Lighthouses and VC1W

Marblehead Lighthouse, Ohio (photograph by John McCarty, available on Wikimedia Commons)

Despite the home station equipment still being disassembled and  in storage I have been getting the K2 out on the backyard deck for some portable style operating.  Last Saturday I had a little time to make a few QSOs and I managed to work three lighthouses on 40m who were participating in the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). These were:

• Fire Island, New York (US0019)
• Marblehead, Ohio (US0069)
• Sea Girt, New Jersey (US0036)

Fire Island Lighthouse, New York (photograph by Skip Willits, availalbe on Wikimedia Commons)

Unfortunately, I did not manage to work the local lighthouse, the Cape North (CA0016), which is located in the grounds of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa and was activated by Bob, VA3QV.  Details on his day during ILLW can be found at this post on his blog.

Keeping with the maritime theme I also worked the DXpedition station, VC1W, on Welsh Island, Nova Scotia. This is IOTA island NA -154.  Surprisingly, there was no pile up when I replied to their call and I received a good report for my QRP signal from Dana, who was operating at the time.

A nice set of contacts from the back deck, on a very warm (about 30°C) day, using my portable equipment.