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IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday September 2nd 2007


Silent Key Billy Cantwell EI7GO

The many friends of Billy EI7GO will be saddened to hear of his death. Billy had been ill for a relatively short period and died peacefully at his home in Mullinahone on Monday last. Billy was one of the most regular callers into the weekly HF news bulletins and prided himself on being mostly the first to be heard on the 80-metre news call in.

Billy was an active member of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group and participated regularly in various HF and VHF nets. He was extremely popular with all with whom he came in contact. Billy was blessed with an infectious good humour and a ready wit, which we all enjoyed. The experimenter community was well represented both at the removal on Tuesday evening and at the funeral Mass on Wednesday. The 'voice of downtown Mullinahone' as Billy humourously described himself is now silent and will be sadly missed by us all.

To his wife Stella, his son Liam and to his daughters Anne, Noelle, Ailish and Michelle we extend our sincerest sympathy. May he rest in peace.


Counties Contest

The 2-metre Counties Contest took place last weekend. The weather was good, which encouraged a number of stations to operate portable, however the lure of the All-Ireland semi-final may have contributed to the absence of a number of regulars. Most counties were heard at one time or another during the day, with the midland counties certainly well represented.

The Slieve Blooms proved a popular spot for portable stations, with Trevor EI2GLB and Joe EI7GY operating a few hundred metres apart on Wolftrap Mountain, county Laois, and John EI4HS nearby, but over the border in county Offaly. All who participated in the contest, even those who gave out just a few points, are encouraged to send in their logs to the Contest Manager. The latest date for log entry is the 25th of September.


CQIR

September has arrived and our premier international event for our Jubilee year, the CQIR Contest is just around the corner.

A quick internet search will demonstrate just how much interest there is in the event from the international radio community. We hope your plans for the event are well advanced and we have set ourselves an ambitious target to have 250 EI and GI stations on the bands for part or all of the weekend. This is more of a QSO party than a contest so we would encourage the non-contesters to get involved and fly the flag for Ireland and the Society on the 29th and 30th next.

EI75IRTS will be QRV for the event with the LF night time operation from the EI7M site in Cork and a HF station for the Press located in the Pheonix Park in Dublin. In respect of the Dublin station, we are anxious to have some young operators on the operating team. If you are between 15 and 25 years of age, licensed or not, and are interested in helping out, please contact Paul EI2CA on 087 2523908 or email “paul at comma dot ie”.


MRG Experimenter Group

The MRG experimenter Radio Group VHF/UHF SSB Challenge 2007 will take place between 15.00 hrs and 18.00 hrs (local time) on Sunday the 9th of September. The Fixed section takes place on 144 MHz & 432 MHz, SSB only and the Portable section on 144 MHz and 432 MHz, SSB only.

Any EI/GI operator holding an amateur/experimenter licence can participate. Closing date for logs is October 9h 2007. Please forward completed logs to “ei2mrg at yahoo dot com” Trophies will be presented to the winners of the fixed and portable sections later in the year. A full copy of the rules can be had by visiting www.geocities.com/ei2mrg


Tipperary Amateur Radio Group

The next meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will take place on Thursday next the 6th of September at 8.00pm in Raheen House Hotel Clonmel.


Limerick Radio Club

The next meeting of the Club will be on the Thursday 11th of October at the usual venue, the Limerick Institute of Technology, Moylish at 19:30 hrs local time. All those interested are welcome to attend.


EI0MAR

EI0MAR will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of the IRTS by using the call sign EI75IRTS 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.


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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