Great, Free DX Information

I came across this on K2DSL blog!

The Daily DX at http://www.dailydx.com is a fantastic resource. It’s primary offering is a pay service where for a very reasonable fee (6 months or annually) you get a daily (Mon-Fri) newsletter emailed to you that is filled with information on all things related to DXing. Without paying for the subscription (and I highly recommend the paid subscription), there are multiple free resources available.

First is that you can get a two week trial, without any obligation, by filling out the form at http://www.dailydx.com/trial.htm and enjoy 10 days worth of quality DX info.

Second is some info is available on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dailydx, again at no cost to anyone.

Third is there’s a DX calendar available to anyone at http://dailydx.com/Calendar.htm and it is updated frequently with a list of all the DX stations and when/where they are operating from. This page alone is a great resource for any DXer and available free to all.

And last but not least is the Daily DX site now provides a free search of the back issues of the daily newsletter with the exception of the last 6-8 weeks. You can search the back issues right on the Daily DX home page.

I suggest you sign up for the 2 week trial and I’m sure you’ll agree, if you do any DXing, that the newsletter provides valuable information to make your DXing more enjoyable.

Cheers David for the info...

73,

A YouTube video shows how to Twitter using Ham Radio.

In the video Chris Matthieu, N7ICE, demomstates how to Twitter from your ham radio station using APRS and the 73s.org website. Additional information is contained in his blog on the website.

N7ICE Blog
http://73s.org/n7ice/blog/253

73s.org
http://73s.org/

UPDATE - 27/05/09

History this week

1844 Morse sends his first telegraph message, "What
hath God wrought!" to his associate 40 miles away.

1904 Hulsemeyer, Germany, demonstrates his radio
detection system (now called RADAR).



Stolen Radio

An IC 7000 serial number 1001743 has been reported
stolen, any details on the above radio please pass onto
Derek EI7GLB at +353879049023.



Theory Examination


There are now only three weeks left to the closing date
of 15 June for applications to sit the theory
examination to be held on Tuesday 30 June. This date
will be strictly enforced, as some people connected
with the examination will be attending the
Friedrichshafen Rally towards the end of June. All of
the administrative tasks in relation to the examination
must be completed well before then.

Intending candidates should forward the appropriate fee
to Sean Nolan EI7CD, 12 Little Meadow, Pottery
Road,Dunlaoghaire, Co. Dublin in order to reserve a
place for the exam. The fee is 50 Euro or 25 Euro for
full-time registered students, repeat candidates and
those who are retired, unemployed or have a disability.

Cheques and Money Orders should be made payable to the
IRTS. When forwarding the exam fee intending candidates
should enclose their postal address as well as phone
and e-mail contact details. Intending candidates should
note that anyone who fails to produce a photo identity
on the day of the examination will not be allowed to
sit the examination. The photo ID can be a driving
licence, a passport, an employment photo identity card
or a student card containing a photograph. A national
Garda photo ID would also be acceptable.

Sean EI7CDs address can also be found in the IRTS call
book or in the call book section of the IRTS website at
http://www.irts.ie/. Sean’s e-mail address for any further
enquiries is"ei7cd@gofree.indigo.ie"

Useful Exam Text

We would like to bring to the attention of those
studying for the theory examination a new revision text
published by the RSGB. The book is titled 'Amateur
Radio Exam Secrets' and is written by Alan Betts G0HIQ
who is also the author of two other exam-oriented
publications - 'Foundation Licence Now' and 'Advance -
The Full Licence Manual'.

The most recent publication is a revision text for
examinations rather than a basic textbook but it would
be very useful for pre exam exercises. The book has 13
Chapters, 10 of which deal with specific aspects of the
exam syllabus.

Each of the Chapters has a brief introduction to the
subject matter covered at each of the three levels of
the UK examinations and a range of sample questions at
the three levels on the subject of the Chapter. There
is also a sample paper at each of the three levels
Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced at the end of the
book. The cost of the publication is £12.99



Lifetime Licences

Most licensees will by now have received letters from
ComReg informing them that the lifetime licences which
will commence to be issued with effect from 1 June will
be Amateur Radio Licences.

These letters came as a surprise to all as the
documentation published by ComReg about the lifetime
licence was in the context of Experimenter Licences.
There was no discussion between ComReg and the Society
on this matter nor was there any indication of an
intention to change to Amateur Licences despite our
meeting with ComReg on 12 February at which the
Lifetime Licence was discussed.

The Committee at its meeting on 16 May had a lengthy,
open and wide ranging discussion on the matter to which
virtually all present contributed. In the course of the
discussion it became clear that while two Clubs were
fundamentally opposed to the change, the
representatives of other clubs present and the great
majority of the Committee members agreed that on
balance the change was at worst neutral and at best
beneficial in terms of frequency allocation and
protection.

There was general agreement that it would have been
more satisfactory had the Society been consulted or at
least given notice of the intended change. This would
have been more in keeping with the spirit of
partnership and cooperation that the Society has been
seeking to cultivate with ComReg for some time and
demonstrated by the recent agreements on 5 MHz and 500
kHz licences. It would seem that the commercially
sensitive nature of some ComReg regulations militated
against discussing with the Society draft regulations
that had no commercial sensitivity whatsoever.

At the conclusion of the discussion the consensus was
that a letter should be sent to ComReg expressing
disappointment at the lack of consultation or even
notification of the change and pointing out that all of
the frequency bands in the European Common Allocations
Table and ComReg’s Radio Frequency Plan for Ireland
which are allocated to the Amateur Service should be
automatically made available under the new Amateur
Radio lifetime licences. This would result in
considerable extra spectrum particularly in the
microwave region. The letter should also request ComReg
to publish on its website the definition of Amateur
Radio as contained in the ITU Radio Regulations as this
definition highlights the self training and technical
investigations aspects of amateur radio which by their
very nature involve experimentation.

I'd like to thank the IRTS for the above information.

Educational website - Design a Satellite

Eduweb have designed an interactive education game for young people called 'Design a Satellite'

It is in the Engineering and Technology section of their website and can be seen at
http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/designsatellite/

Engineering and Technology
http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/engineertech.php

There is also at Earth & Space Science section at
http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/earthspacesci.php

French APRS balloon launch

A French balloon carrying an Amateur Radio APRS payload on 144.650 MHz is planned to launch around 12:30 CET on Wednesday May 27.

The balloon will be launched from Espins, Calvados.

The telemetry transmitter, Kiwi, will operate on 137.950 MHz and the APRS payload will use 144.650 MHz.

