UPDATE 27/07/09

Silent Key

Walter Kronkite, KB2GSD

The well-known, former US TV news anchor Walter
Cronkite has died after a long illness. He was 92.

He Narrated the "Amateur Radio Today" production by the
ARRL. The ARRL has presented him with many awards.

His love of Space science and the NASA Moon missions
won our admiration. His coverage of those showed his
interest in technology. May he rest in peace.


AO-51 Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Special Event

Congratulations to any ground stations that received
AO-51 during the limited passes during the special
event period.

These stations ware treated to a replay of the Apollo
11 Eagle communications, commerating the 40th
anniversary. Stations which ware SSTV ready ware also
treated to a Robot 36 SSTV Image.

Using AO-51 & special event there are some uploads of
activity on youtube.com from stations receiving the
pass.For anyone to take a look and listen to what they
have missed.

Send QSL requests marked "Apollo 11" with SASE to the
AMSAT office at 850 Sligo Ave. Suite 600, Silver
Spring, MD 20910 U.S.A

Radio Rallies

C.R.C. Rally 2009

The Cork Radio Club is holding their Rally in the
Montenotte Hotel in Cork on the 13th of September.
Special rates for those who wish to stay overnight just
mention Cork radio Club.

Food all day, plenty of parking & doors open at 11am.
All the usual traders will be there.

Mayo Rally

The 2009 Mayo Rally will be held on Sunday November
22nd in Castlebar. The venue is The Welcome Inn Hotel,
Where the 2008 rally was held at short notice, and
doors open at 11.00am.

Rally Director, Padraic Baynes, EI9JA, is now taking
bookings for stands at the Rally. He can be contacted
on 087 6957154. The hotel will be offering a Rally
special deal for accommodation. Full details will be
available soon.


EI2MOG on the Air!

The Dundalk Amateur Radio Society are now operating a Echolink internet gateway link on 145.2125Mhz simplex.

The link has been issued the callsign EI2MOG by Comreg and node number 57007 by Echolink.

EI2MOG will operate 24/7 from it's location at Mount Oriel, Co.Louth. Coverage reports are now welcome via email to info@ei7dar.com .

Further details can be found at www.ei7dar.com

Here are the details of the new gateway:

EI2MOG Echolink Gateway
CALLSIGN - EI2MOG AUTO ID EVERY 20MINS
LOCATION - MOUNT ORIEL
NODE NO. 57007
GRID REF - N98165 83282
LAT:53.789983 LONG:-6.511295
METRE ABOVE SEA LEVEL - 251M
MOTOROLA GM300
ECHOLINK INTERFACE
SIGMA CAT145 3dB ANTENNA @32M ON MAST
FREQUENCY - TX / RX 145.2125Mhz
TX POWER - 15 WATTS
ACCESS - CARRIER

IOTA Rathlin Isl

Sean EI4GK, Pete EI4GZB, Declan EI9HQ, Pete GI4VIV and
Joe EI7GY are back on Rathlin Island again for this
year's IOTA contest. They will be based in the East
Lighthouse, the same QTH as last year. The call sign
for the contest will be GI0MPG.


IOTA South Dublin Radio Club and the City of Belfast
Radio Amateur Society

EJ0GI are participating in the IOTA Contest (DXpedition
- multi-op, HP section ) from Inis Oirr, EU-006. The
combined team from South Dublin Radio Club and the City
of Belfast Radio Amateur Society have travelled to the
Aran Islands off the coast of Galway, hoping to build
upon the successes of recent years.

Some team members may be active under their home calls
outside of the Contest between 23 - 27 July. QSL via
EI2SDR (information available on QRZ.com).



DXCluster now on Twitter

GB7MBC, one of Europe's busiest DXClusters, is now
on Twitter.

It provides such things as DX news, IOTA, Contests and
Solar information.

If you wish to follow it on Twitter, just go to this
URL and add it to your list of 'tweets' you follow.
http://twitter.com/GB7MBC


DX News

XE1/EI7GK.

Paddy EI7GK will be QRV from his daughter's house in
Mexico during July. Listen out for XE1/EI7GK on 14.268
MHz SSB + or - QRM.

Past experience shows the best time for propagation
between EI and XE is early morning 06.00 to 08.00.
Irish time. Remember that Mexico is 6 hours behind EI.
Paddy will be delighted to work EI and GI stations.

Swaziland

A DXpedition will operate from Swaziland between 30th
July and 11th August 2009. The purpose of this
expedition is to provide an amateur radio station at an
International Scout Camp near Manzini.

Using the callsign 3DA0SS and also a station at Hawane
Resort near Mbabane where previous DXpeditions to
Swaziland have operated from. The Hawane station will
operate under the individual callsigns of the
expedition team.

Team members are – David GI4FUM 3DA0DJ Tony G4LDL
3DA0TB Gerry M0VAA 3DA0VA Malcolm GM3TAL 3DA0MH Mike
NC4MM 3DA0MM Yuri UT5EL 3DA0EL

There is an established HF antenna farm at the Hawane
site and we will operate 2 HF stations around the clock
depending on propagation and band openings. We plan to
operate on or near to scout frequencies.

