The International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend came into being from the Scottish Northern Lighthouses award weekend. Over the past seven years it has grown to over 380 lighthouses in some 51 countries around the world participating in the event.
The event is always held on the 3rd full weekend in August starting at 0001 UTC on Saturday and finishing at 2359 UTC on Sunday. It also now coincides on the Sunday with the International Lighthouse Day which is an event organised by the International Association of Lighthouse keepers wherby as many world lighthouses will be open to the public for the day.
The basic objective of the event is to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration,to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill.
The event is NOT a contest, each station's operators decide how they will operate their station regards modes and bands. Participants are not committed to being on the air during the entire period - only as much as they can. There are no restrictions on aerials or power. We wish operators to enjoy themselves and have fun whilst making contact with as many amateur radio stations as possible.
As available space in many lighthouses is filled to capacity, our activity does not have to take place inside the tower itself. Field day type set-up at the light or other building next to the light is OK. Permission MUST be obtained from any interested parties.
Operation from faux or false lighthouses is discouraged as they are not within the spirit of the event.
Our guidelines require that the station must be AT or ADJACENT to the light. Adjacent means next to or as close as possible in the field next door. Rules about 'line of sight' or 'within 1000m' do NOT apply to this event.
If you wish to use ARLHS numbers for identification of the light you are at or adjacent to then that is OK.The onus is on operators to act within the spirit of the event, the object of which is to have a visible presence at or near the lighthouse because the event is used to obtain maximum exposure for our hobby.
The following are suggested frequencies only as they may not be legal in some countries. If you have the room for an antenna, it may even be worth trying 160 meters.
Morse Code 80m 3.510 - 3.540 kHz Centre 3.521 +/-
40m 7.005 - 7.035 khz " 7.021 +/-
20m 14.010 - 14.040 khz " 14.021 +/-
15m 21.010 - 21.040 khz " 21.021 +/-
10m 28.010 - 28.040 khz " 28.021 +/-
Voice 80m 3.650 - 3.750 kHz Center 3.721 +/-
40m 7.040 - 7.100 khz " 7.051 +/-
20m 14.125 - 14.275 khz " 14.221 +/-
15m 21.150 - 21.250 khz " 21.221 +/-
10m 28.300 - 28.400 khz " 28.351 +/-
Because it is NOT a contest you can operate on any authorised frequency as per your licence.
To assist other stations we request that participating CW stations add LT for lighthouse or LS for lightship, other stations add 'LIGHT', 'LGT' , 'LIGHTHOUSE' or 'LIGHTSHIP' after their call.Some stations obtain a callsign with the letter L in the suffix to assist other stations identifying them as a participating station in the event.
So come and join us in the fun of the weekend, establish a station at a lighthouse, lightship or maritime beacon.
If you decide to join in the fun fill in the online entry form with your details.This will enable other stations to be aware of who is participating in the event. You may also send you entry, or any questions regarding the rules, via email to Kevin vk2ce
Entry and entrants form can be found at: http://illw.net/
