Season Greetings

Thank you for the pleasure of your friendship and goodwill during this past year. I would like to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a New Year full of happiness and prosperity.

Best 73's

Pat

EI5IX / M0XII

The Gathering - Irish amateur radio special event

"The Gathering... an Irish party, on and off the airwaves."

Throughout 2013, Irish families and clans will be coming together in thousands of events, both on the island and around the globe, to celebrate their history and heritage in a unique event called "TheGathering".

Irish amateur radio stations, North and South, will be participating and all operators throughout the world, whether they have some green Irish blood or not, are invited to join-in the celebrations.

The special event callsign EI13CLAN will be active throughout the year and there will be a variety of awards and other activities, details of which will be posted on the IRTS Web site at:http://www.irts.ie/thegathering

QSL via Bureau or direct to the QSL Manager EI6AL at the following address:

Silver Howe Sydenham Mews, Corrig Avenue Dunlaoghaire, Co Dublin IRELAND.

Rock Comet Meteor Shower

 Every year in mid-December, astronomers look up in the sky and witness a mystery. It announces itself with a flurry of shooting stars. For several nights in a row, dozens to hundreds of meteors per hour cut across the glistening constellations of winter, each one a little puzzle waiting to be solved.

"It's the Geminid meteor shower--set to peak on Dec. 13th and 14th," says Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "Although the Geminids come every year, we still don't fully understand them."

Forecasters expect Geminid meteor rates to top 100 per hour when the shower peaks on the moonless nights of Dec. 13th and 14th, 2012. Cooke encourages sky watchers to go out, look up, and savor the mystery.

Ofcom announces additional 5 MHz channels

From January 1, holders of a UK Full licence will be able to apply for an NoV to use 472-479 KHz as well as additional 5 MHz channels that will permit up to 6 kHz bandwidth emissions

The Ofcom announcement says:

From the 1st January 2013 we shall be making 3 changes to Notices of Variation (NoV) to the Amateur Radio Full Licence that come into effect.

The temporary extension to the Amateur Radio Special Research Permit to operate in the band 501 kHz to 504 kHz expires. This temporary extension applied from 1st March 2012 to 31st December 2012 inclusive.

These NoVs will not be renewed and will no longer be available.

However, as a result of the World Radio Conference, under Agenda Item 1.23 amateur radio has been given an alternative allocation, on a secondary basis, of 472 479 kHz. We propose that Full Licensees should be able to apply for a NoV to operate in this band from 1st January 2013 and details on the application process will be published soon.

Following a request from the Radio Society of Great Britain for increased access to the 5 MHz (Experimental) Band, we have secured the agreement of the primary user to increase spectrum access from the current 7 spot frequencies of 3 kHz each. The primary user was unable to agree to contiguous spectrum, however it has been agreed that the frequencies in the table (see Ofcom statement link below) will be available from 1st January 2013, subject to the following conditions. Details on the application process will be published soon.

a) Antenna height must not be over 20m agl.

b) Maximum power: 100W (PEP) input into the antenna with the expectation that this would not result in more than 200W eirp.

c) Restrictions on message content have been relaxed and must now be consistent with normal Terms and Conditions of the Full Amateur Licence.

d) Maximum Bandwidth: 6 kHz (double side band)

Read the full statement at
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radiocommunication-licences/ amateur-radio/full-licence-jan-2013/


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

12.12.12.12.12.12

At 12 seconds past 12 minutes past 12 hours past 12 days past 12 months past 12 years in the 21st century is the last repetitive date any of us will ever see. 12.12.12.12.12.12





- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

DX Conditions on a HEX Beam (10th & 11th of December 2012)

DX Conditions have been really good these past two days from my friend's QTH (2E0JJM - John) here in London. The most activity has been during Daylight hours, The Solar Flux has been between 103 & 104 with an SSN between 40 and 55. The best thing has been the A Index (Between 2 & 3) and K Index (0) has been low, this has resulted in many new countries been worked and logged on 20m, 17m, 15m and 12m even managed to get NH7O - Alastair in Hawaii on 20m Long Path whilst beaming South from John's new HEX Beam (MW0JZE - G3TXQ 6 Band Hex Beam) at 16:49UTC nearly 1 hour after Sunset so I'm not sure was this Grey Line Propagation or not.

Here are the paths of some of the DX worked via Google Earth;

EVERYONE SHOULD BUY OR BUILD A HEX BEAM!!

They are a fantastic antenna especially for locations that you don't have a lot of space to put up other types of beam antennas. The results over Verticals, Loops and Dipoles are simply phenomenal you certainly wont regret buying one of these Beams.    

IRTS 80m Counties Contest 2013

The date for the 2013 IRTS Winter 80m Counties Contest is Tuesday 1st January.

Check the rules at: www.irts.ie/cgi/showrules.cgi

Please take note of Rule 4.4 and 4.5 and keep the portion of the band
between 3.650MHz and 3.700MHz clear.

Also note the change in Rule 10.1 which states that entries must be received by the Contest Manager not more than 14 days after the contest.



- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

QTH Update

Hi All,

It's been some time since I've been active on Radio, have been busy moving QTH. I now live in Shepherds Bush West of London City an RF black hole. I have no antennas set up at the moment but hope to get something set up soon for HF, VHF, UHF. Looking forward to getting the antennas setup soon as I will be active QRP on PSK and CW maybe the odd bit of Phone but sure we will see how we get along.

I'm currently active on EchoLink under my EI callsign and you can reach me on EI7GRC-L or the Ireland Conference into the small hours of the morning. I do call through some of the UK repeaters GB3BN or GB3NS to speak to some local stations here around London so you may find me here under my UK callsign M0XII. Give me a shout if you here me on.

Till next time, speak soon.

73's
Pat

Achill Henge CASHOTA Activation

The Galway VHF Group will be activating Achill Henge on Sunday the 16th of September from 11 am - 3 pm and active on 80, 40 and 20 metres.
Achill Henge is a "stone henge" like structure that was built on a hilltop on Achill Island near the village of Keel Co. Mayo on the north west coast of Ireland.
The Henge was built in record time over the weekend of 26th and 27th of November 2011 by a local propery developer. 30 articulated trucks arrived from Galway with pre-cast concrete blocks and the basic structure was ready and stqanding a few hours later. It is composed of a circle, 30metres in diameter and 30 related columns, each measuring nearly 4.5metres high.
Sadly it is due for demolition as it contravened local planning laws so this will probably be a one off operation.
Achill Henge is located in WAI Square F60 Co. Mayo ànd has the CASHOTA Designator EI-02-M. The Callsign for this operation will be EI4ALE/P.
Check out EI4ALE on QRZ.COM for more details.