Three Amateur Radio Cubesats launched

At 19:55 EDT on Tuesday May 19 three CubeSats carrying Amateur Radio payloads were successdully launched from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The CubeSats are:
PHARMASAT-1 - Santa Clara University on 437.465 MHz AX.25 1200 bps
HAWKSAT-I - Hawk Institute for Space Sciences on 437.345 MHz
POLYSAT CP6 - California Polytechnic State University on 437.365 MHz1200bps AX.25
Initial reports on the web indicate that signals have been received from Pharmasat-1 and Polysat CP6.

A 'High Quality' video of the launch titled 'Minotaur 1 (TacSat 3)' can be seen below (click on player's HQ icon)





PharmaSat launch and beacon alert http://www.southgatearc.org/news/may2009/pharmasat_launch.htm

Calpoly CubeSat Page http://cubesat.calpoly.edu/

AMSAT Bulletin Board AMSAT-BB http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/maillist/

CW operators needed

The HARAOA Group are organizing a DXpedition to Norfolk Island (OC-005, QRV from 22nd July - 29th July 2009.

They are looking for 2 more CW operators, that would like to join the group in July, please contact them at vk9aaa@haraoa.com.

More information check their website http://vk9aaa.blogspot.com.

UPDATE - 21/05/09

Poor Sunspot Activity

Scientists predict that Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May
2013 with 90 sunspots per day on average. At the annual
Space Weather Workshop held in Boulder, Colorado last
month, an international panel of experts led by NOAA's
Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) predicted that
Solar Cycle 24 would peak in May 2013 with 90 sunspots
per day on average.

If the prediction proves true, Solar Cycle 24 will be
the weakest cycle since Solar Cycle 16 which peaked
with 78 daily sunspots in 1928, and ninth weakest since
the 1750s, when numbered cycles began.

70MHz for Slovak Stations

Since May 1st, 2009 Slovak stations have an access to
70 MHz band, in the segment 70,250 – 70,350 MHz Max. 10
W ERP Each Slovak station must apply for special
permission for 70 MHz.


Recession hits again

To follow on from a recent closure of a publishing
magazine associated with out hobby, there is yet
another Magazine closure.

Monitoring Monthly magazine ceases publication. The
current economic recession has seen many businesses
go-under in recent weeks, and one of the most recent of
these are related to our hobby.

Monitoring Monthly magazine appears to be the latest
casualty of the economic downturn. Its web site will
stay active for the immediate future to allow its
electronic issue subscribers a chance to download

www.monitoringmonthly.co.uk



Rallies

Bangor and District ARS - Radio and Computer Rally

The 2009 rally is to be held on Sunday 14st June
2009,At 12 Noon in "The Country Club", Crawfordsburn.
ADMISSION £2 INCLUDING 2 RAFFLE TICKETS ! The all new
RSGB GB4FUN ! Trade Stands ,Bring and Buy ,BDARS Slide
Show A good selection of radio and computer traders
will be in attendance Special interest groups will have
their own stands .The ever popular FREE bring and buy
will be running as normal Contact Bill GI4AAM for
further details: Tel: 028 9181 6707 Email:
bill.langtry /at/ btinternet.com Website www.bdars.com

History This Week

1885 Edison patents ship-to-shore wireless telegraphy
system, by induction.

1896 Edison patents first fluorescent electric lamp.

1897 Marconi transmits 14.5 Kms across Bristol Channel.

1897 Braun displays his cathode ray tube, Boston
Exhibition.


I'd like to thank the IRTS for the above infromation.

VHF propagation alerter

I came across this very interesting article on:

With the Sporadic-E season started, I've been looking for ways to be alerted whenever there is an opening. It's all very well to say "real amateurs tune the bands" but although I'm at home most of the time and well placed to take advantage of band openings, I'm usually busy working or doing something else and don't have time to spend endlessly tuning the receiver.

So I was pleased to discover DX Sherlock, a system operated by VHFDX.net. This is a set of maps for each of the bands, 10m and up, that shows contacts which have been reported to its DX Cluster. These contacts are plotted on the map, and easily show the position of any Sporadic-E clouds, as you can see in the example.

Another nice thing about this site is that you can have email alerts of Sporadic-E, tropo and other propagation events on the bands you are interested in sent to your mailbox. If you are interested in the higher frequency bands, this site is well worth a visit

UPDATE - 12 / 05 / 09

Theory Examination

The next Theory Examination for the Experimenters
licence will be held on Tuesday the 30th of June at
2p.m. in the ComReg Offices in Dublin and in
Carrigtwohill Co. Cork.

An exam could be held at another centre at the same
time and date should the numbers warrant it. Places for
the examination will be allocated on a first come first
served basis and will only be reserved on receipt of
the examination fee.

Intending candidates should forward the appropriate fee
to Sean Nolan EI7CD, 12 Little Meadow, Pottery
Road,Dunlaoghaire, Co. Dublin in order to reserve a
place for the exam. The fee is 50 Euro or 25 Euro for
full-time registered students, repeat candidates and
those who are retired, unemployed or have a disability.
Cheques and Money Orders should be made payable to the
IRTS. When forwarding the exam fee intending candidates
should enclose their postal address as well as phone
and e-mail contact details.

The closing date for applications to sit the
examination, which will be strictly enforced, is Monday
the 15th of June. Intending candidates should note that
anyone who fails to produce a photo identity on day of
the examination would not be allowed to sit the
examination.

The photo ID can be a driving licence, a passport, an
employment photo identity card or a student card
containing a photograph. A national Gardai photo ID
would also be acceptable. Sean EI7CD’s address can also
be found in the IRTS call book or in the call book
section of the IRTS website at www.irts.ie

Sean's e-mail address for any further enquiries
is"ei7cd at gofree dot indigo dot ie" Also available on
the 'Where Do I Start' section of the IRTS website are
Examination Notes with a sample examination paper as
well as a link to the ComReg's Experimenter Pages which
contain some very useful data under Licensing
Information.

Also in the Radio Theory Links section on the website
is some very useful information for those studying for
the examination.

The examination consists of a question paper of
60multiple-choice questions divided into three main
sections A, B and C and the time allowed is two hours.

The pass mark is 60% and a pass is required in each of
the three main sections of the paper. We wish all
intending candidates the best of luck in the
examination.



Lifetime Licences

We understand that letters in relation to the lifetime
licence are being issued to licensees by ComReg. The
lifetime licence will be an Amateur Radio Licence and
will be valid for the lifetime of the licensee.

Current licences which have a renewal date on or after
1 June of this year will receive a lifetime licence on
payment of a once off fee of €30 on receipt of an
invoice. Licences with a renewal date before 1 June
must be renewed under the existing process by payment
of the €10 fee on receipt of the usual invoice. These
licensees will become eligible for a lifetime licence
at the renewal date in 2010.

