Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday 2nd October 2016
Licence Exam
The next Amateur Station Licence Exam takes place on Thursday 1st December. The closing date for applications to sit this exam is Thursday 10th November.
See www.irts.ie/exam for details about the exam, how to enter plus links to the syllabus, course guide and other study material.
Licence Examination Report
The IRTS Examination Board publishes reports from time to time, which include observations on the standard of answering in the HAREC exams, along with advice for those studying for future exams or tutoring exam candidates. The latest examination report was included in the September issue of Echo Ireland. This report, along with previous reports published in 2007, 2010 and 2014, respectively, is included in an updated version of the document "Studying for Harmonised Amateur Radio Examination Certificate" available at www.irts.ie/downloads - the IRTS web site's downloads page. As well as the examination report, this document includes the exam syllabus, notes for candidates, four pages of annexes containing key information very relevant to the exam questions and a sample paper.
Counties Contest
The IRTS 40 Metres Counties Contest takes place on Sunday next, 9th October from 12:00 UTC for 3 hours. For this contest, the 32 EI and GI counties are multipliers. The contest has Fixed and Portable sections, with two mode options: SSB Only or SSB/CW. There is also an SWL section.
Those planning to operate in the portable sections should familiarise themselves with the "Requirements for Portable Section Entries" in the rules. To encourage more CW operation in the mixed mode sections, there is a final score bonus of 1,000 points for any entry that includes at least 10 valid CW QSOs with EI or GI stations; note also that there is a suggested CW "centre of activity" of 7022. See www.irts.ie/contests for the full rules, which include specified frequency ranges within the 40 metre band for this contest.
IOTA Contest Results
Provisional results for the 2016 IOTA contest were published recently. 25 Irish stations were active in this contest, and their scores and placings are summarised on the IRTS web site; see www.irts.ie/results for a link to this summary.
The highest scoring station operating from Ireland was East Cork Amateur Radio Group EI7M, which came second in their category, and indeed achieved the second highest score overall in the contest. The only station operating from an Irish offshore island for the contest was Stockport Radio Society, using the call sign EJ0SR on Arranmore Island; they came second in the DXpedition / Multi-Two / Mixed Mode / 24 Hour / High Power category.
South Eastern Amateur Radio Group
The IRTS 40 meters’ Counties Contest takes place on Sunday next, 9th October and the SEARG committee have decided to make it a little more interesting and fun for SEARG members by offering a prize of a dual band handheld radio. This is also to encourage more club members to support the contest and get on the air.
The SEARG competition rules are simple:
(1) Get on air and submit your log in time to the IRTS contest manager and
(2) The SEARG member/members who gets the highest score as deemed by the IRTS contest results will be the winner.
You can team up, do it alone, work from home or even go portable. Remember you must adhere to the Counties Contest rules as specified by the IRTS.
We look forward to hearing as many of you as possible. The prize will be presented to the winner/winners at a future club meeting.
The October meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place in the Roanmore Social and Sports Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford on Monday the 31st of October at 8.00 p.m. New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio are very welcome to attend.
Anyone wishing to find out more about the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group and its activities can come along to any of our meetings. Check our website www.searg.ie and you can also join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Southern Ireland Repeater Group
Dues to interference problems from a digital source it has become necessary to put tone access on the EI7MLR repeater (430.950MHz) on Mount Leinster. If you are a regular user of the repeater you should program your radio to send a 156.7Hz tone.
The 4m port on the Mt. Leinster repeater on 70.400MHz is off air for maintenance and should be back on air in a week or so.
Up to date information on Southern Ireland Repeater Group's repeaters etc. can be found on our blog page at https://sirnrepeaters.blogspot.ie/ or on Facebook.
Next IRTS Committee Meeting
The next IRTS Committee meeting will be held on Saturday 22nd October 2016, Creggan Court Hotel, Athlone at 11am. IRTS affiliated clubs are invited to send a club representative to attend meeeting.
Morse Tests
Morse Tests will be available from 2pm in the Creggan Court Hotel, Athlone during the afternoon of October 22nd.
The test is by appointment only.
To obtain an appointment please contact Dave Moore EI4BZ at 087-6290574 or 021-4883555 or Sean Donelan at 01- 2821420. Cost of test is €20.
DX News
W1RSD will operate from Lord Howe Island as VK9LX until 8th October. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of The World.
Andrea IZ1MHY will be QRV from the Maldives using the callsign 8Q7MD from 2nd to 12th October. This is a holiday style operation on 40m to 10m. Direct QSL requests go to IZ1MHY and bureau requests are via 9A8ARS.
Yuri R2DG will sign S79PA from Mahe in the Seychelles from 2nd to 12th October. QSLs go via the home call.
Nob JF2MBF and Ken JA2FJP will visit Tuvalu from 4th to 10th October where they will use the callsign T2J. Activity will be on 160m to 10m CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL via ClubLog OQRS.
Stan LZ1GC has been active from the Solomon Islands as H44GC for the past week or so. From 4th October he will move to Temotu where he will sign H40GC until 17th October. QSLs go via the home call.
JOTA
The Scout Jamboree on the Air, JOTA, takes place next month on the weekend of 15th and 16th October. Scouting Ireland and IRTS are making a special effort to increase activity and a number of radio clubs and individual operators have already indicated their intention to take part.
Activity can be for the whole weekend, just one day or even a few hours. This is a really worthwhile activity for both Scouting and Amateur Radio and will help promote the hobby particularly amongst teenagers and young adults.
If you can help out either by hosting some scouts at your station or giving a hand at the local club station please contact Paul EI2CA QTHR or mobile 087 2523908. There is a particularly active and enthusiastic scout group in Ashbourne County Meath who want to team up with a club or individual operators. They are well resourced and have a premises in the town complete with a mobile antenna tower. Let us know if you can help.
Items for inclusion in next week’s Radio News can be submitted via e-mail to “newsteam /at/ irts / dot / ie” for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. Urgent news items for the radio news may be telephoned to the radio news editor, Aidan, EI7JC on 085 7100511.
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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