Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday August 19th 2007
2 metre Counties Contest
The 2 metres counties contest will take place on Sunday the 26th of August from 2 until 4 p.m. local time. This is a good opportunity for clubs and individuals to be active on VHF, even if you’re not competitive this can be an enjoyable two hours so lets hope that we get a good turnout in the contest this year. Details and rules are available on the IRTS web site at www.irts.ie
HF SSB Field Day
The IRTS SSB field day will take place over the first weekend (1st and 2nd) of September from 13:00 UTC on Saturday to 13:00 UTC on the Sunday. Again the grounds of Garbally College, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway will be available, thanks to Niall EI4CF and once again the Shannon Basin Club will be hosting their now famous Barbeque.
This is a multi-operator contest for portable stations and provides an opportunity for clubs and groups to practice their portable operating and station set-up skills. The Paddy Daly Microphone is awarded to the station with the highest checked score in the open section and the IRTS HF Shield is awarded to the station with the highest checked score in the restricted section. Details and rules are available on the IRTS web site.
CQIR – Ireland Calling Contest
The Society's 75th Anniversary Contest CQIR will take place on the last weekend in September from 12:00 UTC on Saturday the 29th to 12:00 UTC on Sunday the 30th. There is great interest world wide being expressed in this contest which is a celebration of Ireland and the Irish, throughout the world and with 40 million people in the United States alone claiming Irish forefathers; we expect that CQIR will be one of the largest 'one off' contests ever aired on the Amateur Bands. It is a 24-hour single operator contest with the emphasis on participation rather than winning and to this end every participant gains an entry ticket for a spectacular draw for every 75 QSO’s made during the Contest.
The ticket drawn out of the EI/GI drum will win an all expenses paid long weekend in New York City for two people. ARRL have confirmed that this will include a visit to their national headquarters hosted by ARRL. Kinnitty Castle in Offaly will host the international winners for a week with flights for two from anywhere in the world. The prizes have been fully sponsored at no cost to the Society and this is really an excellent opportunity to celebrate the Society and its 75 years of service to Irish experimenters. We would encourage all Irish operators to be active during the Contest. So ring fence the last weekend of September in your diary, make an effort to have that new antenna up for the event and lets ensure a good show from the local Irish operators to support the international Irish who will no doubt come on the bands in their thousands for the contest. Full rules are on the IRTS website.
Notice from ComReg
ComReg would like to advise all Experimenters that there is currently a delay in the issue of Experimenter Renewals. During this delay, unless previously expressly indicated, no experimenter whose fee has been submitted is restricted from operating within normal licence conditions.
EI0MAR
During the past week, Tom O'Donnell (EI4Z) paid a visit to EI0MAR at the vintage radio museum in Howth. Tom is 93 years old and still hale and hearty as he proved by walking up the steep pathway to the Martello Tower housing the museum. Tom was accompanied by his son Philip who was a radio officer himself from 1968 until 1980 and operated with the call sign EI3DA maritime mobile.
Philip claims that his father is Ireland's oldest living radio experimenter. Is there anybody out there who knows if this claim can be challenged?
EI0MAR will be celebrating the IRTS's 75th birthday by using the call sign EI75IRTS on Sunday 26th of August and on the first two Sundays in September. CW will be the main mode of operation although some CQ calls will also be made on SSB as well. If conditions are favourable, the 7 MHz band will be the main focus, to allow as many EIs as possible to work the special call sign. The station may also be QRV on the Saturdays of the same weekends. EI0MAR is QRV most Sundays between 11 and 3. Telephone and email contact details for EI0MAR are available on the museum website which is www.qsl.net/ei5em/museum.html A link on the museum web page will take you to EI0MAR's own web site.
Church Broadcasts
For some weeks we have been carrying an item about broadcasts of Mass from a Church in the north Dublin area on 28.105 MHz FM. Stations are reminded to listen out for these transmissions on weekdays at 1000 hrs and on Sundays at 0900, 1000, 1100 and 1200 local time to try to identify the Church concerned. Stations in the Dublin area are asked to take bearings on the transmissions or try to identify the general area from which the transmissions originate. We would appeal again to stations in the Dublin area to put a little effort into identifying the source of the transmissions so that details can be forwarded to ComReg. We are getting international reports on these transmissions and we have an obligation to do something about them.
We have also received reports of transmission of Mass on 28.285 MHz. We do not have any idea yet where this transmission is originating. We would ask stations countrywide to listen on 28.285 MHz FM at the appropriate times in their areas so that this station can also be identified. If you hear anything worth reporting you should send a report to Thos Caffrey EI2JD the IRTS Intruder Watch coordinator at QTHR or to “thoscaffrey at hotmail dot com” with a copy to Sean Nolan EI7CD at QTHR or to “ei7cd at gofree dot indigo dot ie”. The report should include date, time, frequency, signal strength, possible location of station if identified, beam heading in degrees from true north and any other relevant information. If the station is identified from an announcement of local events, details should be given. Should you hear anything, no action should be taken other than forwarding a report as requested.
South Eastern Amateur Radio Group
The next general meeting of South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place on Monday the 27th of August at 8.00 p.m. in the Roanmore Centre. All are welcome!
For up to date information, visit the groups’ web site on www.searg.com
Upcoming Rallies
Cork Radio Club Rally will take place on Sunday the 23rd of September in the Blarney Park Hotel. For information contact Con on 021-427136.
The Waterford Rally will take place on Sunday the 21st of October in the Woodlands Hotel, Waterford. For more information visit www.searg.com
The Foyle and District Rally will take place on Sunday the 4th of November 2007 at the White Horse Hotel, Derry. For more information visit www.mn0aku.org.uk
The Mayo Radio Rally will take place on Sunday the 18th of November in the Belmount Hotel, Knock, Co. Mayo. For more information contact Padraic Baynes, EI9JA @ QTHR.
Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded to Mark Wall, EI7IS at QTHR or by phone to 051-853806 or 087-6302026. Items for the radio news can also be faxed to 087 5 6302026. News should be submitted via e-mail to “news at irts dot 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 Friday in order to be guaranteed inclusion in the following Sunday’s bulletin.
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