The 2 metres Counties Contest, held last weekend, was well supported: the logs received to date show almost 60 EI and GI stations from more than 20 counties participating in the contest. Band conditions were only average, resulting in very few overseas QSOs. Also, contesters had to contend with very deep QSB at times. Logs should be sent to contestmanager /at/ irts.ie to arrive not later than 10th September.
Gerry, EI8CC has been looking at the issue of planning, in relation to antennas, arising out of the discussions at the last AGM. In response to his requests for input to his work on this he reports that he has had four responses from members who had some experiences in the area. He is now making a final call for input before completing his work so if there is any other member who wishes to contribute any thoughts on the matter please get in touch with him as soon as possible.
On Tuesday 5th of September 2017 there will be a talk on wireless standards for Internet of Things applications (IOT) including some examples and a live demo. Some IOT projects need low data rates or long distance. The talk will cover the advantages and disadvantages of the various standards including LoRa, Dash & Sigfox.
Talks are free for visitors and the club is open from 8:30pm with the talk starting shortly before 9pm. The club meets every Tuesday at the Ballyroan community centre on the Marian Road in Rathfarnham, Dublin. Feel free to drop by any week for a chat and a cup of tea. For more information about the club, you can visit its website at www.southdublinradioclub.ie
Cork Radio Club resume regular meetings after the summer break and the next meeting will be held in Carrigtwohill Community Centre on Wednesday September 13th at 8pm. Following meetings will be held on the 2nd Wednesday each month.
The club operated from the Old Head of Kinsale Lighthouse for the International Lighthouse/Lightship weekend using the special callsign EI1OHL over the weekend of August 19/20th. Operation was mainly on 20 metres both on CW and SSB and reasonable band conditions and an excellent location resulted in over a thousand calls in the log.
Thanks to their efficient QSL manager Tim EI2KA and Jeremy EI5GM, the full log was on LOTW by Monday afternoon. Other members involved included Jim EI8GS, Sean EI3GS, Denis EI5GSB, Dave EI4BZ and club secretary SWL Laura. Further details on QRZ.com. Thanks to the Commissioners of Irish Lights for the use of the facility and caretaker Alan for his co-operation.
The club invites expression of interest from anybody interested in studying for the Amateur Radio examination over the winter months and expressions of interest should be sent by by email to info /at/ corkradioclub.ie or by telephone/text to 087-6290574.
The club operated in the open section in the recent SSB field day using the callsign EI1C/P from the usual location in Glounthaune. Antennas were a hex beam with dipoles for the low bands and everybody had a very enjoyable weekend.
Looking ahead, the club will again be setting up radio stations at the Scout Hall in Little Island for Jamboree on the Air on the 20/22nd of October.
Following the great success last year, this year’s event will also cater for other scout groups in the region and should expose several hundred young boys and girls to the world of amateur radio. New members and visitors are always welcome and further information about the club can be got using the contact details above.
Saturday 7th October will see the '1st DX Féile' take place on Inis Mór Island, Aran Islands for a DX filled-convention.
World renouned DXpeditioners Kenneth LA7GIA, Nigel G3TXF and IOTA Deputy manager Cezar VE3LYC along with Declan EI6FR and Jeremy EI5GM will host a day of DX related talks followed by a Dinner and Social evening amongst other activities.
Two HF stations will be QRV signing the EJ1D callsign and giving out the EU-006 IOTA reference for the weekend. Full information is available on the website www.dxfeile.ie Early booking is advised due to limited availability.
Tony EI5EM recently set up the the EI QRP and Homebrew Group on Facebook. The aim of the group is to promote and encourage QRP operating in EI. It is hoped that in time the page will become a great resource for news, events, ideas and technical discussions on the topic of QRP. New members are most welcome. To find out more just search for EI QRP and Homebrew Group on Facebook.
Jukka OH2BR will be active from Market Reef from 2nd – 9th September. While there he will sign OJ0/OH2BR on all the HF bands and on 6m. This is a spare time operation and QSLs go via his home call. Market Reef is a separate DXCC entity and is a small reef located in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden.
Hans PA3HGT will be operating holiday style from Mauritius using the callsign 3B8/PA3HGT from 5th – 22nd September. He will operate mainly on SSB on 40, 20 and 10m. QSL to the home call.
Alex IW5ELA will be visiting Botswana from 7th – 15th September. While his main purpose in being there is to spot the wild life he hopes to be able to set up his radio equipment in the various lodges where he will overnight. Operation will be mainly CW and QSLs will be sent automatically via the bureau.
The iconic ‘Route 66’ is commemorated each year by a ‘Route 66 on the Air’ Event. This year it runs from 9th – 17th September. Look for callsigns with W6 followed by one letter e.g. W6A, W6B etc. Full details can be found on www.w6jbt.org
Items for inclusion in next week’s Radio News can be submitted via e-mail to “newsteam /at/ irts / dot / ie” for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. Urgent news items for the radio news may be telephoned to the radio news editor, Mark EI6HPB on 086 355 2370.
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.
[C]