is sure to provide many more surprises.
Links and Further Information
- OE8DDX on QRZ.com – Luca’s QRZ profile with station details and bio
- 9A/OE8DDX on QRZ.com – Portable operation from Croatia
- OE8DDX on Club Log – Log search with nearly 79,000 QSOs
- DXpedition Super League – 387 band slots across 33 DXpeditions
- OE8DDX at AMRS ADL 084 Wolfsberg – Club profile
- AMRS Board – Domenik as Youth Officer on the national board
- ÖVSV: “Austria’s Youngest Radio Amateur” – Original report from 2019
- OECWG HST page – Austria’s HST participations incl. Luca’s results
- MeinBezirk: “Bei ihnen funkt’s” – Family portrait in the Lavanttal
73 de OE8YML
