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IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday 30th May 2010


Theory Examination

The next theory examination for the Amateur Station Licence will be held on Wednesday, 7th July at 2pm in the ComReg Offices in Dublin and The Limerick Institute of Technology.

Information on examination fees and other details please see 'Theory Examination' in the 'Information' section of the IRTS website at www.irts.ie

Intending candidates are also referred to 'Studying for the Amateur Radio Examination' in the 'Downloads' section of the website.

The latest date for receipt of applications to sit the examination is Wednesday, 23 June next but it is important to note that places at the exam are allocated on a first come first served basis.


CASHOTA activation in Co Louth.

The organizers of the Carlingford Oyster Festival have invited the Dundalk ARS to demonstrate Amateur Radio to the public, and there will also be some Tall Ships in Carlingford Lough over the weekend. A good outdoor activity is expected for all the family.

Dundalk Amateur Radio Society, is currently activating St. Johns Castle, Carlingford, Co Louth.

WAI squares, EI Counties, and CASHOTA, conditions will be available to stations who call in, operation will be on all HF bands, and on most of the VHF / UHF bands as well. All QSL routes will be catered for.

Call sign of the station will be EI7DAR/P, CASHOTA No :- EI 006/C WAI Sq J11 Louth & MH Locator :- IO64VB

Full details of the event will be available on : www.ei7dar.com and www.cashota-ireland.org/


AREN

AREN members will provide assistance for the Galtee Walking Festival next weekend 5 & 6 June. Anyone that would like to offer their time to help, if even for a few hours, are asked to contact John Ronan EI7IG.


Limerick Radio Club

The Chairman & committee of Limerick Radio Club would like to offer their congratulations to Ger McNamara EI4GXB on his appointment as Secretary of the IRTS, and wish him well in his new role.

Last weekend members of Limerick Radio Club met up with James Dunbar K8JBD from Michigan , who was on holiday in Ireland. Jim & his family were based in Adare Co. Limerick, and travelled around the mid west area. Lots of ideas were exchanged at the informal meeting and it is hoped that further relations between Limerick and Jim can be built up in the future.


Region 4 IRTS

Candidates who have attended classes for the Theory Examination since early January, have now finished formal lecture sessions, and are now doing some more practical work in the coming weeks before the examination on 7th July.

This week they each constructed a 2M J pole antenna, approx cost was €5 for all materials and hopefully they will use it when they pass the exam and get their license. Next week they are building the The GQRP "Limerick Sudden" 40m Receiver Kit.

All kits have been ordered and we expect delivery on Monday/Tuesday. Costing €50 per kit including membership of the GQRP club, goes to show that amateur radio need not be an expensive hobby if you are willing to do some homebrewing.

We are delighted that the Theory Examination will take place at the Limerick Institute of Technology as a 2nd centre to the Comreg offices in Dublin. Anyone intending to sit the exam in Limerick is welcome to attend our last couple of classes, please contact Ger McNamara EI4GXB QTHR.


Vintage Radio Museum

Since the beginning of May and until the end of October, the Vintage Radio Museum in Howth is open everyday from 11am till 4pm. A trawl through the visitors' book reveals that the majority of visitors are from outside Ireland who have heard of the museum by word of mouth or through the internet.

Sadly, many Irish people do not seem to appreciate what is on their own doorstep. The museum is run on a voluntary non-commercial basis by Pat Herbert, an enthusiastic collector of radio memorabilia for the last 50 years.

A trip to Howth including a visit to the museum is highly recommended, especially during the summer months. Visits by small groups or clubs are particularly welcome. Recently, the museum was rated second in the "Odd Museums" category of the Dubliner magazine.

The Howth Martello Radio Group operates an amateur radio station, EI0MAR on most weekends and other amateurs would be more than welcome to visit and operate the station by prior arrangement. The antennas are on the roof of the Martello Tower. A Cobwebb antenna, kindly donated by Jack EI7HX, and a 40-metre dipole with each half in the shape of the letter W cater for HF while a home-brew Slim Jim caters for 2 metres and 70 centimetres.