All new licences will be subject to a once off fee of
€100 with a reduction to €30 for those who are 65 years
or over on the date of application and for those in
receipt of a disability pension.

Licensees need not take any action on foot of these
letters until an invoice, which should be paid within
the normal time limit, is received from ComReg.


Radio News From Mayo

The IRTS news Bulletin is transmitted each Sunday
evening from County Mayo, on four frequencies
simultaneously. Listeners can tune it at 8.00pm local
time to the Mayo 2mt repeater on 145.600. The
broadcast is also available on the following simplex
frequencies: 51.450 FM on the 6mt. band, 70.375 FM on
the four mt. band and on 433.450 on the 70cms. band.
Call-ins are handled on a band by band basis at the
end of the news bulletin.

The newsreaders are John, EI7IQ, Padraic EI9JA and
Jimmy Ei2GCB. The technical manager for the project is
Dominic, EI9JS.



500 kHz Permissions

In the Radio News on 19th and 26th April we sought
expressions of interest in a limited number of
permissions to operate in the region of 500 kHz under a
licence to be issued to IRTS.

The expressions of interest which we have received
together with and application by IRTS for the necessary
licence have been submitted to ComReg. We would hope to
have a decision on this matter in the near future.

Some form of access to frequencies around 500 kHz has
been granted to amateur stations in the UK, USA,
Canada, Germany, Sweden, Belgium and the Czech
Republic. With the exception of Belgium all of the
other administrations have issued a limited number of
licences. We have sought the frequency band 501 to 504
kHz with a power of 10 dBW ERP (10 Watts0 which is the
same as is available in the UK.

IARU Societies worldwide are seeking some access to 500
kHz in support of Agenda item 1.23 on the provisional
agenda for WRC-11 which is to consider an allocation of
bout 15 kHz in parts of the band 415-526.5 kHz to the
Amateur service on a secondary basis, taking into
account the need to protect existing services.


IRTS AGM Photos

Brendan Nutley EI1429 has uploaded a great selection of
photos from our recent AGM. These photos can be viewed
on Brendan’s site which is www.mayoprintlab.com


Thanks to the IRTS for all the Information above .

UPDATE - 09/05/09

Rado Rallies

Sunday 09th May 2009

Mid-Ulster Amateur Radio Club Rally which is being
held at Drumgor Youth Centre, Drumgor Heights,
Craigavon, Co Armagh for more details or contact Bobby
2I0ULL on 0774 701 9438.

More information on Rallies can be found on the IRTS
website www.irts.ie/rallies

History this week

1791 Birthday of Samuel F.B Morse

SOTA Amateur Radio and Hill walking

Those who want to combine amateur radio with hill
walking can get involved in the Summits On The Air
("SOTA") programme. SOTA is a bit like IOTA, with hills
and mountains replacing islands. It is designed to
encourage portable operation in mountainous areas, and
there are awards for activators, who ascend to the
summits, and chasers, who either operate from home, a
local hilltop or are activators on other summits.

More than 20 countries are currently involved in the
SOTA programme, including Ireland - North and South.
There are 387 eligible summits in EI (of which more
than 50 have been activated) and 66 eligible summits in
GI (of which 36 have been activated). More details,
including a list of eligible summits and a lot more,
can be found at www.qsl.net/sotaei and at
www.sota.org.uk

With a view to encouraging more SOTA activity, an
International SOTA Weekend is to be held this
weekend.It is hoped that this event will see many
summit-to-summit contacts between different SOTA
associations, and give chasers the chance to work
activators from several different DXCC entities.


A New IOTA Directory

A new edition of the IOTA Directory celebrating 45 years of IOTA has been published and is available from RSGB HQ (see www.rsgbshop.org or telephone Sales at +44 (0)1234 832700). This 128 page edition features an historical review, the current year's Honour Roll and other performance tables, the latest IOTA island listings, DXpedition stories, the Most Wanted List, and articles on how to get started in IOTA. It is a 'must have' for anyone seriously interested in the programme.
Thanks to G3KMA for the above information.


2-metre DX contact video

Reg, G8VHI spotted this YouTube video of a QSO that took place on the 5th May.

The video, from Jose, CU3EQ in the Azores, shows his
2-metre contact with Tim, G4LOH in Cornwall.

The contact was first established in CW, after which they switched to SSB.

UPDATE 27/04/09

Hey all,

Well today everyone is Mr Samuel Morse Birthday! Happy birthday and Respect!
Believe it or not he was not a scientist - he was a professional artist. Educated at Phillip’s Academy at Andover, he graduated from Yale in 1810 and he lived in England from 1811 to 1815, exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1813. He spent the next ten years as an itinerant artist with a particular interest in portraiture. He returned to America in 1832 having been appointed Professor of Painting and Sculpture at the University of the City of New York. It was on this homeward voyage that he overheard a shipboard discussion on electromagnets. This was the seed out of which the electric telegraph grew. Morse is remembered for his Code, still used today throughout this beautiful hobbie, and less for the invention that enabled it to be used, probably since landline telegraphy eventually gave way to wireless telegraphy.

From 1837 Morse gave the telegraph his full attention, having set up in partnership with Alfred Vail, Professor Leonard Gail, and congressman F O J Smith. Vail provided funds and facilities at the family ironworks, and Smith legal expertise. There’s an irony, therefore, that disagreements with Vail led to litigation; Vail provided funds for lawyers, too. The telgraph was eventually patented in Morse’s name alone, an event granted by the US Supreme Court in 1854. Morse’s decision to abandon painting was possibly due in part to his failure in 1836 to secure a commission to paint the Rotunda of the Capitol building, a commission he had expected. He did not entirely lose contact with his art, being President of the National Academy of Designfrom 1826 to 1845.

The first message sent by the electric telegraph was "What hath God wrought", from the Supreme Court Room in the Capitol to the railway depot at Baltimore on May 24th 1844. There is a website on this topic. The words were chosen by Annie Ellsworth; in one letter Morse wrote this phrase with ‘God’ capitalised and underlined twice.

In 1847 Morse bought Locust Grove, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and built there an Italianate mansion. This is now a Morse museum, and annually hosts the Poughkeepsie Amateur Radio Society for its Morse Day. In old age Morse became philanthropic.

For his 80th birthday in 1871 a statue was unveiled in Central Park in New York on June 10th, with two thousand telegraphists present. Morse was not, but was that evening at the Academy of Music for an emotional acclamation of his work.

Although most people nowadays would think of Morse code being used for long-distance radiotelegraphy, the land-line telegraph was standard until about 1880 for short-distance metropolitan communication. Over longer distances the telegraph tended to follow the line of the railways because there were no difficulties over rights-of-way. The lines were mostly overhead, since the problems of insulating underground lines proved insuperable for many years - indeed the development of the original line was hampered owing to this problem.

