[South Florida DX Association] Amateur Radio [International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend 2004]

Thu, 4 Mar 2004 16:59:28 -0500

I received this email, it sure sound like something that some of you might
want to do...

Steve
W4DTA

INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND 2004.

This highly popular annual August event attracts hundreds of amateur radio
stations at lighthouses and lightships (369 in 2003) in 48 countries. It is
organised by Mike, GM4SUC, and Kevin, VK2CE is the web-master.  This year
the period of the event is from 0001 UTC on Saturday 21 August until 2359
UTC on Sunday 22 August 2004.

The event is NOT a contest.  It is a special event weekend when amateur
radio stations are established at lighthouses or lightships and each group
decides how it will operate the station with regard to modes and bands.
Participants are not committed to being on the air during the entire period
- operate as much as you can.  There are no restrictions on aerials or
power.  We wish operators to enjoy themselves and have fun while making
contact with as many stations as possible whilst giving priority to other
lighthouse/lightship stations. Please take some time to work the slow
operator, the newly licensed and QRP stations.

As available space in many lighthouses is filled to capacity, participation
in this activity does not have to take place inside the tower itself.
Field day type set-up at the light or other buildings next to the light or
adjacent field is OK.  Permission MUST be obtained from any interested
parties.

The International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend is used to obtain maximum
exposure for our hobby.  We invite the press and, QTH permitting, also the
public and try to underline the parallel between the international aspects
in lighthouses, lightships, and amateur radio.          As from last year,
the World Lighthouse Day is held on the Sunday of the event and lighthouse
keepers/managers/caretakers all around the world open their lighthouses to
the public.
http://www.lighthouse.fsnet.co.uk/events/intlighthouseday.html

We use the event segment of the 5 Classic bands, consider the following as
a range of suggested frequencies.

CW
80m: 3.510 - 3.540 kHz
40m: 7.005 - 7.035 kHz
20m: 14.010 - 14.040 kHz
15m: 21.010 - 21.040 kHz
10m: 28.010 - 28.040 kHz

PHONE
*80m: 3.650 - 3.750 kHz
*40m: 7.040 - 7.100 kHz
20m: 14.150 - 14.290 kHz
15m: 21.150 - 21.250 kHz
10m: 28.300 - 28.400 kHz

* Some of the frequency ranges listed above are NOT legal in the United
States of America. As a substitute, USA operators should consider these
alternatives.

USA PHONE
80m: 3.950 - 3.990 kHz
40m: 7.250 - 7.290 kHz

However because the ILLW is NOT a contest, you can operate on any
authorised QRGs as per your licence, including the WARC bands.  Please be
sure to observe band limits for your class of licence and your country.

To assist other stations in the identification of lighthouse/lightship
stations, we request that participating stations using CW add LS after
their callsign at a lightship and LT at a lighthouse.  SSB and other modes
should use LIGHT, LGT, LIGHTHOUSE or LIGHTSHIP after their call.  UK
stations normally obtain a GB callsign with the letter L in the suffix and
USA stations can request a Special Event callsign from the ARRL.

A list of the lighthouses/lightships of the world, currently 10,550 in 203
DXCC countries, with their Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) Number
can be found at   http://arlhs.com/awards/arlhs-numbers.html       The list
is constantly being updating and added to as more data become available.
You can help: If you see a correction or an addition needs to be made,
please send an e-mail with the information to [email protected]

If you decide to join us, please register on-line at
http://illw.net/index.html   with details of your name, callsign to be
used, lighthouse/lightship, Country, qsl route etc.   Although registration
is not compulsory, doing so enables us to maintain a detailed list of
participants at  http://illw.net/2004.htm   showing QSL address, web site
and any special event calls they may be using.   E-mail addresses will be
modified with unicode to minimise harvesting by spammers.

So come and join us in the fun of the weekend, already 55 stations have
confirmed their participation, establish a station at a lighthouse,
lightship or maritime beacon. If you are unable to find a lighthouse/ship
you can still join in the fun by contacting the special stations. The more
the merrier.

73 Mike GM4SUC
[email protected]
[email protected]