YOU MIGHT NOT expect amatuer radio and lighthouses to be working hand-in-hand with each other for their own preservation.
An event taking place this weekend aims to do just that, as ham radio operators in countries across the world take up residence in their local lighthouses or lightships and begin broadcasting.
The International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend (ILLW) was launched in 1988, growing from a small event in Scotland to one involving 450 lighthouse and lightships in 50 countries across the world.
“The basic objective of the event is to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, and at the same time to promote amateur radio and to foster International goodwill,” ILLW say.
The west coast will play its own role in this at the weekend. Limerick Radio Club are heading to Loop Head Lighthouse, broadcasting from midnight on Friday to Sunday.
Last year they made contact with lighthouses as far away as Australia and Brazil through a combination of traditional radio broadcasts and Morse code.
Visitors to Loop Head will able to pop in and listen to the broadcasts being received, organisers say.
The callsign used for the broadcast will be E I 0 L H L.
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