The Board was in discussion during the week with ComReg in relation to the holding of the next examination. ComReg was informed that the list of candidates, now numbering over one hundred, and appropriate details, will soon be forwarded to them in accordance with the terms of the contract. The timing of the examination, given that now there is an imminent and very favourable change in public health guidelines was also discussed and an outcome is expected very shortly. The Board is fully aware of it’s function and obligations, and has explored many possibility to facilitate all those who have registered for the HAREC exam. The Board has to be fully compliant with the terms and conditions laid out in the current contract, issued by ComReg to I.R.T.S to administer the HAREC exam. The issues and obstacles in preventing the board from proceeding with the examination’s has been reported to the President of I.R.T.S. Mr. Jim Holohan EI4HH and discussed at committee, who on more the one occasion expressed their confidence in the Board. The Board in turn will be in a position very soon to inform candidates on details of dates and venues and would like to convey that it is following best practice for all concerned.
Hotel rooms can now be booked for the 89th Irish Radio Transmitters Society’s AGM weekend, which will take place on the 9th & 10th of April 2022 in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Road, Carlow. The event is being hosted by The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC. The events team at the hotel have very kindly honoured the room prices as they were in 2020. A special room rate is available for anyone attending the event over the weekend. A full price list, special price room code and booking details are all available on the Hotel section on https://irtsagm2022cw.blogspot.com For more information about the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group and their activities you can email southeasternarg /at/ gmail.com or please feel free to go along to any their meetings. You can check their website www.searg.ie and you can also join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
The Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club Tuesday Night Lectures take place on the second and fourth Tuesdays each month. The next on-line talk hosted by the MUARC will be on Tuesday next June 8th when well known DXer and Editor of Practical Wireless, Don Field G3XTT, will speak on the topic of the DXCC programme and his most memorable DX contact. All are welcome. For further information and the Zoom link, email Dave, 2I0SJV on dcparkinson /at/ icloud.com.
Denmark is taking part in the European Football Championship and a special event station will be on the air between the 11th of June and the 11th of July. 5P2UEFA/xx will be active on all HF bands with CW, SSB and digimodes. The extended suffix/xx will consist of a double-digit number and will be used in connection with the application for a diploma. European Stations need 12 contacts for the gold award, 8 for silver and 5 for bronze. You can find out all about QSL cards and the diploma on QRZ.com under the callsign 5P2UEFA.
IARU Region 1 Spectrum Affairs Chair, Barry Lewis, G4SJH, reports that efforts continue in defending the interests of amateur radio during preparations by CEPT for the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2023. At the meeting on the 21st of May, the IARU worked with CEPT regional telecommunications organisations. The IARU put forward the agreed preliminary IARU positions for agenda items that could affect amateur radio. The IARU’s overall objective is to safeguard the allocations to the amateur and amateur satellite services in the co- and adjacent-frequency bands within the scope of each agenda item.
Inductive power transmission for mobile and portable devices is a major ongoing issue for radio amateurs and IARU will continue their work in preparation for the next ITU WPT meeting in November 2021. Further information on this issue is available on www.iaru-r1.org in a report by Don Beattie G3BJ.
The Graphene Manufacturing Group in Brisbane, Australia together with the University of Queensland have according to the GMG website developed a Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery energy storage technology that has up to three times the capacity of a lithium-ion battery and can charge up to sixty times faster. The battery was created by inserting aluminium atoms into perforations made in graphene planes. The company claims that because the batteries lack an upper Ampere limit that would otherwise cause spontaneous overheating, the batteries are also safer. The stable base materials also facilitate their recycling later. The company hopes to bring these cells to market by the end of 2021 or early 2022.
John EI7GL on his Blogspot at ei7gl.blogspot.com reports that there was a remarkable opening on the 3rd of June from the Azores in the North Atlantic to Europe when CU1AA, CU1AL and CU3EQ worked paths in excess of 3,000kms into Germany. As reported by stations on the DX Cluster, the primary propagation mode was Sporadic-E. However, as the maximum range for one hop is in the region of 2300kms, so something else had to make up the additional 700 or so kms. There are two possibilities. One was Chordal Hop Sporadic-E with a bounce going from Sporadic-E to Sporadic-E cloud. This would however require two intense areas of Sporadic-E at just the right spot to support 144 MHz propagation. The more likely scenario was that it was one Sporadic-E with a tropo extension. The weather charts show high pressure over the Azores. John also reports on excellent conditions on 50MHz on June 3rd when a 14,966 kilometre path between KG6DX on the island of Guam in the Pacific and EA8DBM on the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. On June the 2nd also on 50MHz John reports that the longest path worked was between the aforementioned EA8DBM on Tenerife and VK4ABW in Darwin on the north coast of Australia. That path works out at around 16,220 kilometres on FT8. No doubt our Echo India VHF DXers had a ball during the past week.
We start with a contest for DXers this week with the Australian Shires contest running for 24 hours on Saturday next on both CW and SSB. You may only work VK stations in this one giving report and CQ Zone. The full rules are available on www.wia.org RTTY operators can enjoy the DRCG Worldwide RTTY Contest next weekend. It is run in three time slots: 0000 to 0759utc and 1600 to 2359utc on Saturday and 0800 to 1559utc on Sunday on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metre bands using RTTY (45.45 Baudot) only. The exchange is report and CQ Zone. The Six Metre International Radio Klub (SMIRK) hold their annual worldwide contest on the 6 metre band over 24 hours from midnight(utc) on Friday using CW, Phone and digital modes. The exchange is grid square for non-SMIRK members. Also on 6 metres, the French REF DDFM contest runs from 1600utc on Saturday until 1600utc on Sunday. The Annual Portugal Day HF Contest on CW & SSB is on next weekend from 1200utc on Saturday to 1200utc on Sunday. Non CT stations give report and serial number. CT stations will give report plus district or county codes.
DX news Volker, DJ8VW, is active as 5P8VW from Romo Island, Europe-125 until June 10th on all bands using CW, SSB and FT8. Members of the YB7-DXClub will be active as YB1JYL/7 from Sebuku Islands, Oceania-166 between June 9 and the 11th. Activity will be on SSB and FT8. Masa, JA0RQV will be QRV as A35JP from Tongatapu Island, IOTA Oceania-049 in Tonga until the end of October. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. Peter, JK1UWY is QRV as from Haiti as HH2JA and he will be there for the next three years. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and FT8. QSL via LoTW. Anders, OZ3ACB will be operating as SM7/OZ3ACB from Ven Island, Europe-137, at various times during the summer, especially during the weekends. QSL via Logbook of The World, Club Log, eQSL or direct to home call.
That is the news for this week. Items for inclusion in next week’s radio news can be submitted by email to newsteam/at/irts/dot/ie for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. The deadline is midnight on Thursday. Urgent items for the news may be telephoned to News Editor Dave EI4BZ on 087-6290574.
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