Club Lectures and Activities in 2013
December
There was a good attendance at the December club meeting when the annual Christmas Quiz was held. Liam EI4GB was, as usual, master of ceremonies. His ability to task the memories and knowledge of club members is well known and he did not disappoint again this year. A sincere thanks to Liam for all the hard work in organising a very enjoyable evening's entertainment.
November
Liam, EI7DSB introduced the Raspberry Pi to club members at the November meeting. The Raspberry Pi is a complete computer that takes up little more space than a credit card and a great way to get into Linux.
Members found Liam's talk very informative and no doubt it will result in members cooking the Pi over the next few months. Liam showed his in depth knowledge through working demos and he has also made his talk available to club members in a PDF document.
October
Regular club meetings resumed after the summer break. The chairman, Simon EI7ALB recapped on all the club activities over the summer months, which included a photo slide show.
Members were asked to propose events/activities that the club could consider participating in over the coming months. Also, Club members were asked to consider giving a talk at one of the regular meetings.
Club Sec Ger EI4GXB briefed members on his trip, with a group of EI young operators/SWLs, to the Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) which was held in Tartu, Estonia from the 5th to 12 August. There were 85 participants from 15 countries. Ger lead the Ireland team which included Lisa EI9GSB, as co leader, Caoimhe SWL EI1650, Kelsey SWL and Jordan SWL. Since returning from Estonia, Jordan has successfully sat the Amateur Licence and is, of now, the youngest licensed Amateur in Ireland. Congratulations to Jordon.
Barry Merrill EI/W5GN was presented with the Hal Hodgens Trophy by Ger EI4GXB (LRC & IRTS Club Sec) at the October Club Meeting.
September
Time to carry out some running repairs on the club antenna and equipment after the Summer months activities.
Some thought has gone into a method for transporting the SCAM over short distances. The Kenwood TS940 HF Transceiver, which developed a problem on the boat trip to Inisheer for the IOTA contest, has been repaired - the problem was with the optical encoder for the main VFO.
August
August was very busy, the club had another successful outing to Loop Head Lighthouse for the IL&LW on the 17th- 18th August. Thanks to Liam EI4GB who helped to move the club equipment to Loop Head and to Tom EI5CA for bringing the equipment on the return journey. The set up was similar to last year - two separate stations; one from the base of the lighthouse and the main station from the light keepers watch room. Ger EI4GXB provided his Yaesu FT2000 for the main station. The antennas used were a Cushcraft A4S, 40 and 80 m dipoles. The second station operated the club ICOM 756 PRO into a G5RV which was provided by Paddy EI8GY. Thanks to Brendan EI0CZ, Ger EI4GXB, Mike EI2IX, Liam EI7DSB, Alan EI8EM, Dermot EI2GT, Tom EI5CA and Simon EI7ALB who helped make the weekend very enjoyable while clocking up 865 unique contacts across 63 countries.
Over the IL&LW weekend attempts were made to bridge the Atlantic on 2 metres along with a moonbounce attempt in cooperation with our twinned club - the South Jersey Radio Association (SJRA). Our thanks goes to our colleagues in SJRA, and to Liam EI7DSB, Alan EI8EM and to Simon EI7ALB for their efforts and for planning those attempts.
A single station using the club ICOM-756PRO and Paddy's EI8GY G5RV was used during the Shannon AirVenture event on Sunday 25th August. Ger EI4GXB read the 80 m news from the station. Thanks to Ger EI4GXB, Tony EI2AW, Paddy EI8GY, Brian EI9AL and Simon EI7ALB who manned the station for the day.
Ger EI4GXB lead a team from Ireland to the Youngsters On The Air (YOTA) event in Tartu, Estonia from the 5th to 12th August. The team included Lisa EI9GSB, Caoimhe EI1650, Jordan SWL and Kelsey SWL. The event was organised by the Estonian Amateur Radio Union EARU. Fifteen countries attended.
July
The IOTA event was enjoyed by all. It was a wonderful team effort by: Brendan EI0CZ, Paddy EI8GY, John EI6IW, Tony EI9IL, David EI2GBB, Tom EI5CA, Colm SWL and Simon EI7ALB. Great credit is due to the team as it was no easy task to move all the equipment to and from Inisheer.
The club entered the low power section using the call sign EJ0A.
The team had a visit from Alan EI8EM and also four members of the EJ0PL team operating from Inishmore: Sean EI4GK, Adam EI5JD, Waldi SP7IDX and Dave EI9FBB.
June
Planning continued in preparation for IOTA. The club will operate from Scoil Chaomhin. LRC members will travel on Thursday 25th July from Doolin to Inisheer. Arrangements have been made with Tony EI9IL to transport equipment, antennas and masts along with those members who travel on the Thursday sailing from Doolin to Inisheer. Tony will leave Limerick at about 10:00 AM. The return from Inisheer will be the first sailing on Monday 29th July. Again Tony will transport club members and equipment from Doolin.
Clare County Council and the Commissioners of Irish Lights were contacted regarding the IL&LW from Loop Head.