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

Youngsters On The Air (YOTA)

Youngsters On The Air   |  Belgium-The Netherlands 2012   |   19 – 26 August 2012 Eeklo, Belgium

Shauna Baynes EI1588

During the summer of 2012 (19 – 26 August) a youth radio camp will be held in Belgium, it is organised by UBA youth commission and the Dutch radio amateurs. The location for the event is close to the Dutch border. Many young radio amateurs from 10 different European countries will be participating in different activities e.g, contesting, ARDF, presentations, field-days, visiting radio stations and many more interesting events. There are 10 teams from different European member associations of IARU R1. A team consists of – a team leader (this could be an older person), and 4 team members between the age of 18-25 years. There is a special callsign achieved for the event – ON4YOTA. This will be a great experience for young HAM’s participating; it will be an occasion they will never forget.

A member of The Mayo Radio Experimenters Club Shauna Baynes EI1588 is a member of the team representing EI (Ireland). They will be travelling to Brussels on Saturday morning from Dublin, with their leader Ger McNamara EI4GXB from Limerick. The Mayo Radio Experimenters Club and my family including myself wishes Shauna and all the team the very best of luck during the event.

15th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE/LIGHTSHIP WEEKEND

0001 UTC 18th AUGUST TO 2400 UTC 19th AUGUST 2012 (48 hours or part thereof)

The Mayo Radio Experimenters will be taking part in the ILLW weekend activities under the callsign 

EI0M/P.

We will activate Blacksod Lighthouse, Belmullet, Co. Mayo.

Activities will commence at Blacksod from 1600 UTC Saturday 18th to 1600 UTC Sunday 19th.

Further information is available from www.illw.net

We look forward to seeing as many club members as possible there, and any member of the public is most welcome to come along and see what it’s all about.

ILLW continues to get bigger

With 350 registrations from many countries for the 15th annual International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend, there will be plenty of on air activity for this 48 hour fun event.
The event was started in Scotland by John Forsyth GM4OOU and the late Mike Dalrymple GM4SUC, both members of Ayr Amateur Radio Group which operates station GB2LT at Turnberry Scotland.

A number of nations have one registration. They are most welcome to be part of the weekend and are greatly sought after.
With a single entry are Chile, China, Curacao, Gibraltar, Honduras, Isle of Man, Latvia, Namibia, Panama, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay.
The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend is on August the 18th and 19th.
Now is the time to visit the website ILLW.NET for an online registration, read the guidelines and to see what it has to offer.
Jim Linton VK3PC

Solar and Wind Power operation

Olivier EI8GQB (who is also ON4EI) plans to operate for most of July from a caravan, using “green energy” – solar and wind power. He has a 500Ah battery bank, plus 180W solar panel and a 400W wind generator. He plans to use the EI80IRTS call sign during the IARU HF Championship contest this weekend and will use the contest call sign EI1A (Echo-India-One-Alpha) during the IOTA contest at the end of the month. Olivier’s QRZ.COM page will carry a Live Information Banner with messages and live frequencies as well as daily information with photos and video.

Amateur Radio TV and CW beacons for ISS

ARISS are hoping to establish an amateur radio 2.4 GHz TV beacon and a CW beacon on the International Space Station. The minutes of the ARISS International Monthly Teleconference for June 19 carry this report on the status of the amateur radio equipment for the ESA Columbus module.

Gaston, ON4WF said the HamTV project is progressing. There have been discussions with ESA about the possibility of adding extra units to the HamTV transmitter that is being developed by Kaiser Italia. This is acceptable in as far as the KI unit under construction does not need to be modified.

A so called “Video Beacon” will be added externally to the HamTV unit. This beacon will allow automated DATV transmissions more or less permanently. The content of these DATV transmissions will be uploaded from the ground through existing channels and transferred to the Video Beacon on request. This function will also be used for educational purposes. Moreover, astronauts could record footage and load it into the Video Beacon for automated transmission.

Another additional unit will be a CW beacon transmitter delivering a small band low power signal (100 mW) on a frequency nearby the HamTV frequency. This beacon will transmit permanently and use the second ARISS L/S-band antenna. This offers ground stations signal reception with large S/N margins, facilitating antenna tracking and signal acquisition, especially at the beginning of a pass. The CW Beacon will transmit telegraphy signals, alternating its identification (call sign), a continuous carrier and possibly some telemetry comprizing onboard parameters (temperature, pressure, humidity, ambient sound level, etc.).

Lou W5DID suggested that we may be able to power it from the packet module already on the ISS, making it simple to operate.

ESA is being asked to address the cost of the Safety Package and testing such as EMI tests and outgassing tests for these additional units, but development and manufacturing will be supported by ARISS. A cost estimate is being developed for our team to build the units. A funding campaign will be set up to collect donations to cover the cost.

Regarding the amateur radio station in the Russian Service module the minutes say:
Kenneth N5VHO reported that an onboard power issue somewhat impacted ARISS radio operations. The air purifier for the ATV [Automated Transfer Vehicle] has needed to be plugged in, recently, in the Service Module (SM). The ARISS radio in the SM was turned off while the purifier was being used. The radio is turned on by the crew for school contacts and when the crew gets on the air for random contacts, as Astronaut Kuipers has done in the past few weeks. The ATV will be docked at the ISS until late September.

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) http://ariss.rac.ca/

2012 IARU HF World Championship

The 2012 IARU HF World Championships will take place during the second full weekend of July, beginning at 12:00 UTC on Saturday 14 July and ending at 12:00 UTC
on Sunday 15 July 2012.

The objective of this contest is to contact as many other amateurs, especially IARU Member Society HQ
stations, around the world as possible using the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 metre bands using phone
and/or CW.

All IARU Region 1 Member Societies are invited to actively participate with their official stations and
to encourage their members to also participate.

The rules for the 2012 contest are available on
http://www.arrl.org/iaru-hf-championship

Change to the IRTS 40 Metre News Frequency

The present 40 metre radio news frequency has become increasingly busier on Sunday mornings. This has lead on occasions to some difficulty in the reception of both the bulletins and the reports on the transmissions. It has been decided, therefore, to move the transmission of the 40 metre news to a new frequency of 7123 kHz on and from Sunday the 1st of July 2012. This frequency was selected after monitoring a range of frequencies over a period of time by amateurs who use this particular transmission of the radio news bulletin.
 