The telegraph of course came to be important for the military, being used first at Varna during the Crimean War in 1854. It was widely used in the American Civil War, where rapid deployment techniques for land-lines were developed; the Spanish-American War found the first use of telegraphy for newspaper correspondents (1898). The first military use for radio telegraphy was during the Russo-Japanes War in 1904 - 5.

Telegraphists were, no doubt, a special elite; perhaps one of the first documented to suffer from repetitive strain injury. ‘Brasspounding’, that is telegraphy on a straight (up and down) key gave rise to telegrapher’s ‘glass arm’; it was this that motivated the invention of the ‘side-swiper’ or ‘bug’ key, the most famous maker of which is Vibroplex.

The code itself is discussed more in my Morse Code pages which I plan on uploading soon :)

The papers and correspondence of SFB Morse are in the Library of Congress; visit the Samuel F.B.Morse homepage for more details.


Mr Samuel Morse died on April 2, 1872 at his home at 5 West 22nd Street, New York City, at the age of 80, and was buried in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.

For those of you are reading this and don't know what the hell Morse code is, well it is a type of character encoding that transmits telegraphic information using rhythm. Morse code uses a standardized sequence of short and long elements to represent the letters, numerals, punctuation and special characters of a given message. The short and long elements can be formed by sounds, marks, or pulses, in on off keying and are commonly known as "dots" and "dashes" or "dits" and "dahs". The speed of Morse code is measured in words per minute (WPM) or characters per minute, while fixed-length data forms of telecommunication transmission are usually measured in baud or bps.

Morse code was extensively used for early radio communication beginning in the 1890s. For the first half of the twentieth century, the majority of high-speed international communication was conducted in Morse code, using telegraph lines, undersea cables, and radio circuits. However, the variable length of the Morse characters made it hard to adapt to automated circuits, so for most electronic communication it has been replaced by machine readable formats, such as Baudot code and ASCII.

The most popular current use of Morse code is by amateur radio operators withinthis wonderful hobbie, although it is no longer a requirement for amateur licensing in many countries. In the professional field, pilots and air traffic controllers are usually familiar with Morse code and require a basic understanding. Navigational aids in the field of aviation, such as VORs and NDBs, constantly transmit their identity in Morse code. Morse code is designed to be read by humans without a decoding device, making it useful for sending automated digital data in voice channels. For emergency signaling, Morse code can be sent by way of improvised sources that can be easily "keyed" on and off, making Morse code one of the most versatile methods of telecommunication in existence.

So there you go thats it in a nutshell, I will publish more about this code in future updates but for now here is some news thats floating around amateur radio in Ireland with thanks to the IRTS.



SOTA Amateur Radio and Hillwalking

Those who want to combine amateur radio with
hillwalking can get involved in the Summits On The Air
("SOTA") programme. SOTA is a bit like IOTA, with hills
and mountains replacing islands. It is designed to
encourage portable operation in mountainous areas, and
there are awards for activators, who ascend to the
summits, and chasers, who either operate from home, a
local hilltop or are activators on other summits.

More than 20 countries are currently involved in the
SOTA programme, including Ireland - North and South.
There are 387 eligible summits in EI (of which more
than 50 have been activated) and 66 eligible summits in
GI (of which 36 have been activated). More details,
including a list of eligible summits and a lot more,
can be found at www.qsl.net/sotaei and at
www.sota.org.uk

With a view to encouraging more SOTA activity, an
International SOTA Weekend is to be held on Saturday
2nd and Sunday 3rd May 2009, which is next weekend. It
is hoped that this event will see many summit-to-summit
contacts between different SOTA associations, and give
chasers the chance to work activators from several
different DXCC entities.

6-metre Guyana Dxpedition

The 6 Meter Beacon Project, Inc., is happy to
announce a HF-50 MHz DXpedition to Guyana between
June 16th and July 6th.

Antennas for 6 meters will be a 6M7JHV yagi at 45 ft.
on the Atlantic Ocean pointed towards EU and NA, and
using a 3CPX800A7 amp.

Activity will be split between two teams: 11 days will
be by Chris W3CMP and Dave N3DB, the other 11 days by
Terry K4RX and Ken AC4TO.

They hope to get some decent openings to, amongst other
places, Northern EU, 5B/4X and W6/W7. They expect to
have Internet access most of the time.

Operating frequencies and Web site will be announced at
a later date.




Rallies

More information on Rallies can be found on the IRTS
website www.irts.ie/rallies

History this week

1900 Marconi International Marine Communication Company
Ltd. formed.

1900 Marconi Patent 7777 for tuned coupled circuits.

UPDATE 22/04/09

History this week

1846 The telegraph ticker tape machine was patented by
R.E. House.

1900 First military (R.Navy) use of wireless in the
Boer War. 85kms.

1912 Titanic sinks, radio use results in saving
many lives.




Mayo Radio Experimenter Group

The IRTS radio news is transmitted every Sunday
evening on the Mayo Repeater (145.600) at 8pm local
time. The newsreaders are John, EI7IQ, Padraic, EI9JA
and Jimmy EI2GCB.

The Mayo Radio Experimenters are testing
simultaneous news transmissions on 50.375 SSB and
plan to add both 4mt and 70cms news transmissions
soon. Reception reports for the 6mts transmission
are especially welcomed.

The date for the Mayo Rally 2009 is Sunday November 22
at The Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar.



IRTS AGM

The IRTS AGM weekend, which is hosted by the Shannon
Basin Radio Club, takes place on Saturday 25th and
Sunday 26th April 2009. The venue is the Shamrock Lodge
Hotel Athlone, which boasts ample car parking space and
the best facilities around. The call in frequency will
be 145.350.

Tickets for the annual dinner are now available from
Brian Canning EI8IU, Brian can be contacted on 086
2514822 of via email from brianei8iu /at/ eircom.net

There will also be a Rally and Annual Gereral Meeting,
for further details in relation to the dinner or rally
please contact Brian EI8IU, Tony EI6DL, or Pat EI9HX
There is also lots more information available on the
AGM weekend from the IRTS website.

UPDATE 07/04/09

IRTS AGM

The IRTS AGM weekend, which is hosted by the Shannon
Basin Radio Club, takes place on Saturday 25th and
Sunday 26th April 2009. The venue is the Shamrock Lodge
Hotel Athlone, which boasts ample car parking space and
the best facilities around.