Requests for skeds should be sent to GI4FUM /at/ 3da0ss.net

QSLs for this DXpedition should be sent via GI4FUM

Further details and photographs are available at
http://www.gi4fum.co.uk


This week in History

1897 Marconi registers the "Wireless Telegraph and
Signal Company".

1899 Royal Navy successfully trials Marconi sets during
exercises.

Thanks to the IRTS for the info.

Digital transmission samples on YouTube

K2NCC has made available video samples of amateur radio, military, government, domestic and international data transmissions on YouTube.

Videos of the data transmissions ranging from STANAG 4285 to DominoEX 16 and SITOR A are available on the YouTube K2NCC Digital Amateur Radio Channel at

http://www.youtube.com/k2ncc

NASA test new 'space internet' protocols on ISS

The University of Colorado at Boulder is working with NASA to develop a new communications technology now being tested on the International Space Station (ISS), which will extend Earth's Internet into outer space and across the solar system.

Called Disruption Tolerant Networking, or DTN, the new technology will enable NASA and other space agencies around the world to better communicate with international fleets of spacecraft that will be used to explore the moon and Mars in the future.

The technology is expected to lead to a working "Interplanetary Internet," said Kevin Gifford, a senior research associate at CU-Boulder's BioServe Space Technologies and a faculty member in the aerospace engineering sciences department.

"Communication between spacecraft and ground stations has traditionally been over a single point-to-point link, much like a walkie-talkie," said Gifford.

"Currently, space operations teams must manually schedule each link and generate appropriate commands to specify where the data is to be sent, the time it will be sent and its destination. As the number of spacecraft and links increase and the need to communicate between many space vehicles emerges, these manual operations become increasingly cumbersome and costly," he said.

"Highly automated future communications capabilities will be required for lunar habitation and surface exploration that include passing information between orbiting relay satellites, lunar and planetary habitats and astronauts on the surface," said Gifford.

"But existing Internet protocols, where Internet hosts and computers are always connected, do not work well for many space-based environments, where intermittently connected operations are common."

Read the full story at
http://www.colorado.edu/news/r/
fc2791d60f1469b60cd846b779a9dc56.html

History This Week

A look back at events that made history this week -
compiled by the Summerland Amateur Radio Club of Lismore, NSW

Monday, 20 July, 2009

1829 First typewriter was patented by William Burt of Mt. Vernon, MI.

1837 Wheatstone & Cooke send their first telegraph message 2 km.

1837 London's first railway station, Euston, opens.

1847 R. M. Hoe, New York City patented the rotary-type printing press.

1866 Dr M Loomis transmits signals 15 miles using kite antennas.

1871 S. Wheeler of Albany, NY patented perforated toilet paper.

1897 Marconi registers the "Wireless Telegraph and Signal Company".

1898 First newspaper message sent from a ship to the Daily Express, London.

1899 Royal Navy successfully trials Marconi sets during exercises.

1969 Neil Armstrong steps onto the surface of the moon.

Space shuttle Endeavour docks with ISS

Space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay, the vertical stabilizer and orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods in this image photographed by a STS-127 crew member from an aft flight deck window. Photo: Reuters/Nasa handout

After a week of excited late-night neck-craning, people all over Ireland were rewarded again with a spectacular sight in the skies.

At 10.56pm on the 17th of July, the International Space Station (ISS) and the space shuttle Endeavour , was seen as one for the very first time, making this the biggest man-made object ever assembled in space, according to Astronomy Ireland.

The ISS and Endeavour docked at 6.55pm Irish time, travelling at 17,000 miles per hour.

In total, the two craft weigh 400 tonnes and there are 13 astronauts on board – the all-time record for the number of people in space at one time.

“This is he biggest object ever assembled in space and it should be a thousand times brighter than the brightest star in the sky making this the most incredible sight anyone has ever seen from Ireland,” said David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland.

The organisation has been “inundated” with calls and hits on its website in recent days, Mr Moore said, as millions of people were “mesmerised” by the sights of the shuttle and the space station in the sky at night.

The space station will be visible in Irish skies until July 23rd.

“This is space history in the making and every Irish person has a ringside seat,” Mr Moore said.

The exact time to see the space hardware “blazing across the night sky” can be obtained from Astronomy Ireland, which has set up a special text service to cope with the demand.

Astronomy Ireland claims to be the largest astronomy club in the world relative to population numbers. It currently has about 11,000 members.

IOTA Contest preparations well under way

There are just a few days before the 2009 IOTA Contest on 25 and 26 July.

This is the big event of the year for island chasers and, for most, it is a great chance to improve scores.

Already a number of DXpeditions have announced they will be active for the contest.

Here a just a few of the stations to look out for:

• MM0NDX will be active as GM5A from the main island of Hirta in the St. Kilda group, which is IOTA reference EU-059. QSL via GM4FDM.

