A two-member team of amateurs from West Bengal – VU3IBL & VU3IZV activated India’s first beach on the air. The activations were on the 18th and 19th of December from Mousumi Island Beach (Grid – NL41). The team also made use of the special callsign – AU2SOA for this beach activation. The team was actively supported by the Parks of the Air – India team for this first-ever beach activation from India. Mousuni Island is located towards the Southern end of West Bengal. It is surrounded by the Bay of Bengal on three sides and a river on one side. Beaches On The Air is a global award scheme for radio amateurs that promotes portable operation from beaches. Rolls of honour and awards for activators (those who operate from the beaches) and chasers (those who contact them from home or elsewhere). You can participate from any beach, country or region around the world. More info: https://www.beachesontheair.com
Wow the thats exciting , i myself love the beach, even more fun having a ham radio to make contact’s world wide to say the least,with all that salt water makes great conductivity, W6FRD
Like I actually needed another excuse to hang out on Daytona Beach. Although, the XYL is gonna love this one.
There's a group that regularly sets up in Daytona Beach at the city owned strip of grass between the Hilton and the boardwalk....... I think they only operate on 6m and 2m.
WOW!!! never thought of beaches on the air....sounds wondersul and another excuse to operate portable. We have many beaches nearby Lake Michigan, Bass Lake, and dozens of other beaches less than an hour away.
I operate from along the beach/bay complex here in South Texas. It is hard to beat seeing the sights and sounds as I operate. The saltwater here is the key, it boosts low angle Dx patterns off my antennas. I use short mag mounted antennas and literally work the world with 1/4 wave verticals. Guys you’ll be amazed….once you try a couple outings to a beach you’ll never see home operating from the same viewpoint. Keep it simple….1/4 wave antennas with a couple radials, radio and tuner. I use a hustler 5 ft extension with a 102 inch whip magnet mounted on my truck cab, small tuner works 10-12-15-17! I also use a chameleon telescopic 17 whip for 20 meters, it can be manually tuned in length if needed. I’m very lazy so not a lot to carry and deal with is perfect. Takes about 2 minutes to deploy either setup. I’m sure hamstick type antennas will also be great….get as CLOSE to the saltwater as possible not back in the dunes….next to the water or marsh and Try it!, it’s simple and results are simply amazing. Give yourself a holiday or two in 2023. Garry
I used to live in New Mexico. As we used to say there, we had miles and miles of beach; no ocean, but lots of beach. This whole thing sounds fun. Love to operate portable from the beach already.
Looks that way! Just watched "Raiders" for don't know how many times last night. When you start saying the actor's lines before they do you know it's too many times.
Question: Can a beach activation qualify if the beach is located on an inland lake like El Dorado Lake in Kansas, for example? Or is it just for beaches on bays, gulfs and oceans? (Waiting to sign up for an account for now; I'm currently at work as I post this.)
This page explains it in a rather obscure way, but essentially the answer is YES. What qualifies as a beach for Beaches On The Air? | Beaches On The Air
That's what I'm getting from that page, but I'll go with the US EPA listing of beaches to start and go from there. Thanks for the reply!