HF News Readers Needed

Additional HF newsreaders are required to cover the 40 & 80M news broadcasts over the summer months due to holidays etc. Any IRTS members that wish to join the panel and are available to read the HF news would be most welcome. Please send an email to info@irts.ie

2012 Leap Second

The last minute of June 30th 2012 UTC will be 61 seconds long, the extra second being a "leap second".
Leap seconds are introduced to maintain synchronisation between atomic clocks and more traditional time scales such as Greenwich Mean Time. These leap seconds are introduced approximately every 18 months, at the end of June or December, usually to give the Earth's rotation a chance to catch up on our clocks. In Ireland and the UK the leap will take place close to 1am local time.

This leap second represents a chance to record the leap second by DXing an international time signal (e.g.
Rugby on 60kHz, Moscow on 4.996 MHz). As the future of leap seconds is under discussion at the ITU, this could be the last chance to have a QSO with a leap second!

EI0IRTS

Affiliated clubs and individuals are invited to help put EI80IRTS on the air in this our 80th Anniversary
year. If you or your club wish to use EI80IRTS please contact Ger McNamara EI4GXB at ei4gxb@gmail.com or Thos Caffrey EI2JD at thoscaffrey@hotmail.com.
Reports from SWL's are particularly welcome and a very attractive award is available for working the station.

Segment of 2m to be used for Olympics

Ofcom has announced that a small block of the amateur radio 144 MHz band is to be used for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games.

The RSGB have issued the following announcement:

Following negotiations to minimise the impact on amateurs, Ofcom has now announced that it will temporarily authorise a small block of 12.5kHz channels, ranging from 144.0125MHz to 144.1375MHz, for the period
27 July to 28 August 2012 only.

The frequencies to be used specifically exclude 144.0500MHz (CW Calling) and 144.1000MHz (Perseids Meteor Scatter CW Calling).
Ofcom are aware of the various amateur contests scheduled for 4 and 7 August and will work with Game users to keep operations to a minimum on these dates.

Usage of this spectrum by Games users will be in the vicinity of London Olympic venues and will be limited to handheld equipment operating on a maximum of 5W output. Ofcom emphasises that use of Primary Amateur spectrum is only for the specified time period and does not constitute a change of usage.

RSGB Announcement
http://www.rsgb.org/news/articlelinks.php?id=0369

RSGB 2012 Olympic Pages
http://www.rsgb.org/olympics/


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

BBC is developing 3D radio

Researchers at the BBC's technology unit, BBC R&D, have
been developing acoustics that can trick the listener
into believing they are really at events such as concerts with sound coming from every direction - even
above and below. Look forward to listening to these developments!


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

Double CME targets Earth

Active sunspot AR1504 is facing Earth and hurling coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in our direction.

A fast-moving CME that left the sun on June 14th is expected to scoop up another CME already en route and deliver a double-blow to Earth's magnetic field on June 16th.

Weak-to-moderate geomagnetic storms are possible when the clouds arrive.

Check http://spaceweather.com for images and updates.


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

Ofcom Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2012 Statement

Ofcom has published a statement on its decision to make the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations 2012 control interference from apparatus during the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The report notes that the BBC and the RSGB both also expressed the view that the Proposed Regulations should be extended to address undue interference with wireless telegraphy used for purposes other than public safety.

One responder to the consultation pointed out that “..... the powers that are conferred under these proposed regulations to prevent harmful interference should not be limited either geographically, or in time, this legislation is needed to generally protect radiocommunications, and not just for the period of the Games. This is because the level of electromagnetic pollution is steadily rising, even from devices meeting the requirements of Harmonised EMC standards.”

Another responder said that “if the existing EMC regulations laid down in European law are policed correctly 24/7, then none of this would be necessary.”

The statement, Decision to make the Wireless Telegraphy (Control of Interference from Apparatus) (the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) Regulations 2012, can be found here.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/
undueinterference-olympics-2012/Statement/

Full PDF document
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/
undueinterference-olympics-2012/statement/statement.pdf

RSGB response to consultation on proposed Wireless Telegraphy Act Regulations 2012
http://www.rsgb.org/news/articlelinks.php?id=0362



- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

Gene Zimmerman W3ZZ SK

Radio Amateurs will be sorry to hear of the death on Sunday last, 3rd June 2012 of 

Gene Zimmerman W3ZZ

Gene wrote the popular QST column 'The World Above 50 MHz' from 2002 to 2011. Over the years he worked more than 140 DXCC entities on 6 metres, 38 States on 144 and 220 MHz and held the VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) on the 50 to 1296 MHz bands. Gene was first licensed in 1956 and held an Amateur Extra Licence since 1963.

Ar dheis De go raibh a anam dilis.

International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend

The 15th International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend
in August has inspired many to register early with 32
countries and nearly 250 registered already. To
register, complete a short online form, read the event
rules and have lots of fun. We have complete statistics
on past events, reports from previous years and we're
on Facebook too. Visit the website at www.illw.net for the
International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend held on
August the 18th and 19th.

Worked All Britain Olympic flame award

The Worked All Britain Awards Group has organised a special award to coincide with the passage of the Olympic flame around the country.
Various amateur radio clubs around the UK will be operating from locations along the route used by the Torch Bearers for that particular day. They will use the callsigns G4WAB and G7WAB. The main call will be G4WAB, the exceptions for this being Shetland and Orkney, Jersey and Guernsey, when both callsigns will be used on the same day.

There will be three versions of the award, depending on the number of stations worked: Bronze, Silver and Gold. The award will be issued as a PDF as standard, with the option of a paper version for those that require it.

Full details of the cost, route and club stations are available on the WAB website, http://www.worked-all-britain.co.uk/.

IRTS Field Day Contests

Next weekend - Saturday and Sunday, 2nd and 3rd June 2012 - the first of the year's IRTS field day contests takes place, with CW field day, which runs from 15:00 UTC on Saturday to 15:00 on Sunday.

The IRTS CW Field Day contest coincides with similar contests in other
European countries, so there should be no shortage of QSOs.
While the emphasis in these contests is on portable operation, fixed station QSOs are welcome.

See www.irts.ie/contests for more information on this and other contests.
As previously announced by the IRTS, there are some rule changes this year - these are highlighted in the contest rules.


The Field Day series of contests continues in July with VHF/UHF Field Day, while HF SSB Field Day takes place in September.

Change in the IRTS 40 Metre News Frequency

The present 40 metre radio news frequency has become increasingly busier on Sunday mornings. This has lead on occasions to some difficulty in the reception of both the bulletins and the reports on the transmissions.

It has been decided, therefore, to move the transmission of the 40 metre news to a new
frequency of 7123 kHz on and from Sunday the 1st of July. This frequency was selected after monitoring a range of frequencies over a period of time by amateurs who use this particular transmission of the radio news bulletin.