May
There was a good turnout for the final meeting before the summer recess. Tom EI3AL gave a very interesting talk on Amateur Satellite Communications. Following the presentation there were many questions for Tom, which indicates a possible upsurge in interest in that area. Alan EI8EM brought along the hardware set up he used to have a QSO with Tom EI3AL. Satellite communications between Killarney and Ennis - does it get much better?
The Chairman highlighted the events planned for the coming months:
July: Islands On The Air on Inisheer starting at 12:00UTC on Saturday July 27th to 12:00 UTC on Sunday 28 July.
August: International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend for 48 hours from 00:01on 17th to 23:59 on 18th at Loop Head Lighthouse.
He emphasised that these planned events are open to all club members and that the logistics involved require a good turnout from club members.
April
Limerick was well represented for last weekends IRTS 2M Counties contest, and members are requested to send their logs to contest manager@irts.ie, deadline April 15th.
At the April club meeting Liam Rainford EI7DSB gave a talk on WSJT Modes and Simon Kenny EI7ALB gave talk on VHF DX including Moonbounce. The Talks dovetailed nicely together as the WSJT Modes make possible communications where in the past, using traditional modes, the cost and actual physical size of antenna put many amateurs off experimenting.
March
Radio Hobbies and Electronics Fair - Once again the Limerick Radio Club wishes to thank all those - Amateur Radio enthusiasts, Traders, Hobbyists, Bring & Buy and Club Members who participated in the annual Radio, Hobbies and Electronics Fair, which took place on Sunday 3rd March. While the numbers attending/visiting were down on previous years the club is very happy with the outcome. Many of the usual traders attended along with some new ones. Thanks to all who donated equipment to the Repeater Fund sale stand where Dermot EI2GT and Mike EI2IX were kept busy.
The club gratefully acknowledges the attendance of IRTS, Shannon Branch of the International Plastic Modellers Society and Shannonside Astronomy Club.
Thanks to Paddy EI8GY and John EI6IW, the raffle proved very successful with the following winners:
Bhi Digital Speaker: Donated by Graham Somerville, BHI UK won by Joe Ryan EI9HGB
Half Wave G5RVP: Donated by Stephen Boyd won by Brian Canning EI8IU
World Band SW RX: Donated by Long Communications won by Pat Fitzgerald EI2HX
ICOM Document Folder + ICOM Mouse: Donated by ICOM won by Christopher Mann EI9CZB
Souls of the Sea book: Donated by Frequencydb.com won by George Fitzgerald SWL
Kenwood donated pens and lanyards.
February
The AGM took place on February 13th in LIT. It was well attended with a turnout of 20 members. Apologies were received from several members who, through work and/or other commitments, could not attend.
Chairman, Simon EI7ALB, opened the meeting and called for 1 minute silence in honour of deceased members of the club. He outlined the activities undertaken by the club in what was a very busy year. Club members gave talks on a variety of topics during the year including Antenna Rotator problems and available control software, UHF Detection, Arduino Kits and the D-Star Dongle.
The purchase of the SCAM mast was considered a very good acquisition. The Chairman of Shannonside Astronomy Club, Dave Lillis, took club members on a virtual tour of the solar system and out into the universe at the May meeting. His introduction to the various types of telescopes and tips on purchasing telescopes was very well received. The IL&LW event in Loop Head Lighthouse was a major success.
Treasurer, Tony EI2AW presented the financial report and while the club is in a good financial position, he cautioned that the club had a number of exceptional expenses during 2012. The purchase of the SCAM mast made a significant impact on club funds.
Membership fees and fee structure has not changed for a very long time and the committee felt it was time to open a discussion on same, especially since the membership fees just about cover the bare running costs of the club. A lively discussion ensued resulting in a proposal from the floor that the fees and structure be changed when renewals fall due on 1st January 2014.
The following were elected to the various club Committee positions:
- Chairman: Simon Kenny EI7ALB
- Hon. Secretary: Ger McNamara EI4GXB
- Hon. Treasurer: Tony Condon E12AW
- Committee Members:
- Dermot Gleeson EI2GT
- Alan Cronin EI8EM
- Brendan Kilmartin EI0CZ
- Liam Rainford EI7DSB
Members were reminded of the upcoming LRC Rally on the 3rd March and the need for volunteers on the day. Commitments have already being made by 3 main traders along with Atlantic AirVenture Shannon and the Shannon Branch of the Plastic Modellers.
January
Richard EI8JE gave an excellent talk on the D-Star dongle. He has a wealth of knowledge on the protocols and procedures on setting up the Dongle, which he duly imparted through his presentation and the question and answer session.
Club Equipment - The club purchased some equipment from the estate of the late James Devereux EI6JP. This included the following:
ACOM 1010 Linear Amplifier
Heil Foot switchDL6000
Watson W-30 PSU
IRTS News Service - The following schedule of news readers has now been agreed:
1st Monday of the month: Simon Kenny EI7ALB
2nd Monday of the month: Simon Kenny EI7ALB
3rd Monday of the month: Brian Toner EI9AL
4th Monday of the month: Ger McNamara EI4GXB
