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IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday April 16th 2006


Silent Key

It is with regret that we announce the passing of Rex Harrison EI2CS on Thursday last after a long illness. Our deepest sympathy to his wife and family. May he rest in peace.


EI Counties Contest

The IRTS 2 metres EI Counties Contest will take place on Easter Monday the 17th of April between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. local time. Rules are available in the IRTS year book and on www.irts.ie Lets hope for good WX and good VHF conditions on the day.


IRTS AGM 2006

The IRTS AGM weekend will take place over the coming Saturday and Sunday, April 22nd and 23rd at the Vienna Woods Hotel in Glanmire just east of Cork City. The hotel is off the road on the left-hand side between the old Dunkettle roundabout and Glanmire Village.

The annual IRTS Dinner will be held on the Saturday night, starting at 2030 and tickets are still available from Dave EI4BZ on 087-62905764. One room has become available at Vienna Woods and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Contact EI4BZ if interested.

The rally will be held on Sunday with all the usual traders in attendance. For anyone travelling to the venue, breakfast will be available until 1100 in the dining room and light refreshments will be available in the bar. A full carvery lunch will be served on the premises.

The Annual General Meeting will be held at 1430 and will be preceded by a presentation to club representatives of the new CD course guide at 1315 in the meeting room. Anybody interested in providing classes is welcome to attend. Further information is available from Finbarr EI1CS on 021-4346622 or from Dave EI4BZ on 087-6290574.


New Course Guide

A small group within the Society has been working on preparing a Course Guide for the Radio Experimenter's Examination. The guide uses a web page presentation on CD-ROM and contains a very detailed outline of all of the topics included in the HAREC syllabus on which the multiple-choice examination is based. The Guide is intended to assist individuals to prepare for the examination or to act as a detailed template for those organising classes. The Guide brings together in one source all of the material necessary for the examination including all the Regulations, National, International and CEPT.

Clubs have been written to in the last week with a view to commencing, in September, a series of classes for the examination. The course guide will be launched at the AGM and there will be a meeting and demonstration for club representatives at 1315 on the Sunday afternoon prior to the AGM of the Society.


Mini Marathon

It’s that time of year again, Spring is in the air, the bees are coming out and most of all 50,000 women take to the streets of Dublin! Now that we have your attention, the Terenure Radio Club will be again providing emergency radio cover for the Women’s Mini Marathon event on Monday the 5th of June. All that is required is that you have a 2 metre mobile rig and a valid callsign. If you would like to take part in helping, please contact George EI2CPB on 086-2586103 or e-mail "adjayeg at dcu dot ie".


IRTS Shop

The Irish Radio Transmitters Society has reached agreement with the Radio Society of Great Britain to enable IRTS members to avail of the 10 per-cent discount on purchases currently available to RSGB members. To avail of this discount IRTS members should log-on to a new website www.irtsshop.com which is run by RSGB. A link to this site is also available from the IRTS website www.irts.ie

All RSGB products are listed on this website and prices are quoted in Euros. Purchases will normally be made off the website by credit card. IRTS members quoting their callsigns will automatically qualify for a 10 per-cent discount. The introduction of this facility will make it significantly easier for IRTS members to access radio related books and materials and it also introduces a new level of cooperation with our sister society in the U.K.


Limerick Radio Club

Aprils LRC meeting, which was due to take place on Thursday the 13th of April last was cancelled as a result of the venue being unavailable. Meetings will return to normal for May with the next meeting of Limerick Radio Club taking place on Thursday the 11th of May at 7.30 p.m. in the Limerick Institute of Technology.


Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club

The Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club (GI3VFW) will be holding its rally at the Discovery Centre, Oxford Island near Lurgan on Sunday the 21st of May. A new and exciting venue right on the shores of Lough Neagh with a Host of attractions for all the family including boat trips, café, bird hides, nature trails, paddling pool, play area, picnic and barbecue areas. There will be a display by Lough Neagh rescue team and rescue vehicle's on site for viewing. This should prove to be a great day out whether you want to browse the radio rally enjoy the wild life and scenery our take part in the activities you can be sure of an enjoyable day. Bring your binoculars and camcorders.

The site and rally are wheelchair accessible. For more information, contact John, GI0KUH at "j.p.mccabe at btinternet dot com".


Dayton Webcast

Streaming video from the Dayton Hamvention 2006 will be available at wa5kub.com. This will be the 4th year to broadcast live video of the Dayton HamVention and then the 3 days outside in the fleamarket. This year the helmet cam will be back. It will let people around the world get a view of the event. The streaming cam page also has its own chat room and radio amateurs from around the world watched, chatted, and enjoyed it the past 3 years.


International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend-2006

This highly popular and ever growing amateur radio event is on again this year from the 19th to the 20th of August.

In 2005 there were 382 lighthouses in 48 countries that registered. This year's event in particular will be dedicated to the memory of its founder and main organiser, Mike Dalrymple GM4SUC, who passed away in December 2005.

The event normally starts at 0001 UTC on the first day of the event and ends at 2359 UTC on the Sunday. This year the event will start at 0002 UTC reserving the first minute in silence as a moment of reflection on Mike's life.

The event is a fun weekend designed to promote amateur radio and lighthouses. It is NOT a contest, so take time to have a chat with the stations contacted and maybe get the public involved as well. On the Sunday the International Association of Lighthouse Keepers will hold their Lighthouse Day opening their lighthouses all around the world to the public. Last year some stations even had the media present taking film of the event.

Full guidelines, an online entry form and a list of entrants are all on the ILLW web site at illw.net together with contact details if you need further information.

So, come along grab a lighthouse and join in the fun. It's also a great opportunity to increase your DXCC contacts and other lighthouse awards.


International Marconi Day

Saturday the 22nd of April is International Marconi Day. The Cornish Radio Amateur Club organises this special event each year about this time to celebrate Marconi's birth in Bologna on the 25th of April 1874. This is not a contest, but awards are made for working or submitting SWL reports for the special Award Stations, each of which has some historical connection with Marconi.

EI0MAR will be QRV from the Martello Tower in Howth on CW and SSB as an award station. The tower houses a vintage radio museum. So why not pay the station a visit and maybe even do a little bit of operating on Saturday the 22nd? EI0MAR will also be monitoring 145.575 MHz (S23) throughout the day and hopes to be QRV from about 10:00 am local time.

Access to the tower is up a steep pathway almost opposite the Abbey Tavern. More information about the station is available on the EI0MAR site, which has a link from the IRTS web site. Information about the awards and about the award stations is available at www.gb4imd.org.uk


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 Fridays.

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