New transatlantic 144MHz beacon GB3WGI

Spotted this earlier!LINK

On the 18th of May, 2012, Ofcom issued a NoV for another propagation beacon to test the possibility of a 144MHz transatlantic path from the UK.
Located at Lough Navar Forest in Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland OSI 06599 57718, 349m asl level with a clear take off over the sea, GB3WGI ("West GI" will radiate on 144.487MHz towards North America, initially with an ERP of 100 Watts relative to a dipole, with plans to increase this if licensing allows.
This beacon was made possible due to the generous donation of a transmitter by Brian Justin, WA1ZMS, the man behind the US 70MHz beacon, and NoV holder, Gordon Curry GI6ATZ who is providing the site and site services.
This NoV is particularly welcome from Ofcom in what is clearly a busy Olympic year, and the VHF weak signal community in the US and the UK thank them for their efforts.
No date is yet fixed for the installation of the beacon, but plans are well under way and an announcement will be made in due course
73
John Worsnop G4BAO
GB3WGI Project Manager

Logbook of the World

Logbook of the World (LoTW for short) is an online QSL
system - an alternative to paper QSLs for award
credits. ARRL, which runs the LoTW system, have
announced that LoTW now has 50,000 users. These users
include more than 100 EI radio amateurs. QSLs from LoTW
can be used towards DXCC and other ARRL-sponsored
awards. Recently it was announced that LoTW QSLs will
shortly be valid for operating awards issued by CQ
Communications.

A review of LoTW users shows that call signs from all
but one of the 340 current DXCC entities have, at some
stage or other, uploaded logs to LoTW - the one entity
that has no participation in LoTW is Mount Athos. Most
major DXpeditions upload their logs to LoTW, some
immediately the DXpedition finishes and others after a
delay of a few months. Experience has shown that
contest stations have a particularly high
participation in LoTW.

While paper QSL cards are still popular, anyone
interested in maximising DXCC credits should consider
using the Logbook of the World system.

European Football Championship 2012 on the AIR

EFC 2012 is an on-the-air activity which promises to be
a great deal of fun, organized by Polish and Ukrainian
amateurs affiliated with PZK and UARL.

From June 1st to July 5th 2012, there will be numerous
special event stations active on the air. They will be
operating concurrently with the 2012 European Football
Championship, which this year is organized jointly by
Poland and Ukraine.

More detailed information about our activity can be
found on website http://efc2012.pzk.org.pl There are
two awards which can be earned during this period, as
well as many interesting QSL cards and prizes.

Huge sunspot AR1476

Huge sunspot AR1476 is crackling with M-class solar flares and appears to be on the verge of producing something even stronger.

The sunspot's 'beta-gamma-delta' magnetic field harbors energy for X-class flares, the most powerful kind.

Radio operators are recording strong bursts of shortwave static from the sunspot as it turns toward Earth.

Visit http://spaceweather.com for sample recordings and forecasts.


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

Locating Power Line Noise

Ham Radio Now have released a video of a 2010 Dayton presentation by Ed Hare W1RFI.


From the ARVN "Vault of Video we never got around to editing..." - the ARRL's Ed Hare W1RFI's seminar on locating Power Line Noise.

Ed made this presentation at the 2010 Dayton Hamvention.
Watch Ham Radio Now - Episode Ten: Locating Power Line Noise

GB3LV repeater back on the air

GB3LV - the north London 70cm, IRLP and Echolink enabled repeater, is back on the air again after having been off air for a day or so with an intermittent fault. GB3NL and GB3EN were unaffected. The fault has been rectified by the rapid actions of Roger G8IUC.

Roger indicated that an upgrade/maintenance action was due on GB3EN (the Amateur TV repeater in Enfield) and that a new antenna, feeder and other sundries would be installed. The time scale for the installation is not known.

DXCC Card Checking Rule Change

It was announced late last week that a notice of an upcoming change in an administrative procedure contained in the DXCC Rules.
The change in the DXCC Rules will permit volunteer Card Checkers who have achieved DXCC on 160 meters to check 160 meter QSLs in the field, and all Card Checkers to check cards for Deleted Entities.
Until now there has been a requirement that 160 meter cards be checked by Headquarters staff. The main issue has been that some cards for 18 MHz QSOs can be altered to show 1.8 MHz without the alteration being detected. Therefore, the time of the QSO becomes significant.
Some cards for Deleted Entities date back to 1960 and before, and sometimes it is difficult in the field to determine what entity the card ought to count for. Deleted Entities do not count for the DXCC Challenge or for the Honor Roll but do count toward all-time totals.

After discussion during the teleconference the "Programs and Services

Committee" (PSC) unanimously voted to authorize staff to amend the DXCC rules as proposed but with no change in how Card Checkers are appointed.

For complete details on the change, please take a look at:

http://www.arrl.org/awards-blog

IRTS 80th Anniversary AGM & Rally

Just under one week remaining for the 80th Anniversary IRTS
AGM and Rally and you can still purchase your tickets
for the special anniversary AGM dinner on Saturday 21st
April. However hurry as hotel need final numbers by
Thursday next. Dinner tickets are just €32, a reduction
on previous years and represents great value for this
very special dinner. B&B is €55 for single and a double
is €65. The Venue is Fairways Hotel Dundalk, telephone
042-9321500.

Dinner tickets can be bought now by contacting Thos
EI2JD on 087-2953256 or email thoscaffrey@hotmail.com or by contacting any IRTS committee member.

The radio rally and exhibition will be held in the
large conference hall with lots of space to move about
and to peruse at your leisure. It all happens over the
weekend of April 21st & 22nd, that’s next weekend. A
very warm welcome awaits you.

Wireless narrative of the sinking of the Titanic is offered by the BBC World Service.

A very interesting version of the wireless narrative of the sinking of the Titanic is offered by the BBC World Service. BBC producers used computer generated voices of actual telegraphic exchanges to simulate the frantic network traffic.


I expect this is of deep meaning to all amateur radio operators. The very foundations of our service are clearly laid in this narrative. You'll hear urgency, courage and disbelief from the wireless operators. You'll hear our on-air jargon even as it is used today. You'll recognise network message frustrations. You will be amazed when you hear echoes of our amateur radio service as it is today--especially in times of disaster and recovery. Please have a listen.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00q89fy


The valent efforts of the wireless officer John George "Jack" Phillips as his ship sank are beyond description.


RIP TITANIC - DE EI5IX / M0XII

GI2012MGY - A special event station onboard the SS Nomadic - Titanics 'Little Sister'.

GI2012MGY

A special event station located in Belfast from onboard
the SS Nomadic - Titanics 'Little Sister'.

