20170723 - International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend - 19-20 August

Post date: Jul 23, 2017 12:49:34 AM

On the third full weekend in August, the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend graces our airwaves. You may have come across several different pieces of information about the ILLW, but the take-away should be that during August around the world, Lighthouses and Lightships are a focal point for activity. The International Lighthouse and Lightship weekend, run by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group in Scotland since 1998 is according to some, "one of the most popular international radio events in existance" because there are very few rules and it's not a contest as such. If you're in the US, you get two bites at the cherry, the US National Lighthouse Week is the week around the US National Lighthouse Day, August 7th, so you get to play twice. If you'd like to activate a lighthouse and join the currently 303 registered lights, the 38 Australian Lights and the 5 VK6 lights, head on over to the ILLW website. http://illw.net If you'd like to see a light in operation, VK6 has activations at North Mole Lighthouse, Casuarina Point WA, Cape Leeuwin, Cape Naturaliste and Cape Inscription. Elsewhere in Australia, you can see stations in action at Cape Otway, Cape Byron, the light on Lady Elliot Island and many more. If you're not able to travel, then get on air and make some noise. There is no glory to take from making contact, but the payoff for talking to a ham on a rock in the middle of nowhere can only be measured in joy. So, get on air and make some noise, for 48 hours from midnight UTC on August 19th.