International lighthouse and lightship weekend
The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend ( english International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend , short ILLW ) is an annual on the third weekend in August activity of radio amateurs .
The event harks back to the Northern Lighthouses Award Weekend , which has been held in Scotland every two years since 1993 . In 1998, John Forsyth and Mike Dalrymple from the Ayr Amateur Radio Group (AARG) in Scotland launched the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend . Radio amateurs in 95 countries now take part in the event. They set up an amateur radio station on or near a lighthouse for the duration of the weekend and make contact with other radio amateurs. Visitors to the locations are informed about the lighthouses and amateur radio activity.
The organization is currently under the direction of the Australian radio amateurs Kevin Mulcahy, who is also responsible for the website. Numerous important radio associations such as the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) support the event, which is intended to raise public interest in the preservation of the lighthouses and lightships as an important witness to the history of shipping.