Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday March 27th 2005
EI Counties Contest
Listeners are reminded that the Spring leg of the EI Counties Contest will take place on Easter Monday, the 28th of March between 2.00 and 4.00 p.m. Listeners are encouraged to get involved in the event. Even if you are not operating at a club station you can operate from your own QTH in one of the fixed categories. Contest rules are in the IRTS Year Book.
Theory Examination
As you know there has been no Theory Examination for the Experimenter's Licence for almost a year now. Despite repeated representations from the Society, ComReg was not prepared to hold a further examination, for a number of reasons, including that it intended to outsource the theory examination process.
Most of you will now be aware that on 14 February last ComReg published a document seeking expressions of interest from parties interested in setting, organising and correcting the examination for the Experimenter's Licence. Anyone interested in seeing this document will find it on the ComReg website at www.comreg.ie as Document ComReg 05/10. A group within the Society has been working hard on the Theory Examination project for some time past and on 23 March a detailed expression of interest in running the theory examination was submitted to ComReg by the IRTS.
The submission runs to over 40 pages and covers in detail such topics as the format of the examination, frequency of examinations, exam centres, measures to ensure the integrity of the process including the security of the production and transmission of question papers and the supervision of the examinations.
The Society is recommending a multiple choice examination paper. The questions are broken down over three prescribed main sections which are Elementary Theory of Radiocommunications, Natioinal and International Rules and Operating Procedures and Safety and Electromagnetic Compatibility. There are further subdivisions of these sections covering various topics. The submission also includes a complete multiple choice sample examination paper as well as detailed letters of instructions to examination supervisors and candidates.
A number of people were involved in bringing this project to a conclusion and the President, Sean EI4GK, would like to extend thanks on behalf of the Society to all those involved for a job well done.
Tipperary Amateur Radio Group
The Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will hold a meeting in Raheen House Hotel Clonmel on Wednesday the 30th of March to discuss communications arrangements for the forthcoming Glen of Aherlow Walking Festival taking place on the following weekend of April 1st, 2nd and 3rd. There will be 3 separate walks on both the Saturday and Sunday, anyone wishing to help out or take part can contact John ei7ig at ei7trg.org.
IRTS AGM and Awards
Last week we reported the some of the award winners at the 73rd Annual General Meeting of the Irish Radio Transmitters Society in Limerick. The following is the concluding list of awards given out at the AGM.
The IRTS IOTA award for offshore activity changed hands from EJ7M to EJ2MT and the Tom Donelan CQ WW award for CW Single operator was awarded to EI4DW. The award was previously held by EI4BZ. The Pat Conway Cup which was held by EI3IA was awarded to EI3BF. The Arup Cup which was last year held by EI3EG was this year awarded to EI3IP.
The Collins Cup which was held last year by EI7BB was awarded jointly to EI3JE and EI8JA. The Sheila Piper Cup which was held by EI4BZ during 2004 was awarded to EI7IS for 2005 and the IRTS DX Trophy for the top EI operator in IOTA changed hands from EI8GS to EI8IR.
The Hal Hodgens Key for IOTA 12 hour CW category was held last year by EI5GM and was awarded to EI4CF for 2005.
Cork City Gaol and Radio Museum
A permanent amateur radio station with the callsign EI0CRM is set up in the Cork Radio Museum, which is located at the Cork City Gaol Heritage Centre in Sundays Well.
The station was set up and is being run by Larry O'Sullivan EI7FJB.
Cork City Gaol opened for business in 1824 and was used as a prison until 1923.
When Radio Eireann was expanding in the mid-twenties, the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs was a Bandon man, J.J. Walsh and it was decided to set up a broadcast station in Cork.
Broadcasting commenced in 1927 using the callsign 6CK and the studios, transmitter and aerials were all located within the old Cork City Gaol.
National broadcasts were made for nearly two years but due to cutbacks programming was more or less confined to Sunday nights until the 1950s when the station moved to Union Quay in the City Centre.
The broadcasting studios are fully restored and thanks to Paddy Clarke, Broadcasting Historian and RTE a fine display of radio artefacts from the earliest days are now on permanent display at the Cork Radio Museum.
The museum is open daily and is well worth a visit.
SOTA
Richard, G3CWI, is on holiday in Ireland until the 8th of April. While in EI he intends activating some of Ireland's hills for Summits on the Air (SOTA). Operation will be between 1100 and 1500 UTC on 40m CW around 7030 kHz. His primary radio objective is to activate Carrauntoohill.
Mills Weekend
The National Mills Weekend in the UK takes place over the weekend of the 7th and 8th of May 2005. More information can be had from www.g4cdd.net/mills.html
VHF AM
A VHF AM Yahoo Group has been formed recently in the UK and already has about 100 members, with new people joining all the time. The group has settled on the following frequencies as centres of AM activity, but emphasises that these are not 'must use' frequencies, but just somewhere to look for AM operation. They are: 29.050, 50.570, 70.260, 144.570 and 432.570 MHz. To join the group, send an e-mail to VHFam-subscribe at yahoogroups.com.
Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend
The 2004 International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend took place over the weekend 21/22 August 2004 when over 380 lighthouse stations were established in 52 countries. A full list of stations with their details can be found at illw.net/2004_list.htm This year the event will run from 0001 UTC 20 August until 2359 UTC 21 August 2005.
Guidelines for the International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend 2005 can be found at illw.net/index.html So come and join the fun and let us have over 400 stations at lighthouses or lightships.
World Amateur Radio Day 2005
The World Amateur Radio Day 2005 Award is designed to commemorate the World Amateur Radio Day celebrated by IARU on the 18th of April each year. It is issued by the the Polish Radio Amateurs Journal, with support of PZK, The Polish Amateur Radio Union.
WARD 2005 will be granted for at least the following numbers of contacts: either 10 QSO's on HF bands, or 5 QSO's on VHF bands. All contacts must be made between 00:00 and 24:00 UTC on the 18th of April 2005. Send a standard application form (log extract), including the list of QSO's, to:
MK QTC, The Radio Amateurs' Journal, Suchacz-Zamek, Wielmozy 5b, 82-340 Tolkmicko, Poland on or before the 31st of May 2005. The price of the WARD 2005 Award is 5 US dollars or 5 euro. The WARD 2005 Award is also available to SWL's for the same numbers of reports.
Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded to Mark EI7IS. News should be submitted via e-mail to news@irts.ie for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. Please note that items for the radio news should reach the editor no later than midday on Fridays.
[A]