• A nine-strong team of VK operators will be active from Norfolk Island as VK9NI. They will have a 2-element 40m beam and Spiderbeams for HF as well as a range of verticals for all bands including 160.

• HS0AC/P will be on the air from Si Chang Island, which is reference S-107. The QSL Manager is HS0ZFZ.

• The Strumblehead DX and Contest Group will operate from Ramsey Island off the West Wales using the call MW9W for the contest and MC0SHL at other times. The island will not only count for the IOTA contest but also WAB awards and the WFF award. QSL via M0URX.

• IC8/IW8EHK will be active from Capri, reference EU-031 with some activity outside the contest period. The QSL manager is IK7JWX.

• CO8ZZ will be active during the contest from Cuba, taking part in the CW only category. QSL via DK1WI. Cuba’s reference is NA-015.

• YC9MDX will be on the air from Timor Island, reference OC-148.

Don’t forget that if the stations you work send in their logs you can claim the contest QSOs for your IOTA Awards without needing to get their QSL cards.

See the ‘Activations’ tab on the home page at www.rsgbiota.org for more information on these and other upcoming activities

Thanks to Southgate Radio Club for the info.

More IOTA News

Island activities:

CROATIA, 9A. Gert, OE3ZK will be QRV as 9A/OE3ZK from Korcula Island, IOTA EU-016, from July 21 to 30. Activity will be on all bands using CW, SSB and RTTY. He will be active on the IOTA frequencies. QSL to home call.

EAST MALAYSIA, 9M6. Brett, VR2BG is QRV as 9M6BG until July 28. He hopes to be active during the IOTA contest. Activity has been on 40 and 20 meters using CW. QSL to home call.

MADEIRA ISLANDS, CT3. A group of operators will be QRV as CR3D and CR3R from Chao Islet, Desertas Islands, IOTA AF-046, from July 24 to 26. Activity will be on all HF and VHF bands using CW, SSB and digital modes. QSL via operators' instructions.

BALEARIC ISLANDS, EA6. Pista, HA5GY is QRV as EA6/HA5GY until July 20. He is active using QRP power on the HF bands. QSL to home call.

THAILAND, HS. Don, HS0ZEE has been active on 20 meters CW daily around 1400z. QSL to home call.

SARDINIA, IS0. A group of operators will be QRV as IM0M from Asinara Island, IOTA EU-165, from July 22 to 26. Activity will be on all HF and V/UHF bands and modes. This includes an entry in the upcoming IOTA contest. QSL via operators' instructions.

MINAMI TORISHIMA, JD1. Masa, JD1BMM is QRV from here until July 22. He is generally active on 20 and 17 meters using CW and various digital modes, but has been active on 6 meters as well. QSL via bureau.

SVALBARD, JW. Robert, LA9QNA is QRV as JW9QNA from Longyearbyen, IOTA EU-026, until July 22. This includes entries in the North American RTTY QSO Party and the CQ World Wide VHF Contest. QSL to home call.

DENMARK, OZ. Harry, PA1H and Nico, PA8PA will be QRV as OZ/home call from Lango Island, IOTA EU-172, from July 25 to August 1. Activity will be on 160 to 10 meters, and possibly the VHF bands, using SSB and digital modes. This includes an entry in the upcoming IOTA contest. QSL to home calls.

GREECE, SV. Laci, HA0NAR will be QRV as SX8R from Thassos Island, IOTA EU-174, from July 22 to 31. This includes an entry in the upcoming IOTA contest. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters using CW and SSB. QSL to home call.

CORSICA, TK. Lee, F5MUX is QRV as TK5UX until July 26. Activity is on 40 to 10 meters using mostly CW but with some RTTY as well. QSL to home call.

BELIZE, V3. Terry, W6WTG and Sharon, N2OWL will be QRV as V31UR from Caye Caulker, IOTA NA-073, from July 21 to 29. This includes being an entry in the upcoming IOTA contest. QSL via W6UR.

NORFOLK ISLAND, VK9N. Member of the Hellenic Amateur Radio Association of Australia will be QRV as VK9NI from July 22 to 29. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY with five stations running simultaneously. This includes an entry in the upcoming IOTA contest. QSL via W3HNK.

MONTSERRAT, VP2M. Bill, W5SJ is QRV as VP2MSJ until July 21. Activity is on al bands, including 60 and 30 meters. This includes an entry in the CQ World Wide VHF Contest. QSL via W5JAY.

MEXICO, XE. In celebration of the 12th anniversary of the Radio Club Queretaro, special event station 4C12SG is QRV until July 27 from the ''Sierra Gorda Queretana'' at the Sotano del Barro, one of the world's lowest locations. Activity is on al HF bands and possibly 6 meters. QSL via XE1RCQ.

INDONESIA, YB. Hotang, YC0IEM/9 is QRV from Bali, IOTA OC-022, until July 27. QSL via IZ8CCW.

For more info on the IOTA

STS-127 over Dublin 15 July 09

I have seen a lot of Shuttle and ISS passes over Ireland but last night was something else. What a sight!

