Founded in 2000 by Jim Weidner, K2JXW, the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society (ARLHS) is devoted to maritime communications, amateur radio, lighthouses, and lightships. Its members frequently travel to lighthouses around the world where they operate amateur radio equipment at or near the light. Collecting lighthouse QSLs is popular for some amateur radio operators. ARLHS is a membership organization with over 1665 members worldwide as of July 2009.
Initial registration and membership is US dollars $25 and each renewal thereafter is $20. Once a member, always a member. The member number is never reassigned or given to someone else, even if the subscriber becomes inactive or fails to renew yearly. A yearly convention is held in October each year. In 2010 the gathering will be in Biloxi, Mississippi. In years past it has been held in Solomons, Maryland, St. Simons, Georgia, Port Huron, Michigan, and other sites. Membership benefits include a newsletter, email reflector, extensive awards program, lighthouse expedition sponsorship, certificates, embroidered shoulder patch, the world's most complete list of every known light beacon in the world capable of supporting a ham station (over 15,000 entries at last count—see "World List of Lights" info below), an extensive web site at [1], and much more. The ARLHS has been featured in national magazines, such as CQ and WordRadio. Jim Weidner remains its founding President; and Jim buffington, K5JIM, is Vice President. Club call sign is KC2HOU and web site is [2]
To facilitate efficient information exchange between amateur radio operators when communicating from lighthouses, the ARLHS maintains a catalog of lighthouses called The World List of Lights (WLOL)[1]. Its main feature is a short, unique and easily transmitted identification number for each lighthouse. The WLOL lists any lighthouse that is or was an Aid to Navigation (ATN) and can reasonably accommodate an amateur radio operation. Lights that are no longer in existence, but were once an ATN, also show up on the list, designated as historical. With over 14,000 entries, the WLOL is one of the most complete lighthouse catalogs in existence.