To mark the Centenery of the sinking of the Titanic,
City of Belfast Radio Amateur Society ( CoBRAS ) will
be QRV on most HF bands, CW and SSB, from onboard 'the
Nomadic' from 12th - 18th April. The SS Nomadic is the
only remaining historic link to the Titanic left
afloat, and she is also the last surviving White Star
Line vessel in the world. Like Titanic herself she was
built at the shipyards of Harland and Wolff in
Belfast,and served as a tender to the Olympic and
Titanic. She is curently undergoing restoration work in
the docks where she was built, adjacent to the new
Titanic Belfast visitor attraction.

International interest in all things 'MGY' is reaching
extraordinary levels - and the extremely rare GI2012
prefix is sure to add extra interest from WPX hunters.
CoBRAS members look forward to working many EI
stations during the week of activity from onboard this
unique ship.

Further information and QSL details can be found under
Gi2012MGY at QRZ.com

Mayo Radio Experimenters - Titanic Special Event Operation EI 1 MGY

Mayo Radio Experimenters - Titanic Special Event
Operation EI 1 MGY

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of
the Titanic, The Mayo Radio Experimenters will operate
EI 1 MGY from the 8th to 21st of April as part of the
Addergoole Titanic Society's week-long centenary
programme of events which take place in the village of
Lahardane, County Mayo, commencing Easter Sunday 8th
April through to Sunday 15th April. In April 1912
fourteen men and women from the Parish of Addergoole,
in North Mayo, set sail from Queenstown, Cork for a new
life in America. Within days, eleven had died in the
icy waters of the North Atlantic. Their ship,
‘Titanic’, sank on her maiden voyage. Rural Ireland
resounds with tales of emigration, steeped in the
traditions of letting go. Addergoole will never let go
of the memory of eleven neighbours and friends who
disappeared with that "Ship of Dreams". Please visit:
www.mayo-titanic.com where you can download a brochure
of the events taking place during the week.

World Amateur Radio Day

On April 18, 2012 we will celebrate the World Amateur Radio Day on the 87th Anniversary of the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union, IARU. This year´s theme for the World Amateur Radio Day is
“Amateur Radio Satellites: Celebrating 50 Years in Space" in remembrance the launching of OSCAR 1 on
December 12, 1961 and the launch of OSCAR 2 on June 2, 1962.

For this reason there will be several special event stations from IARU’s Member Societies active on different dates during April: 6H6IARU, 3G73IARU and LZ1WARD. If IARU's Member Societies plan to have a special event station for this reason in April let us now so we can publish the details before the end of this month. Send an email to news@iaru-r2.org with the information.

The 5Mhz Newsletter

The Spring Edition of The 5 MHz Newsletter has now been published and features information on the recent WRC-12 conference. A subscription is not needed and the Newsletter can be freely read or downloaded from Google documents at http://tinyurl.com/7ylxz9z

A paper copy can be obtained by sending an SASE large enough to take folded A4 to the Editor, G4MWO, who is QTHR and on QRZ.com.

A chart is also maintained of current Worldwide 5 MHz Amateur Allocations. This can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/82rwq2b

Japan to launch Amateur Radio satellites

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announced the launch of five amateur radio satellites
on two launches taking place in May and July. The first H-IIA launch takes place on May 17, 1639-1642 UT and will carry the amateur radio satellite HORYU-2. The second launch on July 21, 0218 UT of the HTV3 will deliver the JEM-Small Satellite Orbital Deployer
(J-SSOD) to the International Space Station (ISS).

Revised DXCC Fee Structure

Listeners who are involved in the DXCC programme will
be aware that there have been a number of
administrative difficulties with the programme in
recent months. In particular, there have been delays in
processing applications for DXCC credits at certain
times, for example after major contests and
DXpeditions.

In an effort to overcome these difficulties in the
future, ARRL has announced a new fee structure for
DXCC applications, one of the aims of the new
structure being to encourage frequent smaller
applications for DXCC credits. To achieve this, the
premium charged for second and subsequent applications
in each year will be dropped.

Later this year, ARRL plans to have an online system
for QSL card applications in place: while the cards
will still need to be checked by a field checker, it
will be possible to generate online the application
form to be submitted to the field checker; this, of
course, will greatly speed up the eventual processing
of the application, as the DXCC staff will not have to
perform the data entry.

IRTS 80th Anniversary AGM & Rally

The annual dinner of the IRTS takes place on Saturday
April 21st, with the Rally and AGM on the following
day. Dinner tickets are just €32, a reduction on
previous years and represents great value for this very
special dinner. B&B is €55 for single and a double is
€65. As dinner tickets and rooms are distributed on a
first come first served basis, you are encouraged and
advised to act now to avoid disappointment. The annual
rally, on Sunday April 22nd, will also have its
favourites and many new and novel exhibitors.

This is a must attend event in the 80th Anniversary
year of your national society. Full details of this
event are on the IRTS web site www.irts.ie

Dinner tickets can be bought now by contacting Thos
EI2JD on +35387-2953256 or email thoscaffrey@hotmail.com or by contacting any IRTS committee member.
The Fairways Hotel can be contacted on +35342 9321500 or
www.fairways.ie

Special Event Stations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Some special event call-signs will be activated to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games:

2O12L (Two Oscar One Two Lima) from London, England and
2O12W (Two Oscar One Two Wales) from Barry, Wales. The

Radio Society of Great Britain has been granted the 'Inspire mark' for these stations by the London 2012
Inspire programme. The London station, 2012L will be active through the duration of the Games, located at
the historic Eltham Palace, south-east London on 160m-2m, all modes. More information is available on
the website http://www.2O12L.com or contact the Press Officer, Mr. John Warburton G4IRN at press@2o12l.com.

Another Major Flare

Big sunspot AR1429 has unleashed another major flare--an X5-class eruption on March 7th at 00:28 UT.

As a result of the blast, a radiation storm is underway and a CME will likely hit Earth's magnetic field in a day or so.
Geomagnetic storms are already in progress at high latitudes due to earlier eruptions from the active sunspot.
Last night, auroras were spotted over several northern-tier US states including Michigan and Wisconsin.
Check http://spaceweather.com for updates and images also have a see this site http://halpha.nso.edu/movie_all_L.html.

Cold and Spellbinding: An Alignment of Planets in the Sunset Sky

Cold and Spellbinding: An Alignment of Planets in the Sunset Sky 

A special night to look at your night Sky is Saturday, Feb. 25^th 2012, when the crescent Moon moves in to form a slender heavenly triangle with Venus, Jupiter and the Moon as vertices.  