Mission: STS-127
Orbiter: Endeavour
Primary Payload: Kibo Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility, Kibo Japanese Experiment Logistics Module-Exposed Section
Launch Date: July 15
Launch Time: 6:03 p.m. EDT
Launch Pad: 39A
Landing Date: July 31
Landing Time: 10:45 a.m.
Mission Duration: 16 days
Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical miles

Main engine cutoff is confirmed: space shuttle Endeavour has reached orbit. The shuttle lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as planned at 7:17 a.m. EDT and began its orbital chase of the International Space Station, orbiting 225 miles above Earth's surface.


STS-127 Mission Overview
The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space.

The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station.

For 50 years, NASAs been famous for counting backward from 10 to zero. But a final countdown is now under way that will stand out among them all.

NASA - Space Shuttle Mission: STS-127 (Take Off) 15 July 09

Here's another video of the Shuttle in orbit!





I also took photos of the Shuttle & the ISS in orbit last night, I hope to upload them later!

Space shuttle visible in Ireland tonight

Image above: An operational camera side-view of space shuttle

Endeavour as it stands on Launch Pad 39A ready for liftoff.
Photo credit: NASA TV

The space shuttle Endeavour, with seven astronauts on board, will be visible in Ireland tonight.

The shuttle will be visible as a brilliant “star” when it crosses Ireland at about 11.21pm tonight, 18 minutes after it blasts off from Florida.

“We are predicting the best time to watch will be 11.21pm tonight, but people should watch for 10 minutes around this time as the launch time can be changed by NASA at the last minute” said David Moore of Astronomy Ireland.

“The shuttle is an incredible sight when it flies over, but what makes this event so incredibly rare, is that the giant fuel tank will be right next to the shuttle in the sky and will look distinctly orange.”

“This has only been seen once before from Ireland in the 28 year history of shuttle launches so we want everyone to stay up and watch it,” he added.

The shuttle is heading for the International Space Station which will also be visible from Ireland on Thursday and Friday nights. Built at a cost of €100 billion, it is up to 1000 times brighter than the average star.

Looking forward to it already!!! :-)

Check out the launch on NASA TV @ Launch Time: 18:03 . EDT > 23.03 BST

IOTA News

Island activities:

EU-047. Andy, DL7AT, will be active as DL7AT/M from Norderney Island (N-05 for the German Islands award), July 17-24th. He will also activate the Norderney lighthouse (ARLHS FED-025, GLHA #39, WLH DL-021, WLOTA 1621). QSL via his home callsign, direct or by the bureau.

EU-090. A group of Slovenian operators will be active as 9A8ZRS from Vela Palagruza Island (ACIA IC-901, CIA-33, IOCA CI-084, MIA MC-284, ARLHS CRO-012, CLH-100, WHL 9A-046, WLOTA 0057) between July 20-31st. Activity will be on 80/40/20/15/10/6/2 meters using CW, SSB, PSK-31 and possibly other digital modes.

Their operations will include an entry in the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th). Operators mentioned are: Jane/S57L, Goran/S52P, Vinko/S53F, Brane/S56UGB and Silvo/S50X. QSL via the operator's instructions.

EU-121. Members of the Dalkey Island Contest Group plan to activate Clare Island for the upcoming RSGB IOTA Contest which takes place on July 25-26th. The callsign EJ1DD will be used in a"100 watt DXpedition" entry. QSL information is via EI7CC. Operators will be EI2CA, EI5DI, EI6EW, EI7CC, EI7CD, EI8BP and EI8CE. Look for activity also from the individual operators using the EJ prefix between July 23-27th

EU-135. Anders, SM5EFX, will be active as SM5EFX/2 from Ledskar Island, July 19-31st. Activity will be on all HF bands/modes. He will also participate in the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th) using the special callsign SF2X. QSL both callsigns to SM5EFX, direct or by the bureau.

EU-146. Operators Frans/PA5CA, Jan/PA0JED, Arend/PA2AWU, Dervin/PD9DX and Marcel/PA9M will be active as PA6Z from Schouwen Duiveland during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th) as a Multi-Op/ Single-Transmitter entry. QSL via PA9M, direct or by the bureau.

EU-165. Joe, IS0MKX, will lead a team of 15 operators to activate Asinara Island (SS-061, for Italian Island Award) between July 22-26th. Activity will include the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th). The callsign will be IM0M. QSL via IS0MKX. For more info, please visit:
http://digilander.libero.it/assoradiomarinai/
asinara/home.htm

EU-175. Operators Luis/CT1EEQ, Arlindo/CT1EGW, Hermann/CT3FN/HB9CRV, Antonio/CU8AS, Jurgen/DJ2VO and Ruedi/HB9CQL will be active as CR2F from the Island of Faial (DIP AZ-007) between July 18-31st. Activity will be from the Ribeirinha Lighthouse (DFP FAZ-17, ARLHS AZO-020, WLH CU-007, WLOTA 1830, WW Loc. HM58QO),
located at Cedros.