Contact details and more information are on the website www.ei0mar.org You can also email to info /at/ ei0mar.org or telephone to 086-8154189.


Assistance for Mini Marathon

Anyone interested in taking part with Communications for the Women’s Mini Marathon please contact George EI2CPB on 0862586103 or email adjayeg /at/ dcu.ie. A 2m Radio or Mobile Phone is required for participation. This is an AREN event and will evolve being available from approx 13.30-17.30 on the day.

A get together and lunch for all who participated will be happening the following week on Saturday 13th John 16.30 in the Step Inn.


DAR AGM

All DAR Members are requested to attend the AGM at 8.30pm Wednesday 2nd June at the clubhouse in Dundalk.


CARA Field Day

Crossakiel Amateur Radio Association will be holding their annual field day in Crossakiel on the 12th/13th of June.

They plan to use a range of radios and antennas covering most bands and will be operating through the night. The EI 4 CARA will be used for this event.

All visitors are welcome.


SEARG Meeting

The next general meeting of South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place on Monday 31 May 2010 at 8.30 p.m. in the Roanmore Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford.

The meeting will be preceded by a meeting of the committee at 8.00 p.m. on the same night.


Tipperary Amateur Radio Group

The next meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will take place on Thursday next the 3rd of June in Raheen House Hotel Raheen Road Clonmel at 8.00 pm ,All are welcome


Geo Park Weekend

For the third year running, South Eastern Amateur Radio Group ran the special event station EI2GEO from Tankardstown, Co. Waterford on the Copper Coast Geopark for the Geopark communications weekend over the 22nd and 23rd of May. The annual Geopark communications weekend is co-ordinated from GB6GEO at Kents Cavern in Torquay, in the heart of the English Riviera Global Geopark and numerous stations operated from various Geoparks throughout the world.

The Copper Coast European Geopark is located on the South East coast of Ireland. It extends from Fenor in the east to Stradbally in the west and as far north as Dunhill. The Copper Coast gets its name from the 19th Century copper mines that was once predominant in the area. The Copper Coast consists of 25 kilometers of spectacular coastline. Oceans, volcanoes, deserts and ice sheets all combined to create the rocks, which provide the physical foundation of the natural and cultural landscapes of the Copper Coast. The Copper Coast is an outdoor geology museum with geological heritage that reflects a variety of environments under which the area has evolved over the last 460 million years. Sedimentary and volcanic rocks illustrate the closure of the Iapetus Ocean, the resulting volcanic activity, evidence of the collision of two continents leading to the creation of Ireland and finally the effects of glaciation from the Ice Age. Cross-sections of these are exposed on the many spectacular cliffs along the Co. Waterford coastline.

In addition to the excellent weather conditions, the band conditions were favourable throughout the weekend with many QSOs worked on various HF bands. Those on site were; Francis EI5GOB, Declan EI5GRB, Jim EI8IG, John EI7IG, John EI8JA and Mark EI7IS.

Saturday, saw a number of visitiors to the station, most notable were a group of scouts some of whom had particular interest in radio. Martin EI8FFB also called along on the Saturday night for some late night 40 and 20 metre operation.

South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thanks all those who helped out, provided equipment, operated or visited over the weekend. Special thanks to the Coppercoast management who as always are very supportive and helpful to us in setting up the special event station and special thanks also to Jim EI8IG for providing the camper van and for providing a full Irish breakfast on the Sunday morning.


Rallies

Saturday 29th May 2010 Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club Rally, Drumgor Youth Centre, Drumgor Heights, Craigavon Information: www.muarc.com

For further Rally info and contact details please check out the IRTS Website.

www.irts.ie/cgi/rallies.cgi


History this Week

1844 Morse sends his first telegraph message, "What hath God wrought!" to his associate 40 miles away.

1953 Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norkay climb Mount Everest.


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.

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