One night later, on Sunday, Feb. 26^th 2012, it happens again. This arrangement will be visible all around the world, from city and countryside alike.  The Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest objects in the night sky; together they can shine through urban lights, fog, and even some clouds.

After hopping from Venus to Jupiter in late February, the Moon exits stage left, but the show is far from over.

In March, Venus and Jupiter continue their relentless convergence until, on March 12^th and 13^th this year, the duo lie only three degrees apart—a spectacular double beacon in the sunset sky.  Now you’ll be able to hide them together behind a pair of outstretched fingertips. Should make some interesting photography!

 

Yeah there’s something mesmerizing about our stars and planets all bunched together in this way—and, no, you’re not imagining things when it happens to you. Just chill, relax and enjoy the spectacle!

GB80PW operation moves to Saturday

This special callsign GB80PW, issued to Practical Wireless magazine to celebrate the publication's 80th year in print, had its first airing in January this year.
However, PW editor, Rob Mannion, G3XFD received a number of requests to operate the station at weekends, rather than a weekday, as most people were at work and unable to get on the air in time.
In order to accomodate those requests, Rob has now opted for operation on the Saturday following PW's publication.


So, please look out for GB80PW on the Saturdays immediately following publication days during 2012.


The dates are Saturday February 11th, March 10th, April 14th, May 12th, June 16th, July 14th, August 11th, September 15th, October 13th, November 10th and December 15th.

Keep those dates in your diary and Phil G3XBZ and Rob G3XFD – and the other operators who'll be involved – look forward to working you!

Galway Radio Experimenters Club

The Galway Radio Experimenters Club will be holding their next meeting in the Anno Santo hotel in Salthill on Monday 6th of February at 8pm. On the night Enda (EI2II) will be giving a demonstration on the advantages of computerising the ham shack. Beginning with getting the most from your logging software to propagation prediction and DXClusters. Should anybody wish to have help setting up software please feel free to bring along your laptop on the night. We would like to welcome any interested amateurs, SWLs or indeed anyone with an interest in amateur radio.

Ofcom: GPS Jamming Notice

RAF Spadeadam, Cumbria

Dates: Between 9th and 20th April, 2012 inclusive (weekdays only).
Times:  0700 - 1800 GMT.
Location of MULTIPLE Jammers: Land based within 5km of N55° 04.000’ W002° 34.000’.
Frequency: A 24 MHz band centred around 1575.42MHz (GPS L1).
Total Power: Up to 10 Watts EIRP.

It is stressed that, as in previous exercises, Safety of Life operations will at all times take precedence over exercise activities.

Ofcom stakeholders should contact
InfoGPS.Notices@ofcom.org.uk 

Device To Predict Solar Activity To Be Launched Soon

It has been reported that solar activities in the past few weeks have increased by manifolds. With the increased solar activities, researchers have also begun to increase their efforts in improving the devices by which the solar activities could be gauged.

It has been reported that researchers and scientists of the NASA are planning to make a computer based device which would predict the coming solar storm. In the past few weeks, the activities of the solar have increased quite rapidly.

Last week, it was a major solar storm which was experienced by the researchers. It has been informed that the solar storms can be hazardous for the earth as it scratches the Earth’s Magnetic field. It has been informed that the device upon which the NASA researchers are working would enable the researchers to gauge the coming solar activities. Moreover, the prediction of the weather forecast would also improve with the help of the device.

Michael Hesse from Goddard’s Space Weather Laboratory was reported as saying, “Ensemble forecasting will provide a distribution of arrival times, which will improve the reliability of forecasts. This is important. Society is relying more so than ever on space. Communications, navigation, electrical-power generation, all are all susceptible to space weather”.

The device would bring revolution in the way weather is predicted. Moreover, it would become easier for the researchers and scientists to explore new horizons of the universe.
It has been informed that the device is being supported by the NASA’s Space Technology Program. Moreover, the Implementing Ensemble Forecasting would improve the weather forcast and would allow the scientists to predict peak and worse weather conditions before hand.

Antarctic Activity Week Special Event

Look for special event station TM9AAW to be on the air between February 10-26th. Activity is to celebrate the 9th Antarctic Activity Week (AAW).

Operations will be made by François, F8DVD, from his QTH of Mâcon in the east part of France. The WAP reference number for TM9AAW is 220. Operations will be on 40-10 meters mostly SSB.
QSL via F8DVD, by the Bureau or direct (w/SAE + 1 IRC or 2 USDs to: François Bergez, 6, Rue de la Liberté, F-71000 MACON, FRANCE.

For more details, see http://tm9aaw.monsite-orange.fr
or TM9AAW on QRZ.com.

Limited future activity from Jan Mayen Island

Recently the Norwegian government declared most of Jan Mayen a Nature Reserve and banned landings and camping on most of the island.

This means that tour operators can no longer visit since the main landing area is part of the Reserve. The only places left on the island which could be used as landing and camp sites are in Kvalross-bukta and in Båtvika, in the very extreme (weather-wise) southern part of Jan Mayen.

This will mean that most visits to the north part of the island (where previous landings occurred) will soon be impossible. Whilst radio amateur operations may still be possible from these two locations, which are difficult to get to (rough landing, very strong winds with sand storms, no access to any shelters or resources etc), it now appears JX5O was probably the last major expedition to Jan Mayen and may well be for the coming years.It also seems that only professional, licensed staff members at the Olonkin base will be able to activate the island, with that in itself a rare occurrence." However, Svein, LA9JKA, is expected to be based on the island beginning March 22nd, and is expected to stay until March 2013
.
No eQSLs, SWL reports are welcome.
QSL only direct to: Svein Rabbevag, Brendlia 12, N-6013 Alesund, Norway. Also, see details on QR.com for postage info.

Declan EI9HQ

Declan will be out on Sunday 12th February on a run to Kilkenny starting around 0930 in WAI Square Oscar22. He will be active on 7.170mhz. (40Meters) Anyone looking for squares from this route please email before 10th February at ei9hq@O2.ie

IOTA Contest Results

Provisional results of the 2011 Islands On The Air contest have now been published.
Despite low sun-spots levels, the contest organisers received over 2,300 logs - the highest number yet – covering 632,000 QSOs and sufficient to enable them to
adjudicate 75% of all QSOs.

The highest scoring station in the contest was the Bristol Contest Group (GJ6YB) who operated from Jersey and achieved a score of just under 15 million points from over 3,300 QSOs.
The Bristol Contest Group were also the IOTA contest winners in 2010.


Irish stations submitted 21 contest logs and one check log. The full provisional results for EI and GI stations are on the IRTS web site - see Contest Results page or the link on the home page. The highest score was achieved by the EI/GI group on Rathlin Island, with a total of 2.7 million points from 1,606 QSOs. Other groups had higher QSO numbers, but the Rathlin group had a better mix of multipliers and island stations. There are also some excellent results from stations in the Single-Operator categories.


