Ham radio operators mark 170 years of Loop Head with worldwide broadcast

A group of amateur radio operators from across the Mid-West Region will mark the 170th anniversary of Loop Head Lighthouse this weekend by communicating from the West Clare landmark via radio with hundreds of radio clubs and individuals worldwide using voice, Morse code and data systems.

During the operation from midnight on Friday 16 August to midnight on Sunday 18 August, visitors to the popular tourism landmark will be able to listen-in to communications with some of the other participating radio operators broadcasting from 500 other lighthouses and lightships in 65 countries.

Clare County Council, along and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL), is facilitating the broadcast operation while the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club also has received approval from Ireland’s Communications Regulator, ComReg.

The call sign used will be E I 0 L H L and the broadcast also will coincide with of the 27th annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend.

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“We are delighted to have the opportunity once again to establish an amateur radio station at the lighthouse on the edge of the Loop Head Peninsula in an effort to achieve long distance communications with regions in Asia, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe” commented Dermot Gleeson, Chairman of the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club.

“We will be informing anyone whom we establish radio contact with that we are operating from a Signature Discovery Point on the Wild Atlantic Way and one of the Great Lighthouses of Ireland. Our club members, who come from Clare, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary, are happy to play their part in promoting these wonderful tourism initiatives,” he added.

Mr. Gleeson pointed out that Loop Head Lighthouse is particularly suitable for long distance radio communications attempts due to its isolated location on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and, critically, the lack of radio interference in the general area.

He continued, “A special QSL Card (confirmation of communication) has been designed to mark the event. The Club will operate two stations, one of which will be at the entrance to the Lighthouse so that members of the public can listen to some of the transmissions. Our club members are looking forward to taking part in the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend and all we need now is good weather for what will be a very enjoyable weekend.”

The Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club last year successfully contacted lighthouses and lightships as far away as Brazil, Australia, Asiatic Russia, the US Virgin Islands and Japan, with most of the radio contacts being made with operators in the United States, Germany and Italy.

Approximately two thirds of the overall communication was conducted via voice with the remaining third being conducted via Morse code.

Simon Day, Acting Head of Operations for Clare County Council at Loop Head Lighthouse said: “We are delighted to be able to once again facilitate members of the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club, who have helped to further raise the profile of Loop Head Lighthouse through their conversations over the airwaves with fellow amateur radio operators internationally”.

He added: “The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is a wonderful mechanism for connecting and promoting the shared maritime heritage of countries throughout the world.

"It also serves to further promote the Great Lighthouses of Ireland initiative and the special interest among the wider community in lighthouses. We wish the members of Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club the very best of luck this weekend”.

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