They plan to be on 80-6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. They plan to be active around 50.113 MHz with CR2W as callsign. The team will also participate in the RSGB
IOTA Contest (July 25-26th), using the callsign CR2W as a
Multi-Single/Expedition entry. QSL via CT1GFK, bureau OK; via E-mail requests to: cu8at@sapo.pt .
For more information, please visit:
http://www.to-mk.com/neu/
Online logs will be available at:
http://algarvedx.com/logonline

NA-140. Operators Steve/W3RFA and Bob/KB3NYX will be active as W3RFA from Smith Island (USI MD-003S, Somerset County, Maryland) for the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th). This is a "Micro-DXpedition". They are getting to the island by sea kayak. All gear will weigh less than 100 lbs ea. They will use 100 watts into a wire antenna. QSL via their home callsigns.

SA-047. Operators Alexandre/PY5BH, Vagner/PY5DC, Fleck/PY5DJ, Fernando/ PY5FO and Goncalves/PY5IN will be active as PR5D from Ilha do Mel (DIB PR-01, also count for WLOTA LH-1435) during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 25-26th). QSL via PY5DC. Visit their Web site at:
http://www.alcad.com.br/radio

Compiled by OPDX

There will be more Updates soon about the IOTA

Please check out RSGB IOTA website

Drift of Magnetic Pole

Some Radio Amateurs fail to take into account the variance between magnetic and true north when aligning their beam antennas.

Recently an airport in Essex, England, had to rename one of its runways due to magnetic drift.

A BBC news report says

Stansted Airport in Essex has renamed its 3,000m (9,750ft) runway because the position of the Earth's magnetic North Pole has moved.

The runway was known by pilots and air traffic controllers as 23/05 because of its location and compass heading.

The magnetic North Pole drifts naturally, and every 50 years its position alters significantly.

Managers at Stansted decided they must call the runway 22/04 to reflect the new position and bearing.
Trevor Waldock, head of airside operations, said: "We've had to make this change due to the Magnetic North Pole slowly drifting on the Earth's surface but our runway remains in a fixed position.

Read the full BBC News report 'Runway rename as North Pole moves' at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/8136307.stm

UPDATE 13/07/09

ComReg Consultation on the 2300 to 2400 MHz Band

ComReg has published a consultation paper on the
release of spectrum in the 2300 to 2400 MHz band. The
paper is Document 09/49 of 15 June and is available in
the Publications section of the ComReg website at
www.comreg.ie This band is an amateur secondary
allocation.

The IRTS will in due course prepare a response to this
consultation paper and we would encourage interested
individuals and radio clubs to do so as well. Licensees
who have views which they wish to have reflected in the
IRTS response should communicate by e-mail to
ei7cd /at/ gofree.indigo.ie Responses to the consultation
paper must be submitted before 5 p.m. on 29 July next.

New 2m Repeater

A new 2meter FM voice repeater GB3CP went on air it is
located in south east Fermanagh Northern Ireland. RX
145.7375 TX 145.1375 110.9 ctcss or 1750hz tone burst



SUITSAT-2 LOOSES THE SUIT PART BUT WILL STILL FLY

The SuitSat-2 ham radio in space transponder will not
be in a space suit but the package will likely still
fly in space. Due to storage considerations on the
International Space Station, the two surplus Russian
space suits in storage were discarded via the
Progress Cargo Vessel. One of these suits was to be
used to house the electronics for the upcoming
SuitSat-2 mission.

But all is not lost. ARISS International has been
informed that there is still space available for
shipment of the SuitSat-2 electronics on a cargo
flight to the I-S-S in January 2010. Also, a
space-walk scheduled for April 2010 still has a
'SuitSat-2' deployment scheduled to be a part of it.
As a result the AMSAT team developing the SuitSat-2
electronics on is focusing on completing the project
in anticipation that deployment will still take place
in Spring 2010, but using a different structure to
house the flight package.


DAYTON OR FRIEDRICHSHAFEN - WHICH IS BIGGER

Is the Ham Radio convention in Friedrichshafen,
Germany, about to match or even replace Dayton as the
worlds most attended amateur radio show? According to
several sources this years Ham Radio had an official
gate of 17,400 visitors. That's up by 300 from 2008.
Also, some 195 exhibitors and radio associations from
30 nations represented at the show.

So far, Dayton has not made public its official
attendance figure, but many who regularly attend the
Hamvention have speculated that 2009 saw about the same
number of attendees as 2008 or maybe a few more. If
that's the case then it would likely put Dayton and
Friedrichshafen at least neck to neck. We will have to
await the folks in Dayton making public their
attendance figures to know for sure.

Meantime, you can make a note of the dates of the 35th
Ham Radio will be from June 25th to the 27th in 2010 in
Friedrichshafen, Germany. Hamvention 2010 will take
place May 14th to the 16th 2010 at its usual home at
the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.


