INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND 2007
FEEDBACK ON THE 2007 EVENT
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INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND 2007 FEEDBACK ON THE 2007 EVENT |
From_Name: Roger Nichols VK7ARN at Cape Bruny
Lighthouse, Tasmania.
Subject: Message from web site.
Message: Kevin
A few pics here:-
http://tas.wicen.org.au/Photo_pages/illw_2007.html
From_Name: eladio-wp3mw Subject: Message for ILLW list manager. message: dear kevin only to thanks you for your help when the entry of our club to the event.we do it,with bad propagation and under hurricane conditions,we only do 100 contacts,the strong winds broke one of the antennas,and i'm witness of the most worst sea conditions i ever see.but,the boys and girls of our club enjoied it together. tnx my friend and until the next year! eladio-wp3mw president cofresi radio club-wp4nrt los morillos lgt
GreatILLW considering band conditions are as poor as they could be. Spent most of the time listening. Band was open but spotty on 20 to EU and NZ/AUS. Watched spots on the DX Northwest spotter and DX Summit. Seemed most of the East coast USA stations were operating on 40, or so it seemed from the spot activity. Not much chance of the USA West coast being involved in that activity. Did manage to work Warren (WM2Z)at W2AMC on 20 who had a nice signal out West during most of the time the band was open. Otherwise, worked lighthouses internationally (think that is the point isn't it?)as follows: Wales 1 Denmark 1 England 1 France 1 Belgium 1 New Zealand 1 Scotland 2 Italy 2 USA 7 Uruguay 1 Portugal 1 Australia 6 (good show mates) Would have worked a few more in Europe, but getting over the EU and East coast US QRM ain't easy and got tired of calling and calling and calling. Heard Greece, Sweden, Argentina, Chile, and Finland lighthouse stations but just could not break through. Also worked some lighthouses NOT on the ILLW 2007 list!! Kudos to Kevin and all the ILLW folks who did a fantastic job of getting the event together this year. As most of you know I was unable to do a lighthouse this year for some family health and other personal reasons, but just wait till next year. Having been at a LH each ILLW since 1999, I really felt bad at missing this year. Don W7WLL
Burry Port lighthouse (GB4BPL,)experienced exceptional conditions this year and was delighted to work 62 lighthouses/ships from 31 DXCC including the USA, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia and throughout Europe. A further 342 QSOs were made with other DXCC including China, Singapore, Kazakhstan, UAE, Oman, South Africa, Namibia, The Gambia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Trinidad & Tobago. Most activity was on 20m. Sporadic E on Saturday provided some excitement on 10m and 6m with 13 DXCC, 1 light and 20 squares worked on 'Six' using just a vertical. 15m opened very briefly on Saturday. Concurrent contest activity made pulling in the weak stations very difficult, particularly on 40m. Bad weather delayed erection of the 80m vertical. Since 2004, when GB4BPL became QRV, the operator, Mike, has logged 1,658 QSOs from 108 DXCC and 41 lighthouses/ships. WAS is in his sights too. 73 Mike
Click picture for larger version.Hi Kevin & all, Also had a great time here. Hans, MM0XAU/DJ6AU, Roger MM1FJM and myself at Bressay Island Lighthouse in the Shetland & Fair Isle group, EU-012. Worked mostly on 80m & 40m and some on 20m. QSO's = 865, Countries=47, Continents = 5, Lighthouses = 62 in 19 countries, US States = 23, That gives an idea how successful it was again. Shouldn't tell you this - we also worked the Radar station that sweeps the entrance to Bressay Sound into Lerwick harbour! The 20m antenna was too close to the rotating automatic radar installation inside the lighthouse grounds and tripped their alarms a couple of times.. Oooops! We'll know next time. Great weekend again Peter MM5PSL
From_Name: Mike Patterson VK4MIK Subject: Message for ILLW list manager. message: The Tableland Radio Group,Australia, run Grassy Hill Light station VK4GHL in Cooktown using a 20 mtr beam and a multiband dipole. Had reasonable Wx for the event and made a total of 170 contacts with some multi contacts on different bands/modes with lights in Australia. Also had 2 New Zealand,1 Poland and 1 United kindgom light contacts. Had a good opening into europe about 1am local time Sunday and had numerous contacts. Had 14 operators drive about 300kilometers to our station then back again on sunday. This is the third year and our contact numbers get better each year. We had good publicity and had 3 weeks of articles, prior to the event, in the local newspaper about the lights history and our operation plus a very good article with photos about our event this week. Also had Commercial Radio asking for interviews in Cairns and Townsville -which we did. All enjoyed the weekend and the fact that Australia had a large number of lights on air. You have done a terrific job organising this event Kevin - well done. We are planning for next year - so keep an ear out for VK4GHL.
