Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday 11th June 2017
5.7GHz Survey
At the request of the IARU we are carrying out a survey of use of the band 5570 to 5850GHz. Would any licensed amateurs using the band please forward details of their use of this band to Seán Nolan EI7CD. The email address is ei7cd /at/ gofree.indigo.ie and the landline is 01-2851599
Amateur Station Licence Examination
Tomorrow Monday 12th June is the final date for receipt of applications to sit the next amateur station Licence Examination which will be held on Thursday 29th June in the ComReg offices in Dublin.
A large number of applications have already been received and as numbers are limited and examination places are allocated on a first come first served basis, those intending to sit the examination should apply immediately. Full details, including entry procedure, examination fee and how to pay the fee on line are available at www.irts.ie/exam .
Please note that it is necessary to download the application form from the web page and forward the completed form and the appropriate fee so as tosecure a place for the examination.
It is also important to note that even if you pay the fee on-line you must still complete and forward the application form. Remember, the closing date for receipt of completed applications is tomorrow Monday 12th June.
Echo Ireland Summer Edition
The Summer Edition of Echo Ireland includes the usual mix of news from the clubs as well as articles submitted by members detailing their recent activities. Notes on this year's AGM and the awards presented are also included. The very high profile DXpedition by EIs to Nepal by the EI DX Group is recounted by Pat EI5IX. Also on the subject of DXing, Mark EI6HPB - the new contributor of the "HF Happenings" column - describes his experiences on the HF bands as well as upcoming DX.
Digital radio is a hot topic and Steve EI5DD continues his explanation of this mode in part 2 of "Getting Started with Digital Radio". Tony EI5EM chronicles how he set about making a complete portable CW QRP station and Pat EI2HX, in another "Excerpt from the HX Files"
Additions to the Publications Library
Brendan EI7CS has supplied additional newsletters for our Publications Library. See www.irts.ie/library for a list of the new additions. One of these is the "IRTS News" for July 1948: present-day radio amateurs will find it interesting to read about the experiments being carried out by members almost 70 years ago, as well as the references to complaints about QSL practices; some things never change! Perhaps the write-up of National Field Day 1948 will spur more members to participate in the CW Field Day next weekend? Other IRTS newsletters added recently to the library are from the 1960s and 1970s, and they bring the total number of newsletters and call books available on the web site to more than 170.
Southern Ireland Repeater Group
Since early March the Southern Ireland Repeater Group have busy experimenting with the MMDVM and have interfaced it with a UHF MTR2000. This has taken a few months to complete with configuring the various modes and sourcing the tranceivers to test them. In that time they have been obtained a licence and location for the repeater and plan to put it into service from a hilltop site in West Waterford in the coming weeks which should provide coverage from Cork City to Waterford City. It's callsign will be EI7CDD and it will operate in modes DMR, DStar, Fusion and Analog (digital modes will have priority over analog) on 439.650 MHz with a shift of -9 MHz (DVU52) which is one of the newly allocated 70cm channels for digital voice in Ireland and the UK. More details from sirnrepeaters.blogspot.ie
DX News
Between now and 5th September a group of French operators will be active from various islands in French Polynesia in the Pacific. Their callsign will be TX5EG and they will firstly be on the King George Islands until 19th June. The IOTA reference for this location is OC-131. They will operate mainly on CW but also on SSB, RTTY and PSK. QSL manager is F6CBW.
Azerbaijan hosts the Formula One Grand Prix in the capital city Baku over the weekend 23rd to 25th June. Several special event stations are active until 25th June. Look for 4JF1EU, 4JF1BAKU, 4KF0NE and 4KF1BAKU. QSL info can be found on their QRZ.COM pages.
Shirley VK5YL will be active from Rarotonga in the South Cook Islands as E51XYL until 17th June. She will be QRV on 20m SSB. QSLs go via the home call.
Amateur Radio in Jamaica
Amateur radio operators and technicians in Jamaica will no longer be required to be proficient in Morse code, as a result of changes to the regulations for the two pieces of legislation which govern radio and telegraph control services.
Radio Amateurs of Canada
Barrie VE3BSB leads a team of radio Amateurs who have installed the Ultimate3S kit onboard the Canadian C3 expedition. The C3 Expedition ship celebrates the 150 year birthday of Canada with a 150-day voyage through the North passage, visiting many interesting and unique locations along the way.
The Ultimate3S was built and tested by Barrie VE3BSB; Jeff VE3EFF has provided a computer to host the tracking programmme. More details from https://canadac3.ca/en/homepage/
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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