Irish Radio Transmitters Society
Radio News Bulletin
Sunday 7th March 2010

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Free IRTS Membership for a Year!

A reminder to members that they have until the end of March to ensure
they are included in the draw for five free memberships for a year,
which will take place at the AGM in Dundalk on 25th April.

All members who pay their annual subscriptions by direct debit will be
included in the draw, full details of which were on page 15 of the
February members'newsletter.
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IRTS 78th AGM

Dundalk Amateur Radio Society shall be hosting the 78th
Irish Radio Transmitters Society A.G.M over the weekend
of Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th April 2010.

Further details for booking trader's tables or any
other info please e-mail the following Thos EI2JD at
email address chairman /at/ ei7dar.com or Peter EI4HX at email address
secretary /at/ ei7dar.com
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Iceland's radio hams get access to 70 MHz and 500 KHz

On February 19, Radio Amateurs in Iceland were granted temporary
experimental access to the 70 MHz and 500kHz bands.

Licensees holding "N" and "G" class licences can apply to the Icelandic
Post and Telecom Administration for a special permit for 70 MHz which
is valid until December 31, 2010 and gives access to 70.000-70.200 MHz.
Access is secondary with a 100 watt power limit and a maximum bandwidth
of 16 kHz.

Permits are also available for the 493-510 kHz band, only A1A is
allowed with up to 100 watts.
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NZ Amateurs Granted Access to 600 metre Band

Following submissions from NZ Association of Radio Transmitters
(NZART), the group that represents NZ amateur radio operators, the NZ
Government has agreed to grant NZ Amateurs temporary access to a slice
of the 600 metre spectrum.

From 1 March, NZ Amateurs will have access to a new band, 505 to 515
kHz on a temporary basis pending an international allocation to radio
amateurs and includes some restrictions:

These frequencies are, or may be, allocated for use by other services.
Amateur operators must accept interference from, and must not cause
interference to, such other services. Radiated power must not exceed 25
watts e.i.r.p. The bandwidth of emissions must not exceed 200 Hz.

On the international scene, work continues to gain a world-wide
allocation in this area through the International Amateur Radio Union
(IARU), the group that represents Radio Amateurs internationally. Once
this is approved, it is likely that the New Zealand Amateurs will be
granted a permanent allocation in the 600 metre area.
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St. Patrick's Day Special Event Station.

The Foyle and District ARC, situated 5 miles south of Derry, has been
allocated the callsign GB5SPD to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. The
callsign will be used over several days, from March 15th until March
17th.

While most of the contacts will be ssb, it is hoped to use digimode
this year for the first time. A special QSL card has been printed for
the occasion and reports from SWL's will also be most welcome. More
details may be found on the qrz.com page, GB5SPD.
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Dromineer Castle Activation

Members of the Galway VHF Group will be heading to Dromineer to
activate Dromineer Castle on Wednesday the 17th of March. The
designated number for this Castle will be EI-04-C. These numbers are
obtained from Steve, EI5DD, and are essential for claiming the
CASHOTA-Ireland and UK awards. Operation will be on 80, 40 and 20
metres from 10 AM until around 3 - 4 pm.

Dromineer Castle is situated next to the Harbour on the banks of the
Shannon, a popular mooring spot for the boating fraternity and an
excellent spot for a picnic. Galway VHF Group member, Declan EI2GE,
ownes the Hostel next to the Castle and will be preparing a fine feast
at the end of the day before the group heads back to Galway.

This is the first in a series of activations planned for this year.
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Bere Isl EU-121 Activation

Olivier ON4EI will be activating BERE ISLAND EU-121 as EJ8GQB, his new
Irish callsign (EI8GQB). This solo expedition is planned from 21st-29th
March 2010.

Activity will be 160-10m SSB/RTTY. HB: Spiderbeam beam LB: 18m vertical
mast top loaded + 30*radials Rig: K3 100W

He will also make part to the CQ WPX SSB CONTEST March 27th-28th 2010.

For more details about the trip, see http://www.qrz.com/db/ej8gqb
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Rallies

Lagan Valley ARS Rally 20th March

The Lagan Valley ARS Rally will be held at 11.30am in The Village
Centre, Hillsborough, Co Down.

Contact: Jim Henry, GI0DVU on 048 9266 2270

For further Rally info and contact details please check out the IRTS
Website at

http://www.irts.ie/cgi/rallies.cgi
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History this week

1876 Bell - Granted US Patent for his telephone.

1893 Edison opens first motion picture studio, West Orange, New Jersey.

1897 Marconi demos to UK Army etc achieving about 5kms.

1894 First steel sailing ship Dirigo, launched in Maine, USA. 1899 SS
"R F Matthews" collided with the lightship, which alarmed the
lighthouse ashore to get assistance. This was the first time ever a
distress call was transmitted by radio from a ship at sea! Sent 'HELP'
etc...
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Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be forwarded to
Charlie EI8JB, preferably via e-mail to "charlie dot carolan at gmail
dot com" Or by phone to 087-6265418 News can also be submitted via
e-mail to "newsteam at irts dot ie" for automatic forwarding to both
the radio and printed news services.

Please note that items for the radio news should reach the editor no
later than midday on Thursday in order to be guaranteed inclusion in
the following Sunday's bulletin.