IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday May 25th 2003
TV Debut For Mayo Radio Experimenters Network
RTE's highly acclaimed Nationwide programme visited Mayo recently and filmed the group in action at a number of locations in the county. The footage was recorded on April 12th, immediately prior to the visit of Declan Craig, EI6FR, to the county. The item was transmitted on Wednesday last May the 21st on RTE 1 television, and is further evidence of the high profile which amateur radio enjoys in the West. In a statement, Club Chairperson, Frances Taheny EI5J, said that RTE's coverage of the club was an added benefit of the Declan Craig presentation and was a great boost for the hobby. "It shows what can be achieved, when clubs make an effort" she stated. She thanked Declan Craig for his visit and RTE for spending the time with the club and the tremendous coverage which resulted.
Mayo REN Rally Director, Padraic Baynes Snr. EI9JA, has announced that the 2003 Mayo Rally will be held on Sunday November the 16th in The Belmont Hotel, Knock, with doors opening at 11.00 a.m. Listeners will remember the success of the first Mayo rally last year, and the club are already hard at work to ensure a repeat success.
The EMC manager of the IRTS would like to hear from amateurs throughout the country, who may have or presently do suffer from interference to the bands. In particular the HF frequencies.
There seems to be an increase in interference to the HF bands in recent times. We need to gather a database of problems so that we can advance our investigations. The interference maybe in the form of a harsh rasping to a variable warbling noise and It can be as strong as 20dB over 9 on the 40m band at times. Anybody who suffers from these problems are urged to contact the EMC Manager with details. The EMC manager is EI6FE and can be contacted at QTHR of by email on ei6fe@eircom.net.
South Dublin Radio Club Spring Challenge
The winners of the SDR Spring Challenge which is based around HF activity during the month of February every year were announced recently. They are, in the Open Section, Mark Condon EI6JK and, in the restricted section (CW - one band only) Thos Caffrey EI2JD. The winners were presented with their trophies at a recent club meeting. Joe EI7GY, who checked the logs, reports that he had a particularly difficult task this year, as Mark's claimed score was only one point ahead of his nearest rival, Hugh O'Donnell EI2HI. All logs were checked in detail, and Joe was able to confirm Mark as the winner.
Congratulations to South Dublin Radio Club member Tony Byrne EI9FLB, who has just passed his Morse test.
South Eastern Amateur Radio Group
The next general meeting of the club will take place at 8.00 p.m. on Wednesday the 28th of May in the Roanmore Sports and Social Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford. All are welcome.
The theory classes running in Dungarvan every Monday night are now drawing to a close. Six students will soon be ready to sit the theory exam. Theory notes are now available on the EI7IS website.
Antrim and District Amateur Radio Society
The 80 metre ARDF Event will take place on Saturday the 14th of June 2003 at the Crawfordsburn Scout Centre, Crawfordsburn Estate, Helen's Bay, County Down.
The event is open to all and you do not need to be a radio amateur to participate. The event will conform to the general principles of IARU events, but will be less formal than a Championship.
Further details can be found at on the clubs web site at www.gn4siw.co.uk or by contacting David Gi4FUM gi4fum@gn4siw.co.uk.
CW Field Day
This years CW Field Day will take place over the
weekend of June 7th and 8th as a centralised event. Courtesy of Paddy Maher EI3AV, a site is being made available in Cloughjordan in North Tipperary. Expressions of interest should be sent to Contest Manager Noel Walsh EI2JC at contests@irts.ie or on 087-2375982 (office hours) or to Dave Moore EI4BZ as soon as possible.
This proposal is designed to give single operators, who would not normally have access to a group, a chance to participate in the Field Day. Existing groups are of course very welcome to travel and to operate independently.
The exact format will depend on the level of interest expressed. An early response would be appreciated. Non-operators who wish to travel to help with set-up etc. are also very welcome.
The news services of the society depend on input from you, the listeners. It is important that clubs and individuals submit items for the news each week. So, if you recently worked some elusive rare DX, operated in a contest or made some achievement in the field of radio either as a club or individual, please don't hesitate to submit it to the news services.
Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded Mark Wall EI7IS. He can be contacted on 087-6302026. News can also be submitted via e-mail to news@irts.ie for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services.