AMSAT DAYTON FORUM VIDEOS NOW ON LINE

Videos of the six presentations at the AMSAT 2009
Dayton Hamvention forum are now on the AMSAT website.
The presentations include the Richard Garriott, W5WKQ,
talk on his visit to the International Space Station
and a presentation on the upcoming what was to be
Suit-Sat 2 project by Gould Smith, WA4SXM.

To watch these presentations and the others, simply go
to www.amsat .org and click on the AMSAT Video News
icon about halfway down the page in the left column.


Rallies

The Marconi Radio Group, Amateur Radio Rally Sunday
29th July Manor Hotel in Ballymoney More information
from Melvyn MI0MSR at 07821129405
melvyn.irvine225 /at/ btinternet.com

Doors open at 12 noon.

C.R.C. Rally 2009

The Cork Radio Club is holding their Rally in the
Montenotte Hotel in Cork on the 13th of September.
Special rates for those who wish to stay overnight just
mention Cork radio Club.

Food all day, plenty of parking & doors open at 11am.
All the usual traders will be there.

Mayo Rally

The 2009 Mayo Rally will be held on Sunday November
22nd in Castlebar. The venue is The Welcome Inn Hotel,
where the 2008 rally was held at short notice, and
doors open at 11.00am.

Rally Director, Padraic Baynes, EI9JA, is now taking
bookings for stands at the Rally. He can be contacted
on 087 6957154. The hotel will be offering a Rally
special deal for accommodation. Full details will be
available soon.

IOTA Rathlin Isl

Sean EI4GK, Pete EI4GZB, Declan EI9HQ, Pete GI4VIV and
Joe EI7GY are going back to Rathlin Island again for
this year's IOTA contest. They will be based in the
East Lighthouse, the same QTH as last year. The call
sign for the contest will be GI0MPG.

DX News

XE1/EI7GK.

Paddy EI7GK will be QRV from his daughter's house in
Mexico during July. Listen out for XE1/EI7GK on 14.268
MHz SSB + or - QRM.

Past experience shows the best time for propagation
between EI and XE is early morning 06.00 to 08.00.
Irish time. Remember that Mexico is 6 hours behind EI.
Paddy will be delighted to work EI and GI stations.


This week in History

1920 Radio compass used for the first time on a U.S.
Navy airplane

Dxpedition to Clare Island

Members of the Dalkey Island Contest Group plan to
activate Clare Island for the forthcoming IOTA Contest
which takes place on 25-26 July.

The callsign EJ1DD will be used in a '100 watt DXpedition' entry and the IOTA reference is EU-121.

QSL information is via EI7CC.

Operators will be EI2CA, EI5DI, EI6EW, EI7CC, EI7CD,
EI8BP and EI8CE.

Look for activity also from the individual operators using the EJ prefix between 23-27 July.

What's following the International Space Station?

Sky watchers are reporting a 'mysterious satellite' following the International Space Station (ISS). It trails the ISS by about one minute, relatively faint, but definitely there, says a report in today's Spaceweather.com.

Mystery solved:
The follower is Progress 33, a Russian supply ship.

On July 12th, it will come within meters of the space station to test a new automated docking system.

Check the Simple Satellite Tracker for flyby times and get two spaceships for the price of one: http://spaceweather.com/flybys

Google Unveils a PC Operating System

I came across this news earlier and it makes me wonder about the future of technology!

In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google announced late Tuesday that it is developing an operating system for PCs based on its Chrome Web browser.

Skip to next paragraph

Announcement From Google (googleblog.blogspot.com)

The move sharpens the already intense competition between Google and Microsoft, whose Windows operating system controls the basic functions of the vast majority of personal computers.

In a post on its company blog, Google said the operating system would initially be aimed at netbooks, the compact, low-cost computers that have turned the PC world on its head. It said the open-source software, called Chrome OS, would be available in the second half of next year.

“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS,” the blog post said. “We’re designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the Web in a few seconds.”

Google has already developed an operating system for mobile phones, called Android. And several manufacturers of netbooks are also using that software.

Google has long promoted a vision of computing in which applications delivered over the Web play an increasingly central role, replacing software that runs on the desktop. In that world, applications run directly inside an Internet browser, rather than atop an operating system, the traditional software that controls most of the operations of a PC.

Last year, the company released the Chrome browser, which it described as a tool for users to interact with increasingly powerful Web programs, like Gmail and Google Docs, along with Web applications created by other companies. Since then, Google has been adding capabilities to Chrome, like allowing it to run applications even when a user is not connected to the Internet.

It is not clear how much work it would take for Google to turn Chrome into the central part of a full-fledged operating system. But in a recent interview, Marc Andreessen, who developed the first commercial browser and co-founded Netscape, said Chrome was already well along that path.

“Chrome is basically a modern operating system,” Mr. Andreessen said.

Google has also long customized a version of the Linux operating system for use internally.

The rise of netbooks has started to challenge some of Microsoft’s dominance in personal computing software. The first wave of netbooks relied on various versions of the open-source Linux operating system, and major PC makers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell have backed the Linux software.

In an unusual move, Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, has worked on developing a Linux-based operating system called Moblin as well.

