SOS Radio Week 2023 is an annual event that takes place during the month of May. Registered SOS Radio Week stations make as many contacts as possible to raise awareness of the volunteers who give up their time, and risk their lives, to save people around the coasts of the British Isles and out to sea.
Throughout the whole month of May you will hear SOS Radio Week stations calling out on all bands. They will be using analogue phone, CW, digital voice, data and image modes. The participating stations are located all around the British Isles (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Eire, Isle of Man and the Channel Isles).
The volunteers who SOS Radio Week participants celebrate work for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and National Coastwatch Institution, together with the many independent lifeboat and coast rescue teams that exist around our coasts. They all donate their time for free and many risk their own lives to save others.
The SOS Radio Week website contains a list of registered stations. This shows when they will be on the air and what modes they will be operating on. There is also a league table of contacts made by band and mode. Please be aware, though, that not every station participates in this. As a result, a zero doesn’t mean that no contacts have been made.
About SOS Radio Week
SOS Radio Week can trace its roots back to 2006. David (M3LFC) undertook a sponsored marathon to make 300 contacts on VHF in three months. Fittingly, he raised £300 which was donated to Hoylake Lifeboat Station. The year after, his Dad (G7LFC) and friend Simon (MW0GSR) operated for a week in January to coincide with the RNLI’s fundraising weekend. In 2008 it was turned into an open event and SOS Radio Week was born. Since then many stations have taken part each year. Much awareness of the RNLI has been raised, together with a fair amount of sponsorship money too.
The RNLI’s fundraising has moved to the May Day bank holiday weekend and subsequently expanded for the whole month of May. This is why the month-long event is called SOS Radio Week.
Register to take part in SOS Radio Week 2023
It’s not too late to take part in SOS Radio Week 2023. Simply pop along to our website, register and start operating. You can …
- Use any callsign (personal, club, or special event)
- Operate from anywhere (home, club HQ, or any other location).