Tickets for the annual dinner are now available from
Brian Canning EI8IU, Brian can be contacted on 086
2514822 of via email from brianei8iu /at/ eircom.net

There will also be a Rally and Annual Gereral Meeting,
for further details in relation to the dinner or rally
please contact Brian EI8IU, Tony EI6DL, or Pat EI9HX
There is also lots more information available on the
AGM weekend from the IRTS website.

NOMINATIONS FOR AWARDS IRTS AGM 2009

The IRTS Awards Manager Peter EI4HX is seeking
Nominations for IRTS awards. The awards available are
for SWL, Construction, and Service.

There are no nominations as yet for Service or Merit.
Please send your nominations to Peter EI4HX at the
following email address.
<ei4hxperimental@eircom.net>


Licence Renewals

Arising from our meeting with ComReg on 12 February and
in the context of the commencement in the near future
of the issue of Lifetime Licences, ComReg has agreed to
accept applications for renewal of currently lapsed
licences under the existing arrangements up to Friday
17th April 2009.

All applications for renewal of lapsed licences should
be made on the ComReg Application Form 02/04R3
(available on the ComReg website at www.comreg.ie),
quoting the relevant licence reference number (LER) or
Call-Sign and be accompanied by payment of all
outstanding fees. In this instance ComReg, in departure
from standard procedure, is prepared to reinstate the
old Callsign on renewal of the licences.

Applicants should however include a letter giving a
brief explanation as to why the usual reminders which
may have been received from ComReg were not responded
to. If you are aware of anyone to whom this item is
relevant please bring it to their attention.

It should be noted that following the introduction
of Lifetime Licences all applications for new
licences, whether previously licensed or not, will
be required to pay the lifetime licence fee for new
applicants of €100.


HF Band Plan

Band Plans are modified from time to time to reflect
changes in international regulations and in operating
requirements. A new HF band plan comes into effect in
IARU Region 1 - which includes Ireland - on Sunday 29th
March. The new band plan takes account of the fact
that, under international regulations, the segment 7100
to 7200 kHz will be upgraded to 'amateur primary' from
that date.

The principal changes incorporated in the new band
plan are in the 40 metre band, with exclusive CW
now extended to 7040 kHz, and two SSB contest
preferred segments - from 7060 to 7100 kHz and from
7130 to 7200 kHz.

Priority for intercontinental operation will now be in
the segment 7175 to 7200 kHz. Revised centres of
activity for SSB QRP and emergency traffic are also
included in the new band plan.

SSB operators should note in particular that the new
band plan indicates lowest dial settings for LSB Voice
mode of 1843, 3603 and 7053 kHz

A copy of the new band plan may be downloaded from the
downloads page of the IRTS web site
www.irts.ie/downloads


'500 kHz Permissions

Arising from our meeting on 12 February, ComReg has
agreed to allow IRTS to seek expressions of interest
for a limited number of permissions to operate in the
region of 500 kHz under a licence to be issued to IRTS.

Expressions of interest are being sought equally from
both non IRTS and IRTS members. Stations to which
permissions are issued will have to send regular
reports to IRTS consisting of their experience of
propagation, type of propagation used, noise
experienced and methodology used on this band so that
these can be coordinated and periodic reports submitted
to ComReg.

Participants will be expected to keep a separate full
detailed log of all experiments conducted.

It should be noted that only a relatively small number
of permissions will be granted and expressions of
interest should only be made by those in a position to
carry out realistic propagation experiments in this
part of the spectrum.

An form on which to submit to IRTS an expression of
interest is available on the IRTS website at
www.irts.ie The final decision on the issue of permits
will of course rest with ComReg as the statutory
licensing authority.


Bus to IRTS AGM & Friedrichschafen

Tony Liddy EI9IL is putting on a bus for anyone who
wishes to travel to the AGM in Athlone. The bus will
depart from Limerick City on Saturday or Sunday
depending on numbers. Tony is also considering running
a bus to Friedrichschafen in June with lots of space
for anyone wanting to bring goodies back! Tony can be
contacted on 087-9912341


International Marconi Day 2009

Saturday, April 25th marks the 135th anniversary of
the birth of Marconi. To mark the occasion the Cornish
Radio Amateur Club will be holding its 22nd annual
International Marconi Day event and many stations with
historic connections with Marconi will be active on
that date. This is not a contest but several classes
of awards are available for making QSOs with the
special Award Stations. There are also SWL awards to
be claimed.

The Howth Martello Radio Group (EI0MAR) is an Award
Station and will be QRV during the event from the
vintage radio museum in Howth. This is a twenty-four
hour event but EI0MAR will concentrate activities from
9am until 5pm local time, and visitors will be welcome
during those hours. To coincide with the special event,
the North Dublin Radio Club will hold its weekly
meeting at the same QTH from 8pm the same evening.
EI0MAR's web site is www.ei0mar.org. For more
information about the event including a listing of
award stations visit www.gb4imd.org.uk.


Rallies

Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club

The Mid Ulster Amateur Radio Club will be hosting a
rally on the 9th May 09 at Brownlow Resource Centre,
Craigavon, Co Armagh.

More details are available at www.muarc.com, or email
the club secretary at cqmuarc@googlemail.com.

History this week

1938: On the 8th April 1938 the International Radio
Conference in Cairo concluded. This conference was
significant for radio amateurs as it started the
process, which continued over the following 2
conferences (Atlantic City 1947 & Geneva 1959) and a
period of 20 years, of the slow nibbling away at the 40
meter amateur band and re-allocating the spectrum to
broadcasting.

Last Sunday (29th March 2009), with the decision of
WRC2003 coming into force, amateurs after half a
century regained spectrum they were first allocated in
the Washington City conference of 1927.

-------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to the IRTS for the above Information

Update 02/04/09

HF Band Plan

Band Plans are modified from time to time to reflect
changes in international regulations and in operating
requirements. A new HF band plan comes into effect in
IARU Region 1 - which includes Ireland - on Sunday 29th
March. The new band plan takes account of the fact
that, under international regulations, the segment 7100
to 7200 kHz will be upgraded to 'amateur primary' from
that date.

The principal changes incorporated in the new band
plan are in the 40 metre band, with exclusive CW
now extended to 7040 kHz, and two SSB contest
preferred segments - from 7060 to 7100 kHz and from
7130 to 7200 kHz.

Priority for intercontinental operation will now be in
the segment 7175 to 7200 kHz. Revised centres of
activity for SSB QRP and emergency traffic are also
included in the new band plan.

SSB operators should note in particular that the new
band plan indicates lowest dial settings for LSB Voice
mode of 1843, 3603 and 7053 kHz

A copy of the new band plan may be downloaded from the
downloads page of the IRTS web site
www.irts.ie/downloads

'500 kHz Permissions

Arising from our meeting on 12 February, ComReg has
agreed to allow IRTS to seek expressions of interest
for a limited number of permissions to operate in the
region of 500 kHz under a licence to be issued to IRTS.