Lighthouse Weekend - huge success - from VK3WI at Williamstown Lighthouse and Timeball Tower
The ninth International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) on 18 & 19 August saw up to 40 activations of Australian lighthouses confirming that we've really embraced this event.
Organised by the Ayr Amateur Radio Group the ILLW and grew out of the 1999 Northern Scotland Lighthouse Award Weekend to become an international activity involving 52 countries.
Maritime navigation around Australia's coast and into its ports relied on lighthouses in the past and today provides many opportunities for participation.
In 2000 only the Cape Otway Lighthouse VK3OWL was activated in the State of Victoria with 12 in total that year around Australia, but this year it was 9 VK3 out of a total of 40 VK.
For its third year, Amateur Radio Victoria activated the Williamstown Lighthouse putting 402 contacts in its log including 21 other VK lighthouses in all states and two from New Zealand.
Mainstays of the operation were Terry Murphy VK3UP, Michele Grant VK3FEAT and Jim Linton VK3PC. They were joined by more than 30 others on the weekend.
Interest was shown by Foundation Licensees and those who have had their ham ticket a relatively short time and travelled to Williamstown in Melbourne's south-west.
All were encouraged to get on air to experience what ILLW and portable operation is all about.
They included Ross Mentiplay VK3HBS, Carolyn Mentiplay VK3FCAR, Micheline Elton VK3FMGE, Jean Fisher VK3FJYL, John Fisher VK3ARK, Joe Chakravartti VK3FJBC, Craig Shine VK3FCLS, and David Jeal VK3FUEL.
This year Tim Hunt VK3IM had a string of CW contacts for VK3WI. There was a bit of activity on IRLP. Among the others who enjoyed the day were VK3ZGD Graeme Downie and VK3KG Peter Elton.
All operators had a script of information that provided a summary of the history of the Lighthouse and Time Ball Tower, and the details were welcomed by those who made contact with VK3WI.
When making contact with other lighthouses, information was shared about their lighthouse, working conditions and the activation.
Curious members of the public were proactively approached so their questions could be answered an explanation of ILLW given and the WIA's "Calling CQ…." brochure was handed out.
On both days the billy and BBQ was in operation adding to the real picnic feel of the event with many sitting around and socialising. The weather was at times cold, but that just provided nostalgic thoughts of how it must have been for the lighthouse keepers of yesteryear.
VK3WI was put on air over the weekend through two HF base stations, VHF and UHF. The main antenna was an inverted vee strung from the lighthouse providing an excellent radiator.
It put out an enormous signal, particularly on the 80m band after dark when the station took shelter inside the lighthouse where it operated until about midnight both days.
Apart from the weekend being a lot of good fun it has provided inspiration, particularly to John VK3ARK who decided on the spot that he would organise an ILLW activation by members of the Eastern and Mountain District Radio Club of a Gippsland lighthouse in 2008.
Amateur Radio Victoria will return to Williamstown next year. It thanks Parks Victoria for its permission and assistance to that enables it to be part of ILLW.
Finally, but not least, thank you to Kevin Mulcahy VK2CE who runs the official ILLW website dedicated to the memory of the ILLW Founder, Mike Dalrymple GM4SUC (sk).
- Amateur Radio Victoria
http://www.amateurradio.com.au
Fotos
_ ILLW2007
http://www.arvm.org/index.illw.foto.html
73
A.R.V.M.
From_Name: Lars Olsson, SM3AVQ at Boena Lighthouse, Sweden Subject: Message for ILLW list manager. message: Hello, Just a short report from the activity. worked QSOs: 1245, 1201 SSB and 44 SSB. 50 DXCC countries and 54 other lighthouses. 4 continents. Best DX VK2. Rig Icom and wire dipoles. Operators: CW SM3CUN ( EA8CN) and SSB SM3AVQ. 73 de Lars / SM3AVQ.
From Turkey, this story shows true dedication to the event and is well worth reading:-
http://www.archimac.org/TA2RX/Events/TC4LHW.html
