Irish Radio Transmitters Society Radio News Bulletin Sunday 24th May 2009 ______________________________________________ Lifetime Licences Most licensees will by now have received letters from ComReg informing them that the lifetime licences which will commence to be issued with effect from 1 June will be Amateur Radio Licences. These letters came as a surprise to all as the documentation published by ComReg about the lifetime licence was in the context of Experimenter Licences. There was no discussion between ComReg and the Society on this matter nor was there any indication of an intention to change to Amateur Licences despite our meeting with ComReg on 12 February at which the Lifetime Licence was discussed. The Committee at its meeting on 16 May had a lengthy, open and wide ranging discussion on the matter to which virtually all present contributed. In the course of the discussion it became clear that while two Clubs were fundamentally opposed to the change, the representatives of other clubs present and the great majority of the Committee members agreed that on balance the change was at worst neutral and at best beneficial in terms of frequency allocation and protection. There was general agreement that it would have been more satisfactory had the Society been consulted or at least given notice of the intended change. This would have been more in keeping with the spirit of partnership and cooperation that the Society has been seeking to cultivate with ComReg for some time and demonstrated by the recent agreements on 5 MHz and 500 kHz licences. It would seem that the commercially sensitive nature of some ComReg regulations militated against discussing with the Society draft regulations that had no commercial sensitivity whatsoever. At the conclusion of the discussion the consensus was that a letter should be sent to ComReg expressing disappointment at the lack of consultation or even notification of the change and pointing out that all of the frequency bands in the European Common Allocations Table and ComReg’s Radio Frequency Plan for Ireland which are allocated to the Amateur Service should be automatically made available under the new Amateur Radio lifetime licences. This would result in considerable extra spectrum particularly in the microwave region. The letter should also request ComReg to publish on its website the definition of Amateur Radio as contained in the ITU Radio Regulations as this definition highlights the self training and technical investigations aspects of amateur radio which by their very nature involve experimentation. ______________________________________________ Theory Examination There are now only three weeks left to the closing date of 15 June for applications to sit the theory examination to be held on Tuesday 30 June. This date will be strictly enforced, as some people connected with the examination will be attending the Friedrichshafen Rally towards the end of June. All of the administrative tasks in relation to the examination must be completed well before then. Intending candidates should forward the appropriate fee to Sean Nolan EI7CD, 12 Little Meadow, Pottery Road,Dunlaoghaire, Co. Dublin in order to reserve a place for the exam. The fee is 50 Euro or 25 Euro for full-time registered students, repeat candidates and those who are retired, unemployed or have a disability. Cheques and Money Orders should be made payable to the IRTS. When forwarding the exam fee intending candidates should enclose their postal address as well as phone and e-mail contact details. Intending candidates should note that anyone who fails to produce a photo identity on the day of the examination will not be allowed to sit the examination. The photo ID can be a driving licence, a passport, an employment photo identity card or a student card containing a photograph. A national Garda photo ID would also be acceptable. Sean EI7CDs address can also be found in the IRTS call book or in the call book section of the IRTS website at www.irts.ie. Sean’s e-mail address for any further enquiries is"ei7cd at gofree dot indigo dot ie" ______________________________________________ Useful Exam Text We would like to bring to the attention of those studying for the theory examination a new revision text published by the RSGB. The book is titled 'Amateur Radio Exam Secrets' and is written by Alan Betts G0HIQ who is also the author of two other exam-oriented publications - 'Foundation Licence Now' and 'Advance - The Full Licence Manual'. The most recent publication is a revision text for examinations rather than a basic textbook but it would be very useful for pre exam exercises. The book has 13 Chapters, 10 of which deal with specific aspects of the exam syllabus. Each of the Chapters has a brief introduction to the subject matter covered at each of the three levels of the UK examinations and a range of sample questions at the three levels on the subject of the Chapter. There is also a sample paper at each of the three levels Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced at the end of the book. The cost of the publication is £12.99 ______________________________________________ South East Amateur Radio Group This Weekend the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will participate in the Geoparks Communication Weekend. The event is part of European Geoparks Week and SEARG will air the callsign EI2GEO from Tankardstown, Bonmahon, Co. Waterford which lies on the Copper Coast Geopark. The event is organised by GB6GEO which will be based in the English Riviera Global Geopark and a number of stations based at Geoparks around the world will participate in the event. The following are frequencies likely to be in use by Geopark stations; 3.680MHz, 7.080MHz, 14.180MHz, 21.180MHz, and 28.180MHz. For latest information, visit www.searg.com. ______________________________________________ Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club The Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club will also take part in this weekend’s international Geoparks Communication event, with a station at Fermanagh’s Marble Arch Caves to exchange greetings with similar stations at other Geoparks, Contacts with other amateurs will spread awareness of this uniquely international Marble Arch Global Geopark. The GB2MAC licence allows staff and visitors to the Caves to exchange greetings, under supervision, with similar third parties at the other Geoparks, and indeed with any radio amateurs on-air. Anyone interested is very welcome to visit this GB2MAC station. ______________________________________________ Crossakiel Amateur Radio Association CARA Have begun Radio Theory classes, theory classes are held each week as per the club’s meetings. The Location is ‘The Welcome Wagon’ in Crossakiel for more details please contact John EI6GHB via Mobile at 087 6805663, Guests and new members are always welcome. ______________________________________________ Shannon Basin Radio Club The Shannon Basin Radio Club are having their next meeting on Thursday night next the 28th May at 20.30 in Hannons Hotel, Roscommon Town. Non-members are also welcome to attend. ______________________________________________ Stolen Radio An IC 7000 serial number 1001743 has been reported stolen, any details on the above radio please pass onto Derek EI7GLB at 0879049023. ______________________________________________ Rallies Bangor and District ARS - Radio and Computer Rally The 2009 rally is to be held on Sunday 14th June 2009,At 12 Noon in "The Country Club", Crawfordsburn. ADMISSION £2 INCLUDING 2 RAFFLE TICKETS ! The all new RSGB GB4FUN ! Trade Stands ,Bring and Buy ,BDARS Slide Show A good selection of radio and computer traders will be in attendance Special interest groups will have their own stands .The ever popular FREE bring and buy will be running as normal Contact Bill GI4AAM for further details: Tel: 028 9181 6707 Email: bill.langtry /at/ btinternet.com Website www.bdars.com ______________________________________________ History this week 1844 Morse sends his first telegraph message, "What hath God wrought!" to his associate 40 miles away. 1904 Hulsemeyer, Germany, demonstrates his radio detection system (now called RADAR). ______________________________________________ Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded to Charlie EI8JB, preferably via e-mail to “charlie dot Carolan at gmail dot com” Or by phone to 087-6265418 News can also be submitted via e-mail to “newsteam 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 Thursday in order to be guaranteed inclusion in the following Sunday’s bulletin.