The IOTA contest is one of the best supported contests in Ireland. The 2012 contest takes place on 28th / 29th July. The contest organisers have indicated that there will be a number of significant rule changes in 2012, notably to the scoring to emphasise island QSOs and, for the same reason, there will no longer be a World multi-op category as they are anxious to refocus the contest on working islands rather than building points through non-island stations working other non-island stations.

EI80IRTS Award

The Irish Radio Transmitters Society was founded in 1932 and the organization are proud to celebrate their 80th anniversary in 2012. As part of the celebrations the Society will be using the special callsign EI80IRTS.

A special certificate, available to all amateurs and SWLs, is being offered to celebrate this wonderful occasion during the period of January 1st 2012 to December 31st 2012.

This award is been sponsored by Dundalk Amateur Radio Society, full details of the award can be viewed at
http://www.ei7dar.com/ei80irts.html

Special Callsigns for Amateur Radio stations in the UK during 2012

The Radio Society of Great Britain and Ofcom have reached agreement on the optional use of special callsigns for two significant events during 2012.
For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, all UK amateur stations will have the option of applying for a variation to their licence if they wish, to use a special prefix for a five week period. This will add or substitute the letter “Q” in the place of the Regional identifier in the callsign.
For the period of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, a similar facility will exist for a seven week period, using the letter “O”.
Both the above facilities will also be available to Amateur Club licences.
Furthermore, calls in the series GB2012aaa will be available for Special Event Stations relating to the Olympics and licences will be issued for four “flagship” stations using the prefix 2O12a where “O” is the letter O, and a is a single letter relating to the location of the station.

Further details of these arrangements are on the attached summary, and administrative details will be issued by Ofcom and the RSGB shortly.

In more detail:
The following facilities will be available to holders of the following licences:
Amateur Foundation Licence
Amateur Intermediate Licence
Amateur Full Licence
Amateur Full (Club) Licence
Amateur Full (Reciprocal) Licence
Amateur Full (Temporary Reciprocal) Licence

Special prefix to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee:
Period: 00.00 BST 5th May 2012 to 23.59 BST 10th June 2012
Authorisation: To conform to the requirements of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, each licensee must obtain a Notice of Variation . This is an on-line process, and will be available from 1st March 2012.
Callsign: the letter Q will be added to calls, or replace the regional identifier. For example (where “aaa” represents the final alpha block of the callsign):
M3aaa becomes MQ3aaa
G3aaa becomes GQ3aaa
GM3aaa becomes GQ3aaa
2E0aaa becomes 2Q0aaa
2M0aaa becomes 2Q0aaa
GX3aaa becomes GQ3aaa

Special prefix to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games:
Period: 00.00 BST 21st July 2012 to 23.59 BST 9th September 2012
Authorisation: To conform to the requirements of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, each licensee must obtain a Notice of Variation. This is an on-line process, and will be available from 1st March 2012.
Callsign: the letter O will be added to calls, or replace the regional identifier. For example (where “aaa” represents the final alpha block of the callsign):
M3aaa becomes MO3aaa
G3aaa becomes GO3aaa
GM3aaa becomes GO3aaa
2E0aaa becomes 2O0aaa (Two Oscar zero aaa)
2M0aaa becomes 2O0aaa (Two Oscar zero aaa)
GX3aaa becomes GO3aaa

For more Info please check this out


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

The new VHF-UHF band plan - 4m in Ireland

The Irish Radio Transmitters Society website reports that the new Region 1 Band Plan for VHF and UHF frequencies came into effect on 1st January this year.

The biggest changes are in the 6 metre band - with new beacon sub-bands and a number of new "centre of activity" frequency allocations.
The revision in the 6 metre band plan is designed to give more bandwidth to CW and SSB users, while recognising increased activity levels in the new digital modes.

The revised Band Plan for the 6 metre, 4 metre, 2 metre and 70cms bands can be downloaded from the downloads page of the IRTS web site. Bear in mind that the 4 metre allocation in EI does not cover the full
extent of the 70.0 MHz to 70.5 MHz band plan contained in the IARU document; a note showing the EI allocation has been added to the document which is on their downloads page.

Those operating on frequencies above 70cms can see the relevant band plans in the VHF Managers Handbook, which is available on the IARU Region 1 web site.

Again, it is important to note the EI frequency allocations, which can differ from the limits shown on the band plan pages.
IRTS web site
http://www.irts.ie

IARU Region 1 web site
http://www.iaru-r1.org/



- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

London 2012 Olympic Simplex DStar Nodes

Just to inform you, that the digital node test for the pending London 2012 Olympic Simplex DStar Nodes is planned, it will be a 2-day event next weekend Saturday 21st and Sunday 22nd of January.

The test will be carried out both on 2m and 70cm in Echo Test Mode Only (without DStar Gateway) between hours of 10am till 4pm. The DStar node will record your digital test transmission and then retransmit it back to you, at the same time you will then be able to see what type of coverage we will have.

DV Node Test Frequency

Saturday 21st on 433.4125 MHz

Sunday 22nd on 145.3125 MHz

Also Gary, 2E0ULA and Michael, 2E0MRE will be on hand for assistance and talk back will be on to GB7OK. Please let us know how well you can receive DStar Node, your information will help!

For more info visit http://www.gb7ok.com/.
If there are any changes look up Bromley Repeater Group on Facebook

ISS performs debris avoidance maneuver

UniverseToday reports that
the ISS needed to perform a maneuver on Friday, January 13 to avoid debris from the 2009 collision between an inactive Russian Cosmos 2251 satellite and a commercial Iridium satellite.

U.S. Space Command recommended the space station perform a debris avoidance maneuver on Friday, January 13, 2012 to move out of harms’ way and dodge a possible collision with the piece of space junk, said to be about 10 centimeters in diameter. The thrusters on the Zvezda service module fired at 1610 UTC on Friday to raise the orbit of the ISS.
Without the maneuver, the object would have made two close approaches to the station on consecutive orbits on Friday, passing within the “pizza box” shaped region around the station, measuring 0.75 kilometers above and below the station and 25 kilometers on each side (2,460 feet above and below and 15.6 by 15.6 miles).
A higher orbit for the ISS means that AOS will occur at a slightly later time than those predicted in existing Keplerian Elements.

Users are encourage to update their tracking elements to maintain tracking accuracy.

