International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend

The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is an amateur radio

Amateur radio

Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...

event held on the third full weekend of August. The event started in 1995, and now more than 470 lighthouse

Lighthouse

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....

s in over 55 countries participate.

Objective

The objective of ILLW is stated as "to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill".

History

The event was started by two members of the Ayr Amateur Radio Group in 1995 as the "Northern Lighthouse Activity Weekend", with stations being set up at Scottish lighthouses. In 1997, to reflect participation by Danish and German amateur radio groups the event took on its current name. The event now sees worldwide participation, in locales as diverse as Long Beach, Washington, USA

Long Beach, Washington

Long Beach is a city in Pacific County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,283 at the 2000 census and grew to 1,392 at the 2010 census...

, Liverpool, England

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

and Boca Grande, Florida, USA

Boca grande

-Places:*Boca Grande, Florida, United States*Boca Grande, Venezuela*Boca Grande Key, Florida, United States-Other:*Boca Grande Community Center, also known as Boca Grande School, a historic site in Boca Grande, Florida...

. ILLW now coincides with the worldwide lighthouse open day organised by the Association of Lighthouse Keepers, which sees public access to many of the featured lighthouses.

Format

The basic format of the event is that a local amateur radio club will set up a radio station either in, or adjacent to, a lighthouse. They will then operate from that station over the weekend, with the goal being contact other amateur stations, particularly those operating from other lighthouse sites. There is no fixed format, and no competition (such as contacting the most number or most distant stations); rather, the event is simply a networking event between amateur radio groups, with lighthouses as a focus.. Amateur Radio operators may register their intention to participate in the event by completeing a short online form on the official web site which also contains a complete up to date list of participants for every year since 1998.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.