Expressions of interest are being sought equally from
both non IRTS and IRTS members. Stations to which
permissions are issued will have to send regular
reports to IRTS consisting of their experience of
propagation, type of propagation used, noise
experienced and methodology used on this band so that
these can be coordinated and periodic reports submitted
to ComReg.

Participants will be expected to keep a separate full
detailed log of all experiments conducted.

It should be noted that only a relatively small number
of permissions will be granted and expressions of
interest should only be made by those in a position to
carry out realistic propagation experiments in this
part of the spectrum.

An form on which to submit to IRTS an expression of
interest is available on the IRTS website at
www.irts.ie The final decision on the issue of permits
will of course rest with ComReg as the statutory
licensing authority. '

Look for better 5MHz propagation

As the end of March approaches, Experimenters holders a
5MHz Permit may like to note that after-dark
propagation on the East-West path to the USA peaks when
America also falls into darkness.

To check the condition of the path, listen out for AM
broadcasting stations WWCR in Nashville on 5070kHz and
WWRB on 5050kHz, which is also in Tennessee. Both
employ 100kW.

Operators should find US amateurs congregating on
5403.5kHz around 0100 to 0200 hours UTC.


European PSK Club Stations

The following European PSK Club stations have agreed to
make an effort to be active solely on 10.140 on the
29th as a fáilte for EI stations

CS2EPC, DK0EPC, K1EPC, M0EPC, MI0EPC, N4EPC, PA30EPC

The above is the list so far although more stations may
come available on the day.


Call for donation to keep beacons active

The midcornwall beacon and repeater group operate and
maintain two voice repeaters, one ATV repeater and more
importantly 5 VHF/UHF beacons. The beacons will go QRT
on the 2nd of April due to the rising cost of
electricity and the groups lack of funds to pay same.

The UKSMG (uk Six meter group) has stepped in to pay to
keep the 6m beacon on the air. Donations are required
to keep the others on the air. As beacons are a great
aid to VHF/UHF operators if anyone feels the can donate
to the club it can be done online using PayPal from
there website other options are available. The
recommended amount is 10 pounds and with STG being weak
that is under 11 euro, but any amount will help.

more details can be found on the MCB website which is
www.mcbarg.co.uk or email to John G0VDU at
g0vdu /at/ yahoo.co.uk if you do donate send John a mail and
state which beacon you want the payment to go towards
the ones most important to EI would be 2m and 4m


Radio Rallies

Today the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Rally in
Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh, Sunday 29th March. More
details are available on the IRTS website.

Date for Mayo Rally Announced.

The 2009 Mayo Rally will be held on Sunday November 22
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.

Stolen Radio

On the 18th march between 7pm and 9.30 pm an Icom207h
was removed from a vehicle at Tullamore outside
Atlantic Homecare anyone with any info please contact
ei5glb 0877757574


History this week

1885 Edison patents wireless induction telegraphy
between moving trains and railway stations.

1899 First wireless telegraph message sent across the
English Channel.

UPDATE 23/03/09

Licence Renewals

Arising from the meeting of the IRTS and ComReg on 12 February and
in the context of the commencement in the near future
of the issue of Lifetime Licences, ComReg has agreed to
accept applications for renewal of currently lapsed
licences under the existing arrangements up to Friday
17th April 2009.

All applications for renewal of lapsed licences should
be made on the ComReg Application Form 02/04R3
(available on the ComReg website at www.comreg.ie),
quoting the relevant licence reference number (LER) or
Call-Sign and be accompanied by payment of all
outstanding fees. In this instance ComReg, in a
departure from standard procedure, is prepared to
reinstate the old Callsign on renewal of the licences.

Applicants should however include a letter giving a
brief explanation as to why the usual reminders which
may have been received from ComReg were not responded
to. If you are aware of anyone to whom this item is
relevant please bring it to their attention.

It should be noted that following the introduction
of Lifetime Licences all applications for new
licences, whether previously licensed or not, will
be required to pay the lifetime licence fee for new
applicants of €100.

IRTS AGM

The IRTS AGM weekend, which is hosted by the Shannon
Basin Radio Club, takes place on Saturday 25th and
Sunday 26th April 2009. The venue is the Shamrock Lodge
Hotel Athlone, which boasts ample car parking space and
the best facilities around.

Tickets for the annual dinner are now available from
Brian Canning EI8IU, Brian can be contacted on 086
2514822 of via email from brianei8iu @ eircom.net

There will also be a Rally and Annual Gereral Meeting,
for further details in relation to the dinner or rally
please contact Brian EI8IU, Tony EI6DL, or Pat EI9HX
There is also lots more information available on the
AGM weekend from the IRTS website.


IRTS 40 Metre News Frequency

Arising from WRC-03 the 7100 to 7200 kHz segment of the
40 metre band will become amateur exclusive with effect
from the 29th March. In anticipation of this the IARU
Region 1 at its Conference in Cavtat in November last
adopted a revised 40 metre bandplan.

This bandplan would put the existing 40 metre radio
news frequency of 7043 kHz in a section of the band
which is for narrowband modes only. Accordingly, from
Sunday next, 29 March, the 40 metre radio news will
move 12 kHz higher in frequency to 7055 kHz which is in
an all mode segment of the band.

The radio news may ultimately move to a frequency above
7100 kHz depending on the capability of stations to
transmit above 7100 kHz.


HF Band Plan

Band Plans are modified from time to time to reflect
changes in international regulations and in operating
requirements. A new HF band plan comes into effect in
IARU Region 1 - which includes Ireland - on Sunday 29th
March. The new band plan takes account of the fact
that, under international regulations, the segment 7100
to 7200 kHz will be upgraded to 'amateur primary' from
that date.

The principal changes incorporated in the new band
plan are in the 40 metre band, with exclusive CW
now extended to 7040 kHz, and two SSB contest
preferred segments - from 7060 to 7100 kHz and from
7130 to 7200 kHz.

Priority for intercontinental operation will now be in
the segment 7175 to 7200 kHz. Revised centres of
activity for SSB QRP and emergency traffic are also
included in the new band plan.

SSB operators should note in particular that the new
band plan indicates lowest dial settings for LSB Voice
mode of 1843, 3603 and 7053 kHz

A copy of the new band plan may be downloaded from the
downloads page of the IRTS web site
www.irts.ie/downloads


IRTS News on Mayo Repeater

The IRTS news is now broadcast on the Mayo Repeater on
Sunday evenings at 8pm local time. The news readers are
John, EI7IQ, Padraic, EI9JA and Jimmy, EI2GCB. The Mayo Radio Experimenters Network
plans to extend the service soon. The Mayo club
will have a stand at the Enniskillen Rally this year.



