Archived News Script

IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday March 25th 2007


Silent Key EI1CY

It is with regret that we inform you of the death of johnny Moloney EI1CY on the 19th of March. Johnny who was originally from Abbeyfeale, lived in Clontarf in Dublin and died in the Sacred Heart Nursing Home in Raheny. Johnny was a very proficient CW operator, had been a seagoing Radio Officer and was one of the few remaining ROs who had an aviation endorsement on his ticket. He flew with Aer Lingus as an RO on DC3s and other aircraft and later transferred to flight dispatcher duties with the airline.

Recently, Johnny had been awarded the George Stritch Memorial Shield by the Fingal Radio Club of which he was an active member. His funeral took place on Thursday last and among the attendance were Liam EI3HK, Pierce EI4CI, Harry EI9BW, Aidan EI5HW, Chris EI7AAB and Seán EI7CD. To his extended family we offer our sincerest sympathy.

May he rest in peace.


AREN News

John EI7IG and Conor EI4JN both supported Cork Motor club on last weekends 2 day West Cork Rally. Work began on Friday with the Setup of 2 VHF voice repeaters, one east and one west of Clonakilty.

78 radios in all were handed out to officials and marshals. For the two days of competition John, Conor and Conor’s wife Nollaig drove the entire rally route ahead of the competing cars, stopping at each radio point to ensure that all stations were radio-checked successfully. Any faulty radio equipment or installations found were dealt with. Even when the timing equipment at the start of one Special Stage got blown down and was rendered inoperable, John and Conor were able to use their technical skills and tool kit to get it back into operation. Cork Motor Club thanked AREN for its support again this year and acknowledged ARENs contribution with a mention in the Official Rally Program.

For further information on the Amateur Radio Emergency Network, visit www.dot aren dot ie.


AFRI 75

The AFRI75 team in Swaziland have been on air all week, with CW and SSB activity on all HF bands as well as 2 metres EME.

Band conditions have been mixed but generally good, with frequent openings to Europe, the United States and Japan. There are plenty of EI and GI stations in the log, helped by the fact that the group has been calling "EI/GI only" from time to time. Most of the QSOs with EI and GI stations have been on 15, 17, 20 and 30 metres, with just a small number of 12, 40 and 80 metres. 10 metres has been open for a while, but all contacts so far on this band have been into southern Europe.

This weekend, the group finishes its DXpedition to Swaziland by participating in the CQ WPX SSB contest, using the call sign 3DA0EI.

Online logs will be uploaded to the web site and up to date information can be found on www.irts.ie/afri75


IRTS 75th Annual General Meeting

The Society’s 75th Annual General Meeting is to be held at the Vienna Woods Hotel in Cork on Sunday April 22nd. The weekend celebrations will follow the usual format with the 75th Jubilee Dinner being held on the Saturday night. Tickets prices have been maintained at last years level and are great value at only 30 Euro. Several high profile international guests will attend the dinner and AGM and included are Dave Sumner K1ZZ, Secretary of the International Amateur Radio Union and C.E.O. of the ARRL, the American National Society. Also joining us will be the Chairman of Region 1 IARU Ole Garpestad LA2RR and the Presidents of several other sister national societies in Region 1.

The Committee is obliged by rule to nominate members for the positions of President, Vice President and eleven committee positions. These nominations will be carried in the upcoming issue of Echo Ireland. This does not preclude other nominations for any of the positions and further nominations must be made to the Secretary within fourteen days of receiving the committee’s lists of nominations. Members should read rule 23 covering nominations for office.

The Society has several awards for honouring members who have excelled in some aspect of the hobby. Nominations for these awards are now being sought and should be forwarded to the Awards Manager, Peter Grant EI4HX. Members in possession of trophies since last years AGM are requested to arrange for their return to EI4HX or any committee member as soon as possible. The AGM rally will be held on Sunday April 22nd at the Vienna Woods Hotel and requests for tables should be directed to Dave EI4BZ on 087-6290574. There will be no charge for tables, which will be allocated on a first come first served basis.


Rallies

The date of the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Show has been changed to Sunday the 22nd of April at the Share Centre Lisnaskea Co. Fermanagh. The Bangor Rally will take place on the 17th of June and the Friedrichshafen Hamfest will take place over the weekend of the 22nd to the 24th of June.


Theory Examination

The next Theory Examination for the Experimenters Licence will be held on Thursday the 28th of June next. Places for the examination are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. In order to reserve a place for the exam, intending candidates should forward the appropriate fee to Seán Nolan EI7CD, 12 Little Meadow, Pottery Road Dunlaoghaire, Co. Dublin. The fee is 50 Euro or 25 Euro for full time registered students, those who are retired, are unemployed or have a disability. In addition to the exam centre at the ComReg offices in Dublin, consideration will be given to holding an examination on the same date and with the same paper at a location that would suit those at present attending the classes in Cork and Waterford subject to there being sufficient candidates and to a suitable venue being made available locally.

The closing date for the examination is the 16th of June and it will be strictly adhered to. Sean EI7CD's address again is 12 Little Meadow, Pottery Road, Dunlaoghaire, Co. Dublin and it can be found in the call book section of the IRTS website at www.irts.ie Sean's e-mail address for further enquiries is "ei7cd at gofree dot indigo dot ie".


VHF Nets

The 4 metre activity night will take place between 20:00 and 22:00 local time on Tuesday the 3rd of April next. This net takes place on the first Tuesday of each month.

Please send reports to “ei3ix at eircom dot net”. The call frequency is 70.2625 MHz. There is also a 4 metre simplexer active on 70.350 MHz.

The next 6 metre net meets on Monday the 2nd of April on 50.135 MHz SSB at 21:00 hours local time. All are welcome and encouraged to participate. The 6 metre net meets on the first Monday of each month.


South Eastern Amateur Radio Group

A draw will take place this coming Wednesday, the 28th at the SEARG general meeting. One winner will be "drawn from a hat" and the person whose name is drawn will win a pair of tickets to the IRTS AGM Dinner including overnight accommodation for two in the Vienna Woods Hotel. There are no tickets and no cost to entering. In order to be eligible for automatic entry to the draw, your membership subscription for 2007 must be fully paid up at or before the meeting on Wednesday the 28th.


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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