Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday February 18th 2001
GI0GTJ Silent Key
It is with regret that we report the death (suddenly) of Tommy Simpson GI0GTJ on Tuesday 6th February 2001. Tommy was a well known CW operator and will be missed by his many friends in EI and GI. IRTS was represented at his funeral in Bangor by committee member Paddy GI0PED and former President.
Tipperary Amateur Radio Group
Special guest at the recent Tipperary Amateur Radio Group meeting held on the 7th February was IRTS President Dave Moore EI4BZ. This was a well attended meeting, which was both informative and enjoyable. Along with personal presentations to Dave the Group also donated a trophy to the IRTS. It is hoped that the Slievenamon Perpetual Trophy will be used for a 70cm competition and details of this are to be unveiled at the forthcoming IRTS AGM. The purpose of this donation is to encourage usage of the 70cm band. Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will also be active on UHF and VHF from portable locations during the upcoming IRTS activity weekend. TRG members in conjunction with Waterford Institute of Technology Amateur Radio Group will be activating Bere Island of the west Cork coastline on the 3rd and 4th of March. This joint group of amateurs and non-amateurs will be active on all bands over this weekend.
IRTS Committee Meeting
The next committee meeting of the Irish Radio Transmitters Society will take place at 11.00 a.m. on Saturday the 24th of February in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone.
Rally News
The date of the rally being held in Enniskillen by the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club has been changed to the 29th of April - a week later than originally planned.
A reminder that Limerick Radio Club will hold their Radio and Electronics Fair and host the IRTS AGM in the Limerick Inn Hotel on April 7th – 8th 2001. All the usual traders will be in attendance and once again Yaesu UK will be there. They will have a large range of working equipment on display, included will be the FT 1000MP Mk V, Quadra HF Amplifier, the new FT 817 QRP Transceiver and many more.
EI Activity Weekend
The EI activity weekend will take place again this year on March the 17th and 18th. Everybody can get involved in this event using any band and any mode, as the purpose of the event is to promote amateur radio in EI. This event went very well last year so lets hope that this year sees the same amount of activity on the air.
DX News
Look out for CE0XT who will be QRV until February the 20th from San Felix and San Ambrosio. Activity is also expected in the ARRL DX CW Contest. QSL via operator's instructions.
Tom S92TX, is active on 20, 15 and 10 meters using SSB from Sao Tome. He also expects to be on 6 meters soon. Tom is on assignment for the Voice of America and will remain in Sao Tome for two years. QSL is via W7KNT.
Space News
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the start of the operation to bring MIR down will begin between the 20th and 25th of February.
On March 6th the thrusters will be fired again to slow the space station enough to drop down out of orbit and plunge into the atmosphere. The timing is very important. It must be precise if the entry is to be made safely. Somewhere around 50 miles above earth and between New Zealand and Chile The key to a successful AO-40 recovery effort continues to be a matter of reducing the satellite's spin and regaining the ability to adjust its attitude from the ground. "The current problem is the lack of accurate AO-40 attitude data," AMSAT News Service said. Since the satellite's computer was reset and telemetry resumed December 25, the AO-40 ground team has been analysing telemetry sent via the 2.4 GHz beacon--the only transmitter now operating. Discussions of the future of AO-40 are expected to dominate the eighth AMSAT-DL Symposium on March 17, AMSAT-DL said.
Items for inclusion in Echo Ireland should be forwarded to Dave Moore EI4BZ at 021-4883555 in the evenings or at 021-4823172 during office hours. Items can be submitted to Dave by e-mail at ei4bz@eircom.net and you can fax him at 021-4823316. Items for inclusion in the Radio News should be forwarded to Mark Wall EI7IS at QTHR or via e-mail to ei7is@qsl.net or cyberis@e-merge.ie. Items can also be sent to Mark over the phone at 087-6302026. News can also be submitted via e-mail to news@irts.ie for automatic forwarding to both news services.
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