New Canadian Island and Lighthouse activation

A Group of Canadian Amateurs will be activating
Bluffers Park Island (new CISA island) and new
lighthouse in Ontario.

The Group will be using a special call sign VC3Y on
March 21st-22nd, 2009, celebrating 50 Years of the York
Region Amateur Radio Club.

Rallies

Rallies during March include the Lough Erne Amateur
Radio Club Rally in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh on
Sunday 29th March. More details are available on the
IRTS website.


History this week

1909 Einar Dessau of Denmark makes one of the first
Amateur broadcasts via Shortwave Radio.


Thanks to the IRTS for all of the above information.

UPDATE 16 / 03 / 09

IRTS AGM

The IRTS AGM weekend, which is hosted by the Shannon
Basin Radio Club, takes place on Saturday 25th and
Sunday 26th April 2009. The venue is the Shamrock Lodge
Hotel Athlone, which boasts ample car parking space and
the best facilities around.

Tickets for the annual dinner are now available from
Brian Canning EI8IU, Brian can be contacted on 086
2514822 of via email from brianei8iu /at/ eircom.net

There will also be a Rally and Annual Gereral Meeting,
for further details in relation to the dinner or rally
please contact Brian EI8IU, Tony EI6DL, or Pat EI9HX
There is also lots more information available on the
AGM weekend from the IRTS website.

5 MHz Renewals

As we told you recently the present 5 MHz permits
expire on the expiry date of the associated licence and
an application to ComReg is required for their
continuance.

Where any change is being made in the equipment or the
antenna being used, the location of the station or in
the nature of the experiments being carried out then a
full application must be made on ComReg form 02/07R2
Radio Experimenter Licence: Additional Authorisation
(Powers and Frequencies) which is available on the
ComReg website at www.comreg.ie

Where no changes are being made a letter or e-mail
(derek.oreilly /at/ comreg.ie ) requesting continuance of
the permission will suffice but it must explicitly
state that no changes are being made to the equipment,
antenna or in the nature of the experiments being
carried out or the location of the station. Complying
with these requirements will simplify the processing of
these applications.



IRTS Radio News

The Galway news will be transmitted on a simplex
frequency of 145.550 (S22) each every Monday at 8
pm from Monday 23rd of March with Steve EI5DD as
the reader.



New Date for GlobalSET - April 18th

The date for the Global Simulated Emergency
Test(GlobalSET), sponsored by IARU Region 1, has been
altered to coincide with World Amateur Radio Day which
takes place on Saturday, April 18th.

The theme for the day of "Amateur Radio: Your Resource
in Disaster and Emergency Communication" is an ideal
opportunity to showcase the work of emergency
communications groups around the world.

The timing of the event remains at 1100-1500 UTC but
in a change for this and future events, the focus will
be on generating and relaying messages in a common
format across country borders rather than the
information gathering about capabilities which has
taken place in the past.

More information will be posted on www.iaru-r1.org and
www.raynet-hf.net as it becomes available.



Rallies

Rallies during March include the Lough Erne Amateur
Radio Club Rally in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh on Sunday
29th March.



Special Event Stations

The Galway Radio Experimenters Club will be operating a
portable station from Inis Mor on the Arann Islands for
the duration of ST. Patrick’s day.

Using the callsign EJ4GRC, they will be operating on
all bands and modes and a commemorative QSL card will
be sent to all stations worked, and also to any SWL's
that hear our station and request a card.

This is the first outing by GREC to the Arann Islands
but may not be the last so listen out on St. Patricks
day and seize the opportunity to aquire a QSL card from
the first ever trip to Arann.

EI7DAR will be active on St. Ptrick’s day on all bands
as part of the 40th Anniversary 2009.


GB5SPD St. Patrick's Day

The Foyle & District Amateur Radio Club MN0AKU have
been issued a Special Event Callsign - GB5SPD - to
celebrate Saint Patrick's Day 2009.

The Club will be on the air to celebrate this event
from Saturday, 14th March until Tuesday, 17th
March, 2009



CASHOTA-IRELAND

Members of the Galway VHF Group will be activating
Oranmore Castle on St. Patrick's Day, 17th March.
Oranmore Castle is situated on the shore of Galway Bay
only a few hundred yards from the Village of Oranmore.
Oranmore Castle is Designated EI/001/C for the puposes
of CASHOTA and it is located in WAB Square M32. The
station will be QRV on 80m, 40m and 20m, depending on
conditions.

The Castle was built sometime around the fifteenth
century. Oranmore Castle was the stronghold of the
Clanricards, a prominent Norman family, was then
surrendered to parliamentary forces in 1651, and was
leased to Walter Blake of Drumacrina in1666 and held by
that family until 1853.

The castle is presently owned by Commander William
King, his daughter Leoni and her husband Alec Finn of
De Danaan, Commander King served on three submarines
during World War II The HMS Snapper, HMS Trusty and HMS
Telemachus and was awarded seven medals for his bravery
during his service. Commander King was a prolific
writer and is probably also best remembered for his
successful solo circumnavigation of the globe which was
completed in 1973.

For further information about the CASHOTA-IRELAND award
check out our site at www.cashota-ireland.org




History this week

1910 Wireless Institute of Australia founded, world's
first AR society.

NASA TV to air Tuesday's space station spacewalk

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the March 10 spacewalk of Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov.

The pair will complete unfinished work from their December 2008 excursion outside the orbiting laboratory.

Fincke, KE5AIT and Lonchakov, RA3DT will don Russian spacesuits for the spacewalk out of the Russian Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, KE5FYE will monitor the spacewalk from inside the station. It will be the sixth spacewalk of Fincke's career and the second for Lonchakov.

NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 11 a.m. CDT Tuesday. The spacewalk will start at approximately 11:20 a.m. and last five and a half hours.

The centerpiece of the spacewalk will be the installation of a European materials science experiment, which allows short and long-term exposure to space conditions and solar UV-radiation, on the hull of the Zvezda service module.

The experiment, known as Expose, was installed on Zvezda during the December spacewalk but had to be removed and brought back inside the station because of a cable problem. That problem has been repaired.

For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

UPDATE

Rallies

Rallies during March include the Radio Hobbies and
Electronics Fair in the Limerick Radisson SAS Hotel on
Sunday 8th March, The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio
Society Rally in Hillsborough, Co. Down on Saturday
14th March and the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Rally
in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh on Sunday 29th March.