The company has aimed the software at netbooks and smartphones in a bid to spur interest for its mobile device chip sold under the Atom brand.

To combat these efforts, Microsoft began offering its older Windows XP operating system for use on netbooks at a low price. In addition, the company has vowed that the next generation of Windows, Windows 7, due out this fall, will run well on the tiny laptops.

Netbooks have stood out as the brightest part of the PC market during the global economic downturn. Over all, PC sales have plummeted, while netbook sales have surged.

Thanks to MIGUEL HELFT and ASHLEE VANCE

from thr New York Times - Published: July 8, 2009

UPDATE 06/07/09

The 34th Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen

The 34th Ham Radio in Friedrichshafen had 17,400
visitors over the three days, with 195 exhibitors and
associations from 30 nations. Visitor numbers were
slightly up on last year, for the three days visitors
streamed into the Messe fair grounds from all over
the world.

There were many visitors to the IRTS stand during he
course of the event and upwards of twenty EI 's
attended. Among the material displayed on the stand was
a set of charts prepared by John EI7BV which traced the
changes in the amateur bands at each of the World
Conferences from 1927 to date. Needless to say these
generated a good deal of interest and are a significant
historical resource.

You can make a note of the dates of the 35th HAM RADIO:
from the 25th through 27th June 2010 in
Friedrichshafen.


Ballooning and Amateur Radio Club

The B.A.R.C. (Ballooning and Amateur Radio Club) of
Ireland again had a stand at the annual Hamtronic show
in Friedrichshafen Germany this year.

The equipment for the stand was transported by Aidan
EI5HW, Gerry EI9DZ, Sean EI7CV, George EI7EC, Chris
EI7AAB and Dave EI7GEB who maintained a constant
presence there throughout the three days of the show.
Valuable assistance was given by Kim G7AIE and Jacqui
2E0FQV both members of the Mid-Sussex A.R.S. An
innovation this year was the flying of a helium-filled
balloon with basket simulating a hot-air balloon over
the stand which created a landmark within the
exhibition hall visible from all sides.

A valuable contribution in the shape of Irish tourist
literature was made by the members of I.R.T.S. who
were present at their stand nearby. There was keen
demand for this all the time. Among the many hundreds
of signatories in the book were Amateurs from all
over Europe,U.S.A.,Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
and Japan.

On Sunday June 28th, a special flight of the Zeppelin
was made over Friedrichshafen from which a 2-meter
station was operated by Franz Schwartz DK5JI who made
82 contacts over a period of 18 minutes with mostly
German ops but the number included Aidan, Gerry,
Sean,Dave and Kim who had been invited to take part in
the operation. A further highlight of the weekend was
experienced by Aidan EI5HW and Sean EI7CV who made a
flight in the Zeppelin.

All those concerned agreed that the operation was a
great success, and are hoping that it can be repeated
next year.

Dxpedition to Clare Island

Members of the Dalkey Island Contest Group plan to
activate Clare Island for the forthcoming IOTA Contest
which takes place on 25-26 July. The callsign EJ1DD
will be used in a '100 watt DXpedition' entry and the
IOTA reference is EU-121. QSL information is via EI7CC.

Operators will be EI2CA, EI5DI, EI6EW, EI7CC, EI7CD,
EI8BP AND EI8CE. Look for activity also from the
individual operators using the EJ prefix between
23-27 July.



Sligo 2m Repeater

The 2m Sligo repeater is scheduled to undergo an
engineering upgrade and maintenance, this process will
take up to a month to complete.


FREE to a good Home

The following items are available FREE to a good home

The XYL of Ken EI9El has issued an ultimatum! His
Precious collection of electronic gems has to go by
Wednesday 8th July! The following items are available
to a good home. Valve radios from 60s and 50's one each
by Murphy, Philco, Leak (Trough Line Tuner), Heathkit
(SW receiver), Ultra. Also WW2 Surplus 19 set, 18 set
and 46 set all heavily modified for Amateur use.

Must be collected by Wednesday 8th July, Dartry, Dublin
area. Phone Ken EI9EL at 086 392 8083.


See the ISS in daylight!

The heavens-above website is reporting that it may be
possible to see the International Space Station (ISS)
in daylight

The website http://www.heavens-above.com/ says:

Some observers have reported that as the ISS approaches
completion, it can now be seen in daylight. It is
unlikely to be visible when the Sun is high, but when
the Sun is low in the sky, you may well be able to see
a high pass of the ISS.

The Heavens-above site gives the times of ISS passes
http://www.heavens-above.com/



DX News

EA1/EI7GK.

Paddy EI7GK will be QRV from his daughter's house in
Mexico during July. Listen out for XE1/EI7GK on 14.268
MHz SSB + or - QRM.

Past experience shows the best time for propagation
between EI and XE is early morning 06.00 to 08.00.
Irish time. Remember that Mexico is 6 hours behind EI.
Paddy will be delighted to work EI and GI stations.

VE3MOON

This special callsign was approved by Industry Canada
for use in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the
landing of men on the moon on 20 July 1969.

