General Awards Rules

Applications for all awards are subject to the following uniform general qualifications and procedures. All ARLHS awards except the Activator Awards are available to SWL’s on a heard basis if confirmed by an SWL QSL. The rules of the awards can be altered and brought up-to-date by the Awards Committee at any time and all disputed questions and problems will be decided by that committee.

Starting 2018 the ARLHS Awards program debuts with some changes to the awards types and certificates. The standard format for all awards certificate issued by ARLHS will be an electronic certificate (PDF file) and will be free of charge.

Due to occasional demand for paper certificates, starting September 2020 paper certificates will be available as an option for a fee of US $10 which covers printing and mailing.

Rules and Application Forms:

All ARLHS awards/certificates require an application form preferably submitted by email along with scans of the QSL cards to the Awards Manager (email and address below). These forms may be reproduced in any quantity you wish. If you prefer to submit your application by mail and would like your original material returned to you by the awards manager, please ensure that your submission is accompanied by suitable size return envelope stamped with sufficient postage and self-addressed (SASE). In the case of DX requests, send enough funds (in US $) to cover return postage, again submission via email is recommended and preferred. For the ARLHS official list of lights and their numbers, see the “ARLHS World Light List” available on the web site.

General Awards Application Form

Activator Awards Application Form

Award Costs:

ARLHS Awards eCertificates are free of charge and will be issued to the requester via email.

Paper certificates are now an available option for a fee of US $10 which covers printing material and mailing. Payment accepted by PayPal.

QSL Confirmation:

QSL confirmation is required for ARLHS awards, but the cards themselves do not have to be submitted with the application. (At an annual convention in October 2002, the ARLHS members in attendance, believing their fellow members, and hams in general, to be basically honest, voted to abandon the requirement that QSL cards be submitted with award applications.) Nevertheless, it is assumed that cards or suitable confirmations are available for inspection should they be requested by the Awards Manager or the Awards Committee.

It is recommended that copies (paper photocopies or electronic image scans by email) of actual QSL cards are submitted for an award.  QSL photocopies will not be returned unless requested and unless an SASE with sufficient postage is supplied. The ARLHS assumes no responsibility for the safety of any submitted materials other than to exercise normal care while such materials are in its possession.

When requested for verification, QSL’s must obviously certify a lighthouse operation and specify the recognized ARLHS name or the ARLHS number of the lighthouse. QSL’s with only another organization’s LH number can not be accepted. QSL’s with a lighthouse name that differs from the official ARLHS name are subject to individual approval by the Awards Committee on a case-by-case basis. QSL’s with just an island name or IOTA number do not qualify unless proximity to the lighthouse is established by appropriate documentation.

Any questions as to whether a particular operation will count for ARLHS Awards should be directed to the Awards Manager, who, along with members of the Awards Committee, will make a final decision.

Any altering of QSL cards or fraudulent applications submitted will result in permanent expulsion from the ARLHS Awards program. Country status shall be determined by the DXCC guidelines. All contacts must be made from the same DXCC entity to qualify for a particular award.

Activator Credit

An operator activating a Light following the ARLHS rules will automatically receive credit towards the various Chaser Awards for that light. In other words when applying for various chaser awards, the activator of a specific ARLHS Light does not need to submit QSL proof for the light he or she has activated.

Submission of Electronic QSL Cards:

E-QSLs are acceptable as proof of contact for ARLHS awards only if both stations indicated on the QSL are members of the ARLHS and then only if the e-QSL has both of their ARLHS member numbers and all other information (LH number etc) actually printed on the card and not handwritten.

In other words, all data on the e-QSL, including QSO information, lighthouse name, and lighthouse number, must be part of the original printed version. No data, handwritten after the fact on an e-QSL card is acceptable. Copies of the card may be be printed on paper and must then be submitted with the paper award application. E-copies of QSLs and applications forwarded by E-mail in electronic format are acceptable and encouraged.

Eligibility of a Light Beacon

In general, eligibility of specific lights can be documented by a country’s “official” light list, if one is available. In the USA, listings such as the US Coast Guard “Light Stations Remaining in the United States,” and the “Lightships and Lightship Stations” will be used as references by the Awards Committee. In all decisions regarding the eligibility of specific lights, however, or the interpretation and implementation of the rules, the ARLHS Awards Committee will be the final authority.

For the ARLHS official list of lights and their numbers, please see the “ARLHS World List of Lights.”

Frequently Asked Questsion

Please refer to the FAQ section for information on:

• Lighthouse Activation Rules and Contacts
• Suggested frequencies
• Special conditions: Lighthouses that moved, Lightships underway or moved
• Activating more than one light at the same time

Effective Dates and Other Provisions:

The effective date for all provisions of the Award Program contained herein is January 1, 2003, and there is no “starting date”; that is, for the purpose of the Awards Program, the ARLHS will recognize any QSO and QSL from a lighthouse, regardless of when that contact took place. In effect, this constitutes an infinite “Grandfather Clause.”

These provisions and all awards, certificates, and prizes offered by the ARLHS may be changed and modified or withdrawn by the Society at any time without prior notice to or approval of the membership.

Awards Committee

President:

John Huggins, KX4O, #635

e-mail: john@arlhs.com

 

Awards Manager:

Tim Hijazi, KB3K, #1944

e-mail: KB3K.tim@gmail.com

Mailing address as listed on QRZ