We are sorry to have to inform you of the sudden death on Tuesday last of Ken Dixon EI9AB of Crosshaven and formerly of Glenageary. Ken was a Master Mariner and lectured in the Nautical College in Dúnlaoghaire until it closed in 1975. He transferred to Cork where Maritime training was to be based for the future and where he served until his retirement.
To his wife Clare EI7CW, his children Olwen, Brendan and Eithne as well as to his extended family we offer our sincerest sympathy on their loss. May he rest in peace.
AREN hold a net on the 7th and 21 st of the month at 1930 local on 3560 plus or minus. This is a training net for AREN members. However anyone interested in finding out more about AREN activities is more than welcome to call in once the net is established. Last Thursday’s net involved the accurate passing of sample messages from Laurent EI9JV in Donegal to John EI7IG in Waterford.
Due to difficult 80m conditions with heavy European QRM, the message had to be routed via Paul EI2CA in Slane, to Tim EI2KA in West Cork and eventually back to John in Waterford. Next month AREN will be participating in an international HF emergency message handling exercise called Globalset.
Further information on AREN activities can be found on www.AREN.ie
As is common through the year we have occasional lulls in news. If your group or club are involved in anything that you would like to share with our Listeners or readers please pass on the information to our editor.
Below is request received from a member of the public trying to locate a missing uncle, It is read in its entirety to try to piece together the possible whereabouts and touch on any hobbies or interests that he may have had.
SEARCHING FOR MISSING PERSON PATRICK DOLAN – CAN YOU HELP?
Patrick Joseph Dolan, ‘disappeared’ in Auckland some time between 1959 and 1969 and his mother, brothers and sisters never stopped looking for him. His sister searched for him years ago and involved the Salvation Army back in the 70s but apparently they found no record of him. Presumably they would have checked down and out hostels, hospitals, prisons, etc. His brother Philip, sadly died last January and his sister Maureen died a few weeks ago. Patrick has one remaining sister and brother, Margaret (Peggy) and Michael. They would love to know whatever happened to their older brother. As longevity runs in the family, and there is no record of his death, Patrick may well be alive....he would be 91.
Here are some details about him:
Patrick Joseph Dolan was born in Ireland, in Dun Laoghaire, a coastal suburb of Dublin, in 1919. He had red hair! He was well educated (for the times), and he had a great sense of adventure. Apparently he was clever and well read and always had a book in his hand. We think he had a good sense of humour and he was also fond of a drink. His hobbies were unusual so someone might have met him through one of these. He read Morse code and he was interested in Esperanto and we have made contact with the Amateur Radio Group and the New Zealand Esperanto Association.
Pat (or Paddy), as he called himself, joined the Great Southern Railways in Ireland when he left school and worked first as a cashier in Galway and then as paymaster in Sligo. He then returned to Dublin to work with the same company, when it changed its name to C.I.E., for a while before he left to travel the world in late 1953 or early 1954 at the age of 34. He first headed to Toronto in Canada with friends, also from Dun Laoghaire. In Canada he worked for a large department store (probably Eaton’s) but we don’t know in what capacity – possibly a clerk or in accounts.
Apparently he left Toronto after one or two years and then moved to New Zealand. He may have gone to Wellington first but some time between 1959 and 1969 (although it may have been as early as 1955) he was living in Auckland, so he would have been between 34 and 49 years old at this stage. Pat sent a Christmas card home during this period (the card depicts the Harbour Bridge with 4 lanes, which is how we know the time period!). In this he gave an address of 82A Grafton Road (now part of the university) and prior to that he had provided an address at Wellesley House, Wellesley Road – perhaps they were both boarding houses? In the card he said he would be home for good in two years and signed off with ‘Hasta la vista’..... nobody has heard a word since and further letters to him were returned to sender!
Apparently the 50s and 60s were the heydays of rail transportation in Auckland and we feel that, given his background, he may well have obtained employment with the New Zealand Railways Dept. and whilst there are archived employee records unfortunately they are held in Wellington and not available on line. However, maybe he worked in a department store or at something totally different.
Perhaps he moved on again from New Zealand in the early 60s to Australia, the USA or somewhere else although as he was getting older then it doesn’t seem too likely. Maybe he fell on hard times and didn’t want family back home to know.
He is not listed in the New Zealand death records. The electoral rolls aren’t on line though he may not have registered anyway. It is also unknown if he ever married.
Patrick has 4 nieces, 2 nephews, 5 grandnieces and 6 grandnephews, the latter range in age from 16 to 28 most are in Ireland, but also in Canada and Mozambique!
Does anyone have any information at all? Did anyone know him or what happened to him Thank you for taking the time to read / listen to this request and any response will be greatly appreciated?
Helen Dolan Pat’s Niece would appreciate any information that may help tracing her Uncle’s footsteps. Helen can be contacted at 086 8236954 of via email to helendolan /at/ ireland.com
After a software crash on September 26 aboard the amateur radio satellite AO-51 which took it off the air, Ground Station Mark Hammond, N8MH reported that as of September 29, 'The reloading of AO-51 is complete.
As you may have read today October 10, 2010 the Netherlands Antilles will cease to exist as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the status of the individual islands will change as follows:
St. Maarten and Curacao will become independent countries within the Kingdom and will be granted the same status that Aruba attained in 1986.
Bonaire, Saba and Saint Eustatius will be given the status of a public body (a kind of special municipality) in the Netherlands and will therefore fall directly under Dutch rule.
To mark the occasion, a group of 15-20 radio amateurs from several countries have joined forces to activate special transmissions from Bonaire between October 10-24, 2010. The primary focus will be all HF bands from 160 to 10 meters including the WARC bands.
The team will focus on all modes including SSB, CW and various digital modes. Further information about the callsigns to be used will be published on the special website www.bonaire2010.com
Randy, N0TG, provides the following update on the upcoming Sable Island operation to take place between October 21-29th (edited):
"For those interested in CY0, we may need to adjust our frequencies on the fly, but eventually work our way back to the advertised frequencies. Thus, 'spots' posted as to our activity will be helpful and appreciated."
The CY0 Web site is at: www.CY0dxpedition.com
Saturday 23rd October 2010
Carrickfergus Amateur Radio Group, Annual Rally 2010
Downshire School, Downshire Road, Carrickfergus BT38 7DA , Doors open at 12:00
For further details on Rallies please see www.irts.ie/rallies
1897 A.Slaby sends wireless 21 Kms with balloon antennae, Berlin.
Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded to Charlie EI8JB, preferably via e-mail to “charlie dot carolan at gmail dot com” Or by phone to 087-6265418 News can also be submitted via e-mail to “newsteam 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 Thursday in order to be guaranteed inclusion in the following Sunday’s bulletin.
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