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South Dublin Radio Club: EI2SDR
Home News Amateur Radio- FAQ Photo album Links				SDR contributes regularly to the IRTS weekly radio news. Below are the items contributed by SDR in recent months as well as other recent news and future events.

				Latest News We continues to have talks regularly at the club and we participate in Lighthouse on the Air and Islands on the air each year. The most up to date news is on our mailing list which is only open to members.
				Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th August 2007. Lighthouses on the Air , club members should contact Dan if interested..
				South Dublin Radio Club AGM - Tuesday 13th March 2007 Minutes of 2006 AGM adopted – Paul Eustace. Chairman’s Address. Tom called a minute’s silence for deceased members of the club and read apologies from absent members. Tom complimented the club members who took part in IOTA last year with an improved world ranking of 15th place. Special thanks was particularly extended to Daniel for his trojan efforts in setting up the computers and software and to Alan for his work again on the antennas. Congratulations to Joe Ryan, Paul O’Kane and Jim Holohan who won the CW Field Day last June and well wishes to Brendan de Hora on his Dxpedition to Swaziland. Chairman’s report: proposed by Brendan de Hora, seconded by Joe Ryan. Treasurer’s Report. The Treasurer thanked Brendan for his help in drawing up the Treasurer’s report. He explained that due mainly to falling attendance the nightly subscription of €3 would need to be increased. Treasurer’s report: proposed by Tony Ryan, seconded Nicky Mullaly. Election of Officers. Chairman: Tom McGrath Tresurer: Paul Eustace Secretary: Daniel Cussen Committee: Mark Condon Jim Armstrong Tony Byrne Terry Webb A.O.B. A proposal was made to increase the nightly subscription to €5. This proposal was unanimously adopted. ( €2.50 unwaged .) -------------------------------------------------------- Other News We are again going to Inish Oirr for the Islands on the Air contest. Please let us know if you are interested as there is a seperate email list as some SDR members are in rival groups.

				17 February 07 Also in other news the SDR HF aerial was replaced as planned last Saturday. A cherry picker was hired and the entire aerial including brackets and feeder was replaced.
				25 October 2006 Autumn Challenge! The SDR Autumn Challenge takes place in November. This challenge, which is open to SDR members only, is designed to encourage members to be active on the air during November. There are 3 sections, including a section for newly licensed members and