The most recent theory examination for the experimenters licence was held on Thursday the 28th of June last. This is the fifth examination that has taken place since the arrangement was entered into in May 2005 with ComReg under which the IRTS is responsible for runnimg the examinations. This brings to 111 the total number of candidates to sit the examination in the two years since the new arrangements came into effect. Thursday was also the first time that there were two examination centres. There was one in Dublin where 20 candidates took the examination and the other was in Carrigtwohill where there were 25 candidates. The next examination will be held in the latter half of January 2008.
The next monthly meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will be held on Thursday next the 5th of July in the Raheen House Hotel, Raheen Road, Clonmel at 8.00 p.m.
Please note that logs for the CW Field Day must be with the contest manager by Tuesday the 3rd of July.
Limerick Radio Club has been invited by the Foynes Flying-Boat Museum to operate a special Amateur Radio Station in conjunction with the commemorative Transatlantic Re-Enactment Flight 1937 from Newfoundland Canada to Foynes Ireland. A special call sign has been allocated to the station EI-70-FOY. The station will be on the air from the 6th to the 8th of July 2007. On HF the station will operate from 80 to 10 metres. It will also operate on VHF / UHF using the EI70FOY call sign.
A special QSL card, commemorating the Re-Enactment Flight, will be sent to all stations worked over the three-day event. All QSL cards should be sent to the Club’s QSL Manager Alan Cronin EI8EM at QTHR. Limerick Radio Club can be contacted at “ei4lrc at eircom dot net” or at www.qsl.net/ei4lrc
The next committee meeting will take place on Monday the 2nd of July at 8.00 p.m. in the Roanmore Centre, Waterford.
Foyle and District Amateur Radio Club, Bready, Strabane, Co. Tyrone will be heading to St. Angelo Airport, Enniskillen for the 2007 Jet World Masters competition. The competition itself runs from the 5th to the 14th of July. The club station will be on the air during the weekend July the 13th and 14th using the club's callsign MN0AKU/P.
This event is the ultimate radio-controlled model aircraft competition. These model planes are capable of speeds up to 250 miles per hour. One hundred pilots from 31 countries will be taking part in this competition. More information can be found on their website www.jwm2007.com
The club wishes to express its gratitude to all the operators who contacted them during the 2 days of their Amelia Earhart special event station on May the 20th and 21st. A sepia-tone photo of the aviator has been used for a unique QSL card and these will soon be sent out via the buro. Foyle and District Amateur Radio Clubs web address is www.mn0aku.org.uk
The Cork Radio Club Rally will take place on Sunday the 23rd of September in the Blarney Park Hotel, Blarney, Co. Cork, the Waterford Rally will take place on the 21st of October 2007 in the Woodlands Hotel, Waterford and the Mayo Radio Rally will be on Sunday the 18th of November in the Belmont Hotel, Knock, Co. Mayo.
A full listing of upcoming rallies is available on www.irts.ie
During the IRTS Jubilee expedition to Swaziland the team met with the Scout Association and agreed to support their Thirst for Life Programme, which helps Aids orphans in Swaziland. You will find details of the project on the Afri75 page of the IRTS website. The team is pleased to announce that the first initial funding for the project of 350 Euro is on its way to Swaziland and this will fund the purchase of chickens for their farm. The money was raised by donations included with direct QSL cards received from stations worked around the world, together with funds raised from the sale of Afri75 caps at the AGM in Cork. The team are still anxious to continue support for the project, and if you think you can help please contact Paul EI2CA.
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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