WLOTA
WLOTA (World Lighthouse On The Air) is an amateur radio award for lighthouses on islands. It was born in France on 1 July 1997 as the WLH-Award, created by four Frenchmen (three radio amateurs and a listener); in 2005, with a new award and a new team, it became WLOTA. It aims to complement the big international awards (DXCC, IOTA, WPX…). Two categories: the activators, who go to the island, and the hunters who contact them; listeners (SWLs) have their awards too.
The lighthouses that count
- On an island (a rock or reef at sea can be one), with a range of at least 10 nautical miles; below that, WLOTA HQ decides.
- One reference per island, even when there are several lighthouses; in the form L xxxx (the old LH xxxx are still accepted).
- Excluded: mainland lighthouses, marker buoys, channel buoys, semaphores and lightships.
- In November 2026 the list had 75 entries for France (« List Not Finished »): for example L 0208 Ouessant, L 2721 Sein, L 0680 Batz, L 0050 Groix, L 0872 Belle-Île, L 0801 Yeu, with no expedition validation required, or L 0271 Cordouan, which requires one.
Activating
Get the permissions needed before any operation. Operate from the same island as the lighthouse: no need to be near it. No activation in /MM, from a boat. Give the callsign and the reference often. A new reference is requested from WLOTA HQ (annex 5, a 1:250,000 map, up to 60 days for an answer); it stays provisional until the activator has proved 100 valid QSOs, within 2 months of the activation.
The contacts and the log
For the award, contacts with /MM stations, and those via relay, satellite or packet radio, aren't accepted. The ADIF 3.1.6 standard has no WLOTA field, and WLOTA sets no format: it asks for a date / reference / callsign / mode list and the QSLs. The most logical is to log the reference in the generic special-activity fields, MY_SIG = WLOTA and MY_SIG_INFO = L 0208 for your station (SIG and SIG_INFO for the station contacted); the IOTA field stays for IOTA references.
Getting it validated
Since 1 January 2005 you check in the list whether the lighthouse requires validation of the expedition; without it, the QSL isn't accepted for the award. If the list requires it (« Validation Expedition Required » column), and to aim for the activator's awards, which need validation cards, you send annex 6 and a proof of presence at most 12 months after the expedition: a photo on the island (with the lighthouse if possible), an official document, a signed statement of landing or a photo of the operators with a sign naming the island or lighthouse; a photocopy of the licence is asked for when the expedition's callsign isn't the usual one (a special callsign, for example). A validation card follows. The WLOTA reference must be on the QSL (or the QSO label).
The awards
Hunter: World Wide at 100 different lighthouses confirmed by QSL, then every 100; continental awards every 50 lighthouses (25 for Africa and South America); High Latitudes every 50 lighthouses north of 60° N or south of 50° S. A QSL with only an ARLHS reference isn't accepted. Activator: Bronze 5, Silver 10, Gold 15 validated lighthouses. An international contest is held on the first weekend of July.
The other programmes
As complements: IOTA for islands (EU-xxx references in the ADIF IOTA field); the DPLF, the French lighthouses award (150 m from the lighthouse or its enclosure); ARLHS (1,000 m, or in sight); and the ILLW, an event on the 3rd full weekend of August, which isn't a contest and welcomes lightships too. Unlike WLOTA, POTA and SOTA accept satellite contacts.
Bonus: the light
Each lighthouse has its characteristic (Shom, book 1D): F fixed; Oc more light than dark; Iso as much light as dark; Fl less light than dark; LFl a flash of at least 2 s; Q 50 to 79 flashes a minute. In the game the flashes' lengths are ours, chosen within these definitions.
Licence Activating a lighthouse means transmitting: you need an amateur licence. Without one you can listen, and WLOTA even has listeners' awards.
In the game The lighthouse drawn is generic, the maps and callsigns are made up; the references quoted are real, only a few examples. The rules are published in English; our translations are only a help. No logo: WLOTA is a protected mark, we draw our own pictograms.