Archived News Script
IRTS RADIO NEWS BULLETIN Sunday May 24th 1998
IOTA Listings
The annual listings for the Islands on The Air Awards Scheme honour roll have just been published and show three Echo India stations on the list.
Peter Ball EI7CC is the leading EI having 725 islands, followed by Bill EI8AU on 323 and Anthony EI2HY on 280 islands.
In the Shortwave Listener category, IRTS Member Dave Burt EI982/G in Bideford in Devon is on the list with 197 islands confirmed.
Congratulations to all four and we hope to see a few more EI stations on the list this time next year.
A good introduction to the Islands On The Air awards scheme is the annual IOTA contest which is held over a twenty four period on the last weekend in July.
This contest was won last year by the WestNet Group operating from the station of Robert GI0KOW in County Armagh and several other EI stations operated from islands for the event.
One of these groups, the Dalkey Island crew, EJ1D operated from Bere Island last year but this year they will be on from a far more exotic location in the Virgin Islands.
The East Cork Group are planning an operation from Bere Island for the contest and Sean EI4GK, a regular EJ operator since the IOTA contest began, will not be travelling this year due to his commitment to the special event stations in Dun Laoghaire for the Marconi celebrations.
If you need any further information on either the IOTA contest or the awards scheme, make contact with the news team or the Declan EI6FR, the IRTS Contest Manager.
Galway Mamturk Walk
The annual Mamturk hill walk was held this year on April the 25th and once again experimenters from the Galway area used the occasion as an ARENexercise.
The walk covers seven peaks, is sixteen miles long, involves a 6am start and continues until 9pm in the evening. Its a big days work for all involved.
Ten radio experimenters were involved in the exercise, manning a base station, a mobile control station and checkpoints on the peaks and at ground level.
Only one emergency occurred when one of the walkers broke his leg. Luckily, Dr. Tom Rea EI2GP, who was participating in the walk, was near enough to render medical assistance on the spot. The injured walker had to be removed by helicopter due to the difficult terrain.
Joe EI4FT provided his van, suitably kitted out, as the mobile control vehicle and nine other amateurs were involved. They were EI2HF, EI2HG, EI3ER, EI3HJ, EI3HM, EI4FFB, EI5FY and EI8HJ and Niall a Short Wave Listener.
CW Field Day
This years CW field day will be held in two weeks time, on Saturday and Sunday June the 6th and 7th.
Participation in this event has been very poor over recent years and its future is very much in doubt if things do not improve. We appeal to clubs and groups to give some consideration to taking part, even if only as a practice run for the other field days later in the year.
The only entries we are aware of to date are from the East Cork Group who hope to have their usual stations in the both the open and restricted sections.
Give Declan EI6FR a call if you are in need of any help or advice.
CQWW WPX Contest
Coming up next weekend is one of the biggest contests of the year, that's the CQWorld Wide CW WPX Contest. This will run for forty eight hours from midnight UTC on Friday until midnight UTC onSunday and the aim is to work as many prefixes on as many bands as possible over the period.
The exchange is RST and serial number and its zero points for your own country, one for own continent and three points for other continents. Points are doubled for QSOs on 160, 80 and 40 metres. The multiplier is total valid number of prefixes regardless of band.
Marconi Centenary Celebrations
The Wicklow Wireless Society has been working with the Dun Laoghaire 1500 committee in arranging a suitable commemoration of the centenary of Marconis experiments in Dublin Bay in July 1898.
The celebrations will take place over the period July 18th to the 21st next and will include a number of events.
The Society will run a special event station from a number of locations during the celebrations.
Inaddition, the Royal St. George Yacht Club will stage a special classic yacht race on Sunday July 19th during which a re-enactment in period dress of Marconis transmissions from a boat in the bay to the original shore station will take place.
The Marconi trophy will be presented by Marconis daughter Princess Eletra Marconi to the winner of the yacht race.
In addition a plaque commissioned by the Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council commemorating Marconis achievements will be unveiled in the presence of the Princess on Monday July the 20th. This plaque will be erected on Moran Park House, the original building used by Marconi as his shore station.
Items for inclusion in the Radio News can be faxed to 021-632730 or passed on the telephone to Dave EI4BZ at 021- 632444 during the day and at 021-883555 in the evening
Input for the Newsletter should be sent to Kevin EI7IM at QTHR or on 01-4509514 or on E-mail to EI7IM@tinet.ie All input to either the Radio News or the Newsletter can also be sent by e-mail to news@irts.ie
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