Irish Radio Transmitters Society
Radio News Bulletin

Sunday October 7th 2007
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Silent Key EI9HY

We are sorry to have to tell you of the death of Brian
Lynch EI9HY. Brian died three weeks ago after a short
illness. To his wife Eileen and to his three daughters
we extend our deepest sympathy. May he rest in peace.
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Important Anniversary

Tuesday last marked the 60th Anniversary of the
conclusion of the conference of the International
Telecommunications Union held in Atlantic City in 1947.
The outcome of this conference was very beneficial to
the amateur community. A new HF band was obtained at 21
MHz and above 30 MHz the basic structure of the amateur
bands up to 10 GHz was established. This included the
VHF 2 metre band and the UHF 70 cm band together with
the microwave bands at 13 cms (2.4 GHz), 6cms (5.7 GHz)
and 3 cms (10 GHz).
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Space Anniversary

Thursday last marked the 50th anniversary of the launch
of the first artificial Earth satellite. Sputnik 1 was
launched by the USSR on the 4th of October 1957. The
59-centimetre aluminium sphere weighed 84 kgs, had four
aerials protruding from the back and took about 98
minutes to orbit the earth. The satellite carried
batteries, which accounted for most of the weight and
two radio transmitters. These transmitters sent pulsed
signals on 20.005 MHz and 40.005 MHz and the length of
these pulsed signals varied depending on the satellites
temperature and internal pressure.

Radio amateurs throughout the world monitored the
signals from Sputnik 1 and the signals heard on Radio
Eireann here were recorded at an amateur station in
Dublin. The batteries in the satellite ran out after
three weeks on the 26th of October. The satellite
re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after three months
and burned up on the 4th of January 1958 after about
1450 orbits of the Earth. It is interesting to note
that just four years after the launch of Sputnik 1 the
first amateur satellite Oscar 1 was put into orbit by
the American Air Force on one of its rockets. This
satellite orbited the earth for 22 days transmitting
the familiar "HI"greeting in CW.
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City of Belfast Radio Amateurs Society

COBRAS (GI2BX) are based in the Social Club of the
famous Shorts aero-engineering firm in Belfast and
GB2MGY are closely associated with the nearby SS
Nomadic, the original tender ship of the Titanic.

COBRAS, the City Of Belfast Radio Amateurs Society look
forward to welcoming Mike McGirr, K9AJ as Guest Speaker
on Monday the 8th of October. Mike has become
synonymous with many of the most memorable DXpeditions:
Most recently, he was a CW operator and Team Physician
of the BS7H activation of Scarborough Reef. The talk
begins at eight o’clock in the COBRAS meeting room in
the Shorts Social Club on Holywood Road, Belfast and
all Visitors are very welcome to come along.
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CQIR

As you no doubt heard, CQIR caused quite a stir on the
bands last weekend. Despite poor propagation conditions
on the Saturday, Irish stations on all continents were
worked by the Society's headquarters station EI75IRTS
from their location in the Phoenix Park. The team had
erected a rhombic antenna with five wavelength legs at
a height of 65 feet beamed on the states and this
helped counter the poor propagation. The station made
eleven hundred QSO’s in the 24 hours of the Contest and
to date over a hundred logs have been received for the
event from around the world. Our thanks to all the EI
and GI stations who participated and remember to get
your logs in as soon as possible for inclusion in the
draw. Details of how to submit your log are available
on the IRTS website.
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AREN supports Charity walk

AREN members Declan Horan, EI9FVB and Conor O Neill,
EI4JN supported a walk in aid of the Irish Heart
Foundation on Saturday 29 September last. The walk in
the McGillicudy Reeks was led by Conor who radioed
regular reports to Declan through the Cork repeater.
Declan operated from his home QTH in Ballicollig Co.
Cork. The walkers encountered thick fog on the ascent,
which later cleared, giving way to clear skies and
spectacular views.
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Marconi Clifden Celebrations

On the 17th of October 1907 Guglielmo Marconi sent his
first commercial message from the then new station at
Clifden, Ireland. This October in celebration of this
historic event members of the Galway Radio
Experimenters Club will be running a special event
station from Saturday 13th to Wednesday 17th from
Clifden. The club has been issued the call sign
EI100MFT for the event, MFT been the last call sign
used on the original station.

On the Wednesday they will be making a special linkup
with the Marconi sister station in Glace Bay, Nova
Scotia. Part of this linkup will be an exchange of
greetings between President Mary McAleese and
Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia the Honourable
Mayann E. Francis. The group will also be honoured to
have Princess Electra Marconi present as she is coming
to Clifden for the festival along with an Exhibit from
the Marconi Foundation in Bologna. The Galway Radio
Experimenters Club will also be presenting a display of
vintage equipment. More details on the festival can be
found at www.clifden.ie. Visitors to the station are
more than welcome and if you would like to participate
this can also be arranged. For further information
please contact Enda Broderick (II2II) on 086-8676410 or
email: “enda dot Broderick at lightnet dot ie”.
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Marconi Lectures

Marconi’s achievements will be celebrated with a
series of Marconi Centenary commemorative events from
October the 12th to the 17th in Clifden, coordinated
by the Clifden Chamber of Commerce. The celebrations
include a lecture by Paul Duffy, Chartered Engineer
and historian, entitled ‘Marconi-The Engineering
Marvel’. This lecture will take place at the Clifden
Station House Theatre on Sunday the 14th of October at
1 p.m. Michael Sexton, Chartered Engineer and author
of ‘Marconi: The Irish Connection’, will give a
lecture on the national aspect of Marconi’s work at
the Clifden Station House Theatre on Monday the 15th
of October at 1 p.m.

Professor Peter Kennedy will chair a forum entitled
"Whither Wireless Communications? Marconi's Legacy in
the 21st Century” on Tuesday the 16th of October at
Clifden Station House Theatre. This forum will reflect
on Marconi's achievements and the future for wireless
communications.
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Waterford Rally

The Waterford Radio and Electronics Rally will take
place on Sunday the 21st of October at the Woodlands
Hotel on the Dunmore Road in Waterford. South East
Communications and Long Communications will be at the
rally. The IRTS, AREN and a bring-and-buy stand will
also feature.

Doors open at 11 a.m. and admission is 5 Euro,
accompanied children are admitted free of charge. For
details including a directions map, visit the South
Eastern Amateur Radio Group web site on www.searg.com.
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Upcoming Rallies

The Foyle and District Rally will take place on Sunday
the 4th of November 2007 at the White Horse Hotel,
Derry. For more information visit www.mn0aku.org.uk.

The Mayo Radio Rally will take place on Sunday the 18th
of November in the Belmount Hotel, Knock, Co. Mayo. For
more information contact Padraic Baynes, EI9JA @ QTHR.
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Talk on TETRA Digital Radio

There will be a free talk on TETRA digital radio in
Dublin on the Thursday the 11th of October at 6 p.m.
TETRA radio is a new secure radio system currently
being rolled out by the Gardai and is in use on the
LUAS tram system in Dublin. This system which operates
in the UHF band features mobile phone like dialling as
well as group calling like most PMR analogue systems.
It may be rolled out in the future for all emergency
and public services. The talk will be held at Engineers
Ireland, 22 Clyde Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, which is
beside the American Embassy.
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Items for inclusion in next weeks Radio News should be
forwarded to Mark Wall, EI7IS at QTHR or by phone to
051-853806 or 087-6302026. Items for the radio news can
also be faxed to 087 5 6302026. News should be
submitted via e-mail to “news 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 Friday
in order to be guaranteed inclusion in the following
Sunday’s bulletin.