What a way to spend the 25th Anniversary of International Lighthouse and Lightships Weekend on the Airways
This year once again the Humber Fortress DX ARC was invited to active Spurn lighthouse by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for International Lighthouse and Lightships Weekend.
18th and 19th August 2018 was the date this year, 3 weeks before the work had to begin planning this event.
First you need a fit team of operators as the Lighthouse has 146 steps, hard work when you think over the weekend you may climb them up and down 20 times or so, it is hard work.
New wire aerials are made each year as we like to test new ones out at the lighthouse, it not often you get a 130 feet skyhook to play with nowadays and it adds to the fun.
This year we had a 20m quad loop feeding it at corners middle and sides to see what happens, 40m Dipole a good fall back to have, W3DZZ covering 10m to 80m a good all-rounder with gain.
Coax and Radios are tested and packed all ready for the weekend ahead.
The Team is briefed on whom will do want and how we go about in a safe manner, any event on this scale needs risk assessments, and running safety, with this in place we are all ready for the weekend ahead.
Saturday 18th comes quickly at its 6am and our Local DMR repeater GB7WI comes alive with the team starting their own journeys from home down to Spurn point, which is around 20-mile trip for most of us in the team.
Spurn point is now controlled access by the tide down to the Peninsula, and this Saturday we had a small window to get our lift to the lighthouse with all our equipment in the YWT Unimog and great truck to get down there.
At 8:30am Once all the Equipment and the team were loaded on the YWT Unimog, were ready for the trip down the Spurn peninsula to the Lighthouse, Rob from the YWT was our driver and guide to get down to the lighthouse.
The Trip down takes about 20 minutes and once at the Lighthouse, it was time to unload all our Equipment and let the fun begin.
Setup and pack down are always a hard Job on these events, saying that the team is now well trained and get the job done very fast now.
The team is split up into 3 groups.
One: team heading up the lighthouse to drop a rope from the top for a support the antennas.
Two: getting the Coax and support ropes and Wire Aerials ready and laid out to go.
Third: setting the operating tent up, as this year we wanted to try operating outside the lighthouse, as the weather was great and it was easier for the Public to come see what we were doing without having to climb to the third floor as the years before.
Once setup we were right to work and on the airways with our new member to the team this year John M0JDT, and within a few calls the pile begins.
All the team took turns in working the radio over the weekend, here a few pictures
Over the weekend we had over 365 QSO’s made on really poor band conditions.
We spoke to all of Europe and far a field to list a few
in Anguilla, Brazil , USA , India .
Lighthouse’s worked was 14 this year due to poor band conditions.
43 Country’s worked over the weekend.
Most QSO’s was made on 40m and 20m.
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