ILLW draws attention to lighthouses

/

About 80 qualified marine structures from 18 countries have so far registered for the next International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend.

The annual 48 hour fun event held on the third full weekend in August is how amateur radio activity increases public awareness of the need to preserve the historic navigation devices.

In some places the old local lighthouse needs repair and conservation.

In a few places the land and structure is for sale, including the Turnberry Lighthouse which is a Scottish icon.

Its 130 year life kicked off of the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend with The Ayr Amateur Radio Group GM0AYR, but will be sold and is likely to be extinguished. Similar lighthouses have been turned into luxury hotels.

In most places lighthouses are well restored. In Australia the work of Ian Newton VK2IAN in drawing attention to the Crookhaven Heads lighthouse is starting to pay off.

The lighthouse on the south coast of New South Wales has been activated creating interest by various government bodies including the Shoalhaven City Council.

Similar efforts are being made in various countries as the historical value of the important role played by the old structures is better known and appreciated.

If you would like to learn more or register online for the event on 17-18 August 2013, visit the website http://www.illw.net

3D2C DXpedition to Conway Reef

/

Preparations are continuing for a large multi-national DXpedition to Conway Reef.

There are 19 operators from all over the globe participating in this tent and generator operation. Conway Reef is located in the South Pacific Ocean and is #35 on Club Log's most wanted DXCC list.

The bulk of our equipment has arrived and is staged in Suva, Fiji. ICOM is shipping the IC-7600 rigs to us this week, and they will travel with the team to Suva. The advance team is arriving in Suva on 21st September 2012 to commence with equipment testing and loading on our vessel, the venerable Island Dancer II.

The main Team is meeting in Lami Bay, Suva, and departing by ship to Conway Reef on 24th September 2012. The Team expects to arrive at Conway Reef and become active on September 26th. We will complete our Dxpedition on 5th October 2012, and return to Suva.

The main goals of this DXpedition are to work every amateur radio operator who needs Conway Reef for a new DXCC country. In addition, the team will be active on all bands from 1.8 MHz to 144 MHz, including the 5 MHz and 50 MHz bands.

Operating modes will be CW, SSB and RTTY. Special attention will be made to work far away stations such as Europe and Africa during those periods when propagation permits. The propagation window for EU and Africa is very brief at times and signals may be weak, so we ask everyone in the honoured HAM SPIRIT to stand by when asked so that we may fulfil this need.

The team will use satellite phones to upload our logs on a daily basis to our on-line log. We will upload to LOTW approximately six months following the DXpedition.

Thanks to INDEXA, NCDXF and all of the Clubs and individuals who have provided monetary support for this Dxpedition.

Official website - http://www.yt1ad.info/3d2c/index.html

California QSO Party

/

The 46th annual California QSO Party starts at 1600 UTC on 6 October 2012, striving to have all 58 California counties on the air.

Although mostly a USA/VE contest, there is surprisingly high DX participation and there are awards for the DX winners. Special edition T-shirts are also available for purchase.

Last year almost 1000 logs were submitted. Activity is always high. You can work the same station on all bands 2-160 meters on both CW and SSB so there’s rarely a dull moment.

A standard exchange is - Serial number and state/province for stations outside of California (serial number and “DX” for stations outside of the USA and Canada)

Serial number and county abbreviation for California stations (the abbreviations are listed here - http://www.cqp.org/cqp_multipliers.html

For more information, visit the CQP Web page - http://www.cqp.org