A reminder that the IRTS AGM weekend, including Annual Dinner and Rally will be held this year on Saturday March 26th and Sunday March 27th. The event will be hosted by the Limerick Radio Club. The venue is the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ennis Road, Limerick. For more information contact, Ger McNamara EI4GXB on 087 2532512 or ei4gxb/ at /gmail/ dot/ com.
The next IRTS committee meeting will be held on February 5th in Portlaoise. All affiliated clubs representatives are encouraged to attend.
The deadline for submitting articles, advertising, etc, to Echo Ireland is February 5th 2011. Everyone is encouraged to submit articles to this journal for consideration for publication.
This year Engineers Week, organised by Engineers Ireland, runs from 14 – 20 February. Once again the Society plans to participate in centres through the country. Currently under consideration are Athlone, Cork, Cavan, Dundalk., Mayo and Limerick. If you would like to participate please contact Séamus ei8bp / at / eircom /dot/net.
Club Secretaries Séamus EI8BP as Web Editor is preparing to update the Clubs page on the Website. Some of this information is somewhat outdated. Please have a look at your club’s entry on the IRTS Website and contact Séamus by Email at ei8bp / at / eircom / dot / net with any changes. The Website information is an important point of contact for prospective club members and an opportunity to promote your club.
A reminder that your log for the EI/GI Counties Contest needs to be sent to the contestmanager / at/ irts/ dot/ ie. All logs to be received by deadline February 2nd 2011. Your co-operation is much appreciated.
Radio enthusiasts and their partners will meet at the Vienna Woods Hotel, Glanmire, Cork for dinner and a social evening on Saturday February 5th. A comprehensive menu is available to suit all tastes.
Everybody is invited and it would be nice to meet some of the newer amateurs on the night.
Tickets are available from Dave Moore EI4BZ priced at €30.00 and you can contact him on 087-6290574 or by email at ei4bz /at / eircom / dot / net. Previous events have been very successful and have been enjoyed by large attendances.
Following on from the successful classes last year, plans are being put in place for Radio Theory classes in Limerick.
Classes will also include lots of practical sessions and will be based on the revised syllabus as detailed on the IRTS website.
Classes will commence in February depending on numbers and those interested in attending should contact Ger McNamara EI4GXB on 087 2532512 or ei4gxb / at /gmail / dot /com.
Dundalk Amateur Radio Society, EI7DAR, will commence amateur radio theory classes Thursday February 3rd 2011. Classes will be held at the club premises 'Larkin House', 113, Castletown Road, Dundalk.
This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in obtaining their amateur radio Licence in an adult learning relaxed environment.
For further information and details please contact ei4dib / at /ei7dar/ dot/ com or by text only to 086 4066660. Everyone welcome.
The EI7MLR voice repeater on Mt. Leinster which operates on 430.950 MHz plus 7.6MHz shift is back up and running. It was off air for the past month for essential repairs. Reports to: repeaters/ at / searg / dot / com.
The 2011 International Marconi Day will be held on April 30th. The North Cork Radio Group are pleased to announce that they will be active from the Marconi Signal Station at Mizen head where Marconi sent many of his first test transmissions to America. Further details will be posted nearer the event, however, please pencil the day free if you'd like to attend or work the station.
The Spratly Island expedition unfortunately ran into some local difficulties and has had to be postponed. The team which had assembled in the Philippines will now try to re-schedule the DX0DX trip later this year.
Zanzibar Island can be heard until 24th January as Sam F6AML operates again as 5H1Z. He is QRV all bands 10-80m CW and SSB. The IOTA reference is AF-032 and QSLs go via the home call.
The husband and wife team of Josep EA3BT and Nuria EA3WL will activate the Island of Mauritius signing 3B8/EA3BT and 3B8/EA3WL from 23rd to 29th January. QSLs for both calls go via EA3BT.
Those looking for a contact with Barbados will have the opportunity of working the editor of ‘The Daily DX’ Bernie W3UR and/or his father Tony N3ME when they air the calls 8P9UR and 8P9ME respectively from 26th January till 14th February.
The 7th Asian Winter Games take place in Kazakhstan this year with the starting date 30th January. To celebrate the event at least 8 special event stations will be active during the games. Look out for the special prefix UP2011.
For those who still need Curacao look for PJ2/OE3JAG who will be operating mainly CW between 30th January and 11th February 2011. Curacao is one of the four new DXCC entities that count from 10th October 2010.
Members and families gather today (Sunday 16th January) for the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club’s winter lunch in the Hunting Lodge, Irvinestown. Attendance is expected to double last January’s due to the large number of new members who joined or re-joined last year. Many came from the Club’s two very successful Foundation courses.
The guests of honour will be Mr & Mrs Raymond Ashe. Raymond, GI8RLE played an essential and major part in setting up the Club’s very successful Repeater, GB3CP.
Being a family social event, not all the chat will be about radio. However, sure of a mention are the Club’s plans for an Intermediate course on three February weekends and the historic thirtieth Lough Erne rally on Sunday 17 April, just before Easter.
Terry G4POP is looking for testers who use HRD Version 5.0 and also taking part in the WAI awards scheme? Terry has developed the awards side of the program and has just finished the WAI definition which he would like someone to test in earnest.
It displays WAI by grid or county and provides a matrix displaying grids/counties worked and also totals etc.
Terry can be contacted via email on tgenes /at /btintermet/ dot / com.
PHOENIX A.R.C.
Phoenix Amateur Radio Club annual rally will be held on Sunday 20th February 2011 in the usual venue, Coolmine Community School, Blanchardstown.
Doors open for Traders at 9.00 am Doors open to public 11.00am Admission 5 Euros. To book tables contact Tony at 0872439997 or Tom at 01-8211043.
Plenty of Parking, Refreshments and Bring and Buy Sale. All usual traders will attend.
This is the First Rally of 2011.
For further details on Rallies please see www.irts.ie/rallies
It is reputed that in 1892 Nathan B. Stubblefield made a voice transmission four year before Marconi transmitted radio signals!
On January 18th 1923, the first radio telegraph message was sent from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies.
Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded to Aidan EI7JC, preferably via e-mail to “news / dot ei7jc / at / gmail / dot / com”. Or by phone to 085 7100511 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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