More details of these events are also available on the
IRTS web site at www.irts.ie/rallies

QSY of AMTOR Mailbox

The AMTOR-mailbox DA5TOR, SELCALL "ATOR" will move its
40m access frequency in order to comply with the new
IARU Region-1 bandplan per 29th of March. The new
frequencies are 7047 kHz, 7049 kHz and 7051 kHz. The
access frequencies on the other bands remain unchanged
and still allow worldwide access.

All frequencies and technical details of the mailbox
can be found on www.amtor.de . The new activity-center
of AMTOR is 7042 khz for direct connections.



Special Event Station

GB5SPD St. Patrick's Day

The Foyle & District Amateur Radio Club MN0AKU have
been issued a Special Event Callsign - GB5SPD - to
celebrate Saint Patrick's Day 2009.

The Club will be on the air to celebrate this event
from Saturday, 14th March until Tuesday, 17th
March, 2009



Certificate for operating VO-52

AMSAT India will issue a certificate to radio amateurs
who establish two-way contact through the VO-52 ham
radio satellite between now and May 5th. The first
fifty certificates will be sponsored and includes
postage. After the 50 certificates have been issued a
fee will apply.

Please send your QSL card containing the details of
your QSO on VO-52 to AMSAT India,No. 201, 2nd Main
Road, Mahalakshmi Layout, Bangalore 560086 India. Make
sure to include the mailing address where you would
like to have the certificate sent.


History this week

1876 Bell - Granted US patent for his telephone.


European PSK Club Stations

The following European PSK Club stations have agreed to
make an effort to be active solely on 10.140 on the
29th as a fáilte for EI stations

CS2EPC, DK0EPC, K1EPC, M0EPC, MI0EPC, N4EPC, PA30EPC

The above is the list so far although more stations may
come available on the day.



5 MHz Renewals

As we told you recently the present 5 MHz permits
expire on the expiry date of the associated licence and
an application to ComReg is required for their
continuance.

Where any change is being made in the equipment or the
antenna being used, the location of the station or in
the nature of the experiments being carried out then a
full application must be made on ComReg form 02/07R2
Radio Experimenter Licence: Additional Authorisation
(Powers and Frequencies) which is available on the
ComReg website at www.comreg.ie

Where no changes are being made a letter or e-mail
(derek.oreilly /at/ comreg.ie ) requesting continuance of the permission will suffice but it must explicitly
state that no changes are being made to the equipment,
antenna or in the nature of the experiments being
carried out or the location of the station. Complying
with these requirements will simplify the processing of
these applications.


Thanks to the IRTS for the above info.

EI5IX - NOW ON TWITTER

HERE IS THE CLICKY IF YOU WANT TO JOIN ME!!!

DX News

Nigeria EME and possible IOTA operation

Bodo, DL3OCH, who was recently active as KT3Q/4 from Key Biscayne Island [NA-141] in December, will be working from here between March 5th and July 24th.

Activity will be on all HF bands (160-10 meters) plus some operations on EME.

His expected callsign will probably be 5N/KT3Q.

There is mention that he may also activate the Bayelsa / Rivers / Akwa Ibom etc States IOTA Group (AF-076).

QSL via DL3OCH.

6W/IK4ALM - SENEGAL

IK4ALM, will be active as 6W/IK4ALM from Saly, Senegal between March 29th and April 9th.

Activity on 40-10 meters using CW and SSB with 100 watts into a ground plane.

QSL via home callsign.

BP0A - Penghu Island, AS-103

BM2AAV, BM2APH, BU2AT, BV2DD, BV2KI, BV2NT & BX4AF will be QRV between March 27 - 30 - all bands - as BP0A (Penghu Isl - AS103)

QSL via BV2KI

VX8X - Ellice Island, NA-192

Ellice Island, NA-192

VE8EV, VE8DW & VE8GER will be QRV from Ellice Island (NA-192) between March 20 - 23 as VX8X.

Activity mostly SSB on 40, 20 and 15m.

QSL details will appear on QRZ.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Dx World for the information: http://dx-hamspirit.com/

UPDATE 02/03/09

Rallies

Rallies during March include the Radio Hobbies and
Electronics Fair in the Limerick Radisson SAS Hotel on
Sunday 8th March, The Lagan Valley Amateur Radio
Society Rally in Hillsborough, Co. Down on Saturday
14th March and the Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Rally
in Lisnaskea, Co. Fermanagh on Sunday 29th March.

More details of these events are also available on the
IRTS web site at www.irts.ie/rallies

DX News

K5D

And so... it's over.. The K5D 2009 Desecheo Island
DXpedition is in the history books . Every one of the
team’s goals was exceeded; most significantly, the
number of QSOs. Total Qs: 115,728


This Week History.

1935 Radar first demonstrated by Robert
Watson-Watt, UK.

IRTS AGM

The IRTS AGM weekend, which is hosted by the Shannon
Basin Radio Club, takes place on Saturday 25th and
Sunday 26th April 2009. The venue is the Shamrock Lodge
Hotel Athlone, which boasts ample car parking space and
the best facilities around.

Tickets for the annual dinner are now available from
Brian Canning EI8IU, Brian can be contacted on 086
2514822 of via email from brianei8iu@eircom.net

There will also be a Rally and Annual Gereral Meeting,
for further details in relation to the dinner or rally
please contact Brian EI8IU, Tony EI6DL, or Pat EI9HX
There is also lots more information available on the
AGM weekend from the IRTS website.

Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club

A new repeater (GB3CP) is due to come online in South
Fermanagh. The frequency of the repeater input 145.1375
Tone 1750Hz/110.9Hz

The licence has been granted and just awaits
installation on Carnmore Mountain between Fivemiletown
in County Tyrone and Roslea in County Fermanagh. The
repeater will be situated in County Fermanagh.
145.7375

Any of the above information is open to change.



Special Event Station

The special event station of the Eddystone User Group
will air the calls GX3EUG / GX7EUG on 80m /40m on
Sunday March 1st 2009 from the site of the former WW2
RAF base at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire.

The site is due to be developed shortly into a vast
industrial estate.



Dxpedition requires operators

DXpedition members to Ogliuga Island, located about
80 miles West from Adak, Alaska. Have a quote from
100ft charter vessel, up to 8 people can be taken on
board. Estimated dates: 2nd part of July- 1st week of
August 2009.

New one IOTA NA-233. If you would like to participate
or have questions, please email N3QQ@NA-234.com

WAAB Award available

The radio club 'Rio de la Plata' began issuing the
W.A.A.B. (Worked Argentine Antarctic Bases) to radio
amateurs and SWLs as of April 1st, 2008.

To get the award the applicants must show they have
worked and confirmed by QSL cards, at least 3 different
Argentine Antarctic Bases. Contacts can go back as far
as November 9, 2001.



Thanks to the IRTS For the above information.