Source: Amsat, UniverseToday.com

UK amateurs experience echo phenomenon

Two UK radio amateurs have reported hearing strong echoes on their 80m CW signals in the evening last week. Tony, G3ZRJ in Herefordshire and Andrew, GW3OQK in Swansea were in QSO on 1 January when they could hear another signal underneath theirs. It turned out to be an echo of their own signals
Tony said the echoes were initially so strong that he had trouble monitoring his CW keying. The delay in the echoes was of the order of 0.25 to 0.5 seconds and the echo strength hit S9. Tests by Andrew on the evening of 3 January revealed the same phenomena at around 2100Z, albeit weaker.

Steve, G0KYA, chairman of the RSGB's Propagation Studies Committee, said that these were unlikely to

be round-the-world echoes, but could be due to a form of magnetospheric ducting where signals follow the earth's magnetic field lines down to the southern hemisphere before being bounced back along the same duct. Steve said that this was quite rare and not really understood.
UK amateurs are being urged to look out for any echoes on their 80m signals and report any findings to G0KYA@QSL.NET

Check This Out!

NASA and others has reports on Solar Storms useful for us to know about!

http://solarstormwarning.com/


- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX

My UK Call-Sign M0XII

I have received my New UK Call-Sign * M 0 X I I * from Ofcom, the regularity authority here in Great Britain.
Currently I have up-dated my Log's under M/EI5IX on LoTW as my CEPT part of my Irish License M/EI5IX was running out so I had to apply to Ofcom for a Reciprocal License here in the UK.

Propagation has being "Kind" as of late and the DX has been very good for QRP stations such as myself here in outskirts of London City, I'm now looking forward to working some of you on the air while I live over in Great Britain under my new call-sign M0XII!!

73's for now!

IRTS AGM & Rally 2012

The IRTS AGM, Annual Dinner and Rally this year is
hosted by Dundalk Amateur Radio Society at the
Fairways Hotel on the weekend of April 21st & 22nd
2012. Please keep your diaries free for this special
event in our 80th Anniversary year celebrations. More
details to follow.

Updated Happings in our Hobby

IRTS AGM & Rally 2012

The IRTS AGM, Annual Dinner and Rally this year is
hosted by Dundalk Amateur Radio Society at the
Fairways Hotel on the weekend of April 21st & 22nd
2012. Please keep your diaries free for this special
event in our 80th year Anniversary celebrations. More
details to follow.

Counties Contest

The IRTS 80 metres counties contest, held on Monday 2nd
January was well supported, with plenty of activity
right up to the last minute of the contest. Most
counties appeared to be represented, although some made
only a brief appearance. Our reporters tell us that
Carlow, Cavan and Kerry were top of the "most wanted"
list, with other sizeable counties like Tipperary and
Waterford not far behind.

This year there was a reasonable level of activity on
the CW portion of the band. As darkness fell, CW ops
benefited in particular from the improved propagation
between Ireland and mainland Europe, allowing some
Scandinavian and Eastern European stations to answer
their contest calls.

Logs should be submitted as soon as possible to
contestmanager@irts.ie

IRTS 80th Anniversary

IRTS will be celebrating its 80th anniversary this year
2012. Details of a worldwide contest – CQIR – to take
place on Saint Patrick’s Day, Saturday 17th March 2012
have just been announced. Full rules and information
are available at www.irts.ie/cqir or by email to cqir@irts.ie

ISS on 145.800 MHz Monday morning

There's a chance to hear ISS astronuat Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX, on 145.800 MHz FM on Monday morning.

On Monday Jan. 9, at approximately 1014 UT, an International Space Station (ISS) amateur radio contact is planned with students at Descartes High School, located in Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France.
The contact will be in English and downlink signals should be audible in the British Isles and Europe on 145.800 MHz FM.

A simple 2m hand-held transceiver or a VHF Scanner is all you need to hear the International Space Station.
Read Listening to the International Space Station
http://www.uk.amsat.org/3491

The IZ8BLY Vox Recoder, enables you to record the ISS on 145.800 MHz
FM while you're away from home
http://antoninoporcino.xoom.it/VoxRecorder/

ARISS ham radio contact planned with Descartes High School, France
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2012/ariss_event_0901.htm

43 years of 73 Magazine on web

PDF's of all issues of the popular Amateur Radio publication 73 Magazine produced by Wayne Green W2NSD from 1960-2003 are available for download.

Wayne was always into the latest ground breaking Amateur Radio technology and his magazine reflected that with articles on RTTY, ATV,SSTV, FM Repeaters and Amateur radio satellites.
A popular part of the magazine was Wayne Green W2NSD's 'Never Say Die' column. In it he gave his views on just about everything. Among Wayne's favorite topics over the years were:

The failure of the ARRL to prepare for the 1971 World Adminstrative Radio Conference which resulted the loss of hundred of MHz of amateur satellite frequencies
- The disaster of incentive licensing

- The FCC restrictions on repeaters

- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS)


All the 73 Magazine PDF's can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/73Magazine

 Wayne is now 89 (D.O.B. believed to be September 3, 1922) and still going strong, you can read his blog at http://www.waynegreen.com/wayne/news.html

The new IARU 50Mhz R1 Band-plan

Take a look at the new Band Plan from the IARU Region 1 of the 

Magic Band that is 50MHz (6Meters)

The bandplan has came into effect on 1st January 2012

ARISSat-1 altitude is rapidly decreasing

Came across this interesting bit of news on Southgate Amateur Radio News website

The altitude of amateur radio satellite ARISSat-1 (145.950 MHz FM) continues to decline rapidly.

On Tuesday, Dec 27, 2011, ARISSat-1 was losing about 4.1 km (~2.5 miles) a day in altitude, by Friday Dec 30 2011 the decay was 5.9 km (3.6 miles) per day. This rate will continue to increase over the next days and ultimately result in the satellite burning up in the atmosphere.

Telemetry reports haven't shown a large increase in temperatures yet, please collect and report these values during each illumination period. There have been a number of people that continue to update their calculations on when the satellite will re-enter, now expected to be sometime this week.

The fall rate dh/dt is increasing dramatically. Be sure to do daily updates of the ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-B Keps from Celestrak.com. The ARISSat-1 orbit changes daily while the satellite continues to lose altitude.

Roland, PY4ZBZ from Brazil has updated graphs of height and fall rate on his Web site: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/arissat.htm#r

ARISSat-1 Getting Hotter
http://www.uk.amsat.org/2011/12/30/arissat-1-getting-hotter/

AMSAT News Service (ANS)
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/news/

HAPPY NEW YEAR ***2012**

I would like to wish my family and friends world wide a very happy and prosperous 2012 an may you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going and the insight to know when you're going too far.....

All the very best....... Happy New Year