IRTS News for 12 February 1995 MIDLAND EXPERIMENTAL RADIO CLUB ------------------------------- the Midland Experimental Radio Club was re-activated last November, and is now up and running with great interest from its 20 members. The meetings take place on the 1st Tuesday of each month, at 8.30 pm, in the Jolly Mariner, Athlone. Elected officers for the year are: Chairman Noel Mulvihill EI5HW, Secretary Tony Magliocco EI6DL, Treasurer Joe McEvoy EI7HW. The members are already making plans to take part in NFD and JOTA with a view to promoting radio and its uses in the Midlands. The club will use the callsign EI5DU, and may even go island-hopping on Lough Ree with the /P station during the summer months. All are welcome to attend the meetings, and if you live in the Midlands, or just happen to be in the Athlone area on the 1st Tuesday of the month, do feel free to drop along and meet the lads for a chat. SOUTH DUBLIN ARC ---------------- The AGM of SDR will take place on Tuesday 28th February at the club's QTH at Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham. All members are requested to attend. As well as the election of a committee for the coming year the agenda will include a discussion on club activities for the next few months. It has already been decided by SDR members to activate Co. Leitrim over St. Patrick's weekend. An exploratory visit to Leitrim is planned for Saturday 25th February. If you are in the area listen on 145.350 from 10.00 am onwards. CARLOW AND DISTRICT ARG ----------------------- The AGM of the Carlow and district Group took place on 1st February in Carlow RTC, Kilkenny Road, Carlow. The Chairman, Jim Murphy EI8HA welcomed the members and gave a detailed report of the last year's events. The outgoing Secretary, Pat Hutton EI6HF, reported that five members had obtained their 'B' licences in 1994. Ten members were due to sit the theory examination on 10th February 1995, and two were to sit the morse test on the same day. Membership showed a continuing growth during the year with a healthy influx of young blood, reflecting a growing interest in the hobby from the public at large and from students in the RTC. Special thanks were expressed to the Dept. of Energy and Communications, with special mention of Peggy Connolly, Eamon Rossiter and Gerry Mulvin, who dealt so efficiently and patiently with many requests for information over the last year. Thanks were also expreesed to John Gallagher EI8BD, director of the RTC and to the staff of the college for the use of the college facilities by the club. It was hoped that there would be a few more on-air activities planned for the club station EI2CRG during the coming year. Meetings are held each Wdnesday at 8.30 pm in the RTC, preceded by morse classes, which begin at 8.00 pm. ST. PATRICK'S WEEKEND AND COUNTIES OPERATION -------------------------------------------- Interest seems to have dwindled in the securing of counties for the WEIC award. The award is still available and the re- quirements are simple. Basically a minimum of 20 counties have to be worked from your own QTH, and an endorsement is available for working all twenty six. QSL card confirmation is required when submitting the application for the award, and the cards will be returned with the award. For a while there was a huge interest in obtaining this award, but it would apppear that this is no longer so. If one or two operators were to remain on air after the call-ins following the news it might be possible to rekindle the activity, and this would also encourage operators to activate some of the rarer counties, making it possible for the newer licensees to obtain the WEIC award. Traditionally St. Patrick's weekend has been an opportunity to work a larger number of EI operators on the HF bands, and has, in the past, been a great opportunity to pick up those elusive counties. Perhaps a few clubs would like to co-ordinate a /P activity in some of the rarer counties over this weekend. If this is a possibility how about announcing your intentions through the medium of the radio news over the next few weeks? Kildare, Monaghan, Louth, Kilkenny, Sligo, Clare, Limerick, Offaly, Laois and Carlow spring to mind as the rarer counties, and it would be of great value if operation from them were encouraged over the holiday weekend. If your group intends to operate from any of these counties, please write into the radio news editor as soon as possible to enable the publicity to get underway. ITEMS FOR INCLUSION ------------------- That concludes the bulletin for this week. Items for inclusion in the radio news bulletins should be addressed to Steve Wright, c/o Department of Pathology, Regional Hospital, Galway. Fax messages may be sent to EI5DD at 091 24216. All such items will be forwarded to Dave Moore EI4BZ for inclusion in the printed news. Items for the printed newsletter only should be sent direct to Dave at QTHr, or phoned to 021 632444 (daytime) or 021 883555 (evenings). Items may be sent by packet to EI4BZ at EI7DKB-5, or by fax to 021 632730.