It will be in use from 14 July 2009 until 27 July 2009.
eQSL or paper cards via VE3OIJ (Bureau or Direct).


History This Week

1801 Birth of FC Gerke, Germany, devised International
Morse Code, 1865.

1896 Marconi transmits 400 metres between London PO
buildings.

1897 Marconi receives first patent for a radio device
in Britain.

1928 Baird demonstrates colour TV.

UPDATE 02/07/09

First of all my apologies for not updating this thing in a while I have been quite busy
I was traveling for the last month but unfortunately didn't get to play any radio.

I also recognised that it is a year since I first started blogging on here and a year on we are still here. Happy Days :)
Okay so here's and update of some of the news from the Emerald Isle!


ComReg Consultation on the 2300 to 2400 MHz Band

ComReg has published a consultation paper on the
release of spectrum in the 2300 to 2400 MHz band. The
paper is Document 09/49 of 15 June and is available in
the Publications section of the ComReg website at
www.comreg.ie This band is an amateur secondary
allocation.

The IRTS will in due course prepare a response to this
consultation paper and we would encourage interested
individuals and radio clubs to do so as well. Licensees
who have views which they wish to have reflected in the
IRTS response should communicate by e-mail to
ei7cd /at/ gofree.indigo.ie Responses to the consultation
paper must be submitted before 5 p.m. on 29 July next.

80m Counties Contest

There was once again a big turn out for the 80m
Counties Contest, although maybe not quite the
numbers active on New year's Day. It would appear
around 80 stations participated from twenty-eight
counties. Conditions were good with strong signals
from many stations.

The AREN demonstration station at the Civil Defence
Headquarters in Roscrea was very successful and a DVD
video of the exercise is being put together for
interested parties. In that regard, if any of the
stations that were portable on the day have photos or
video of their operation, Seamus EI8BP would be
grateful to receive a copy of same with a view to
including any suitable clips.

We hope the exercise sparked your interest in AREN who
are always keen to involve more operators and swls in
their activities. Contact them via their website
www.AREN.ie where you will find more details of their
activities. Our thanks to all who made the effort to
come on the bands during the afternoon.


IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day

The IRTS VHF/UHV Field Day will be held over the
weekend of the 4-5 July. The Committee in trying to
improve the contest has decided to add extra bands in
the restricted section.

Up to now the Restricted Section was 144MHz only. Now
you can use any single band of the VHF/UHF bands.

Rule 5.2 will be changed to read:

Restricted Section
A. 50MHz
B. 70MHz
C. 144MHz
D. 432MHz
E. 1296MHz

There is still only one single band permitted in this
section but now you have a choice of which band you
want to try in the contest.

We do hope this will spur some more activity from the
clubs and individuals in the VHF/UHF Field Day.


Sligo 2m Repeater

The 2m Sligo repeater is scheduled to undergo an
engineering upgrade and maintenance, this process will
take up to a month to complete.

AMSAT on Twitter!!

The Amateur Satellite organisation AMSAT is now on
Twitter.

AMSAT now has a Twitter account, and can be found at
http://twitter.com/AMSAT

To begin with, they may be mostly about AO-51 and AO-7.
All are welcome to follow us on Twitter says Drew K04MA
from the AMSAT Bulletin Board.

SOUTH AFRICA GIVES NEW PRIVELEGES ON 40 AND 20

South African radio amateurs now have full access to
the spectrum 7.000 to 7.200 MHz. Changes to both 40 and
20 meters were made final. In addition to the
modification on 40, ZR licensees now also have access
from 14.225 to 14.350 MHz.


DX News

EA1/EI7GK.

Paddy EI7GK will be QRV from his daughter's house in
Mexico during July. Listen out for XE1/EI7GK on 14.268
MHz SSB + or - QRM.

Past experience shows the best time for propagation
between EI and XE is early morning 06.00 to 08.00.
Irish time. Remember that Mexico is 6 hours behind EI.
Paddy will be delighted to work EI and GI stations.

VE3MOON

This special callsign was approved by Industry Canada
for use in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the
landing of men on the moon on 20 July 1969.

It will be in use from 14 July 2009 until 27 July 2009.
eQSL or paper cards via VE3OIJ (Bureau or Direct).


History This Week

1819 The bicycle patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr. of New
York City.

1934 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the
Federal Communications Commission FCC

1863 First gaslights come on in Adelaide, South
Australia.

1885 C Bell and C.S. Tainter applied for a patent for
the gramophone.

1925 Patent for the frosted electric light bulb filed
by Marvin Pipkin.

Thanks to the IRTS for the above information.


NEWS ELSE WHERE!

Apollo 11 - Amateur Radio Moonbounce Commemoration

The Amateur Radio mooonbounce operations last weekend as part of the commemoration of 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing in July 1969, proved to be a great success.

A report on the event can be seen at:

2009 World Moon Bounce Day has Been an Amazing Success!
http://echoesofapollo.com/

Southgate - A Ham Radio Weekend for Talking to the Moon
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2009/
moonbounce_weekend.htm