Greetings from Alleppey Light House celebrating its Sesquicennial 150 years. We are pleased to be permitted by Government of India, Ministry of Communication and Information Technology for giving us special permission and callsign from 12th to 22nd August 2011 to participate in the International Lighthouse and Lightship Week ILLW for the forth consequite year. Special Thanks to the Director General of Lighthouse and Lightship, Noida, Ministry of Shipping http://www.dgllnoida.gov.in/index.asp and the Director Lighthouse and Lightship, Cochin for not only permitting us use the Alleppey Lighthouse but also making a visit to the special event station with their officers and showing interest in Amateur (Ham) Radio activities.

WPC Letter L-14011/639/2010 Dated 11th August 2011, DGLL, Noida Letter No. 12/3/2010-D&P dated 29th July 2011 and DLL, Cochin Letter No. VII/75/CHN/C/2009 dated 1st August 2011.

Details of this Lighthouse http://www.dgllnoida.gov.in/cochin/ALLEPPEY.html and details about International Lighthouse and Lightship Week http://www.illw.net/ and about the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society is onhttp://www.arlhs.com

We are glad to have this special event along with the famous 59th Nehru Trophy Boat race and 65th Independence Day celebrations in the colourful town of Alleppey. With quite a lot of VHF repeaters, we are having even the Net controlled thru the Special Callsign. Thanks to the big list of local hams who are extending all their help and support. We thank thouse who have made it to visit this station and Lighthouse.

The Special Event Station was visited by the incharge District Collector, ADM Shri Thambi on 15th August after hoisting the National Flag for the District of Alappuzha as the District Collector was out of station. He did show quite a lot of interest in this hobby.

On HF front we have dedicated VU2LX Laxman and VU2UR Arasu (ARLHS # 1578) mainly on CW trying their level best with simple inverted V - Dipole antenna a short clip of this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqzPDYNk1VA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUhPFmexHiw

VU2JYU - Jayu the local ham has come out of the way showing the hospilaty and looking after local logistics supported by VU3XTO Unni, VU2HSM - Mani, VU2DYB Pradeepan andVU3PXJ Sunil as team members of VU9LHA.

Very special thanks to following Hams and their family members who visited Alleppey Lighthouse coming all the way from their respective towns and visit this special event station VU3VUL - Shaji, VU2PEY - Balan, VU3RTE - Rajan, VU3HJN - Pushpan, VU2AJL - Alex and his XYL VU3OCD, VU3TCA Thomas, VU2CTN - Cristy not only coming all the way from Trichur but taking the VHF nets and running up and down the Lighthouse of Alleppey. VU2HSM Mani for conducting the HF Chairminar Net and many more hams for taking the VHF nets from VU9LHA

As per uncompiled log report we have 49 countries worked including our own country.

We are happy to be awarded WAEDC contest 2011

Multi-Operator Place Callsign QSOs Multi QTCs Total Score

Club 15 VU9LHA 47 50 0 2 350

VUCG Operators VU9LHA: VU2UR, VU2LX, VU2LU, VU2JHM.

QSL cards direct - please send 3 IRCs along with your address label and VU Hams their QSL card along with sufficient postage stamps (no SASE) along with their address label and we plan to send you special postal cover with Permenant Pictorial Postal Cancellation (PPPC) of the Nehru Trophy Boat Race of Alleppey which is a collector's item. There is every possibility of India Post releasing its Second to Fifth Lighthouse Stamps after 1985 Minicoy Lighthouse Centenary Stamp in year 2012. April 22, 2012 is marked for the Sesquicentennial Celebrations

Thanks to Bangalore Amateur Radio Club VU2ARC and Lions Clubs International Amateur (Ham) Radio Club station VU2LCI for all the assistance, the expenses of this activity was self borne by participants plus rest by Shri Ramesh Kumar VU2LU and Lion Ajoy VU2JHM.

Photographs and Great Moments are captured and shared at https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=lionajoy&target=ALBUM&id=5641875484774690961&authkey=Gv1sRgCPqDic2Unc32GA&feat=email

VU2JYU's Photoweblink https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=vu2jyu&target=ALBUM&id=5642164411865266289&authkey=Gv1sRgCM3rlcPo06WXcg&feat=email

Special Thanks to the dedicated, young and energitic, incharge Light Keeper - Sri Binod who extended his support and showed a lot of interest in Ham Radio and now our very good new friend

View from top of the Lighthouse is great - a short fun videoclip is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9qDWwwXo1k

Our previous Lighthouse Amateur (Ham) Radio activites were http://www.qrz.com/db/AT8LH http://www.qrz.com/db/AT8LHC and http://www.qrz.com/db/VU0LH

This year 2011 we are glad that Mumbai boys have put up Special Event Station http://www.qrz.com/db/AT0ULH and we anticipate that this ARLHS / ILLW activity will be taken up by many Indian Hams to put our countries heritage lighthouse on the air.

Special Thanks to Electronic Media, TV channels for covering this eventnot just 150 years of Alleppey Lighthouse but also about Amatuer (Ham) Radio activity. World Lighthouse Society http://www.worldlighthouses.org/for article of this event in their Volume 9, Issue 3 of 3rd Quarter 2011 of their newsletter.

House Boats of Kerala on the Backwaters of Alleppey http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prJhsmu0uKwa nice place for an experience. The Crowded Boat Racing having one single boat with one hundred oarsman - cannotthink of here is a short clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zgg4KaizJUImore details of this unique boat race is at http://www.nehrutrophy.nic.in/

Best of 73's

de Lion Ajoy VU2JHM

Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society ARLHS # 1571 http://www.arlhs.com

President, Bangalore Amateur Radio Club - VU2ARC

Disaster Manager & Custodian, Lions International Amateur (Ham) Radio Club - VU2LCI

Life Member, World Ligthhouse Society WLS http://www.worldlighthouses.org/index.htm