IRTS News for 8th May 1994 SOLAR ECLIPSE ------------- Astronomers and radio amateurs in Northern Europe should note that a partial eclipse of the sun will take place on 10 May. In N. Europe it should begin at 6.35 p.m. and last until 8.30 p.m. local time. The time of greatest obscuration, as observed in Ireland, should be at 7.35 p.m., when the sun should be about 50 per cent covered. Enhanced MW reception may be noticed during the eclipse. Note carefully that on no account should one view the sun directly through a telescope, as this would cause permanent damage to the eyes. It is to be hoped that our prevalent cloud cover may lift sufficiently to allow observation of this event. COUNTIES ACTIVITY ----------------- Terry G0LUQ will leave Oxford on 29 May for a trip around the counties of Ireland. During the journey from Oxford to Holyhead he will operate the WAB squares through which he is passing for those interested in gathering more squares. He is also going to pay special attention to the rarer Irish counties such as Kildare, Laois, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon and Sligo, and hopes to incorporate other counties as well in his planned route. The W.E.I.C. award is still available, and can be achieved by working 20 of the 26 counties, and submitting QSL cards in proof of operation. There are often nets taking place after the HF news in which a scatter of operators from around EI may be available. Terry's trip should fill in the gaps and make it possible to achieve the award a little more quickly. CORK RADIO CLUB --------------- At their last meeting Cork ARC showed a video on DX operation, entitled "Secrets of DX", to a large attendance of members. The video was made in America, and is an excellent production. Anthony has planned a showing of a video on "Packet Radio" in a future meeting. Con EI7DJB will give a talk on the conversion of PMR equipment for use on 2m both as a receiver and as a repeater. Plans are well under way for the Cork Rally, to be held in the Blarney Park Hotel on 11 September. There is rumoured to be a spectacular twist to this year's Rally, so put the date in your diary. If there are any operators in the Cork area interested in Aren, Con EI7DJB would like to hear from them. Con is the 2m news reader for the Cork area, and he would be delighted to make a list after the call-ins, or he can be contacted directly at QTHr. FRC RADIO AND ELECTRONICS EXHIBITION ------------------------------------ FRC holds its Rally today in Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge. Admission is two pounds, and there is a talk-in on S22. The admission ticket entitles one to participate in the grand raffle for a 14" colour TV with remote control. GALWAY RADIO EXPERIMENTERS -------------------------- Meetings take place on 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month in Richardson's Bar, Eyre Square at 8.30 p.m. Matters for attention at the present time are the Galway Radio and Electronics Rally and the annual trip to Inishbofin Island. ARCHIVE MATERIAL ---------------- Following enquiries by Ian McStay EI7GX, the National Library has agreed to accommodate and catalogue archive material from IRTS, on the basis that it will fill in many gaps regarding the historical development of radio in Ireland. Jim Upton EI8Z has assembled IRTS minute books and 2 boxes of IRTS-related material from the 61 years since IRTS was founded. One major piece of history is the original minute book from 1913. It has been noted that much IRTS archival material has been spread amongst members down the years, and now that there is a safe place for it to be stored a special plea is issued for items of our history to be gathered together for all to view. Ian would welcome any calls at QTHr regarding such material. That concludes the bulletin for this week. Items for inclusion in the radio news should be sent to Steve Wright EI5DD, c/o Dept. of Pathology, Regional Hospital, Galway. Fax messages may be sent to EI5DD at 091 24216. All such items will be forwarded to Dave Moore for inclusion in the printed news. Items for the printed news only should be sent to Dave Moore EI4BZ, QTHr, or phoned to 021 632444 (daytime), or 021 883555 (evenings). Items may be sent by packet radio to EI4BZ at EI7DKB-5. Fax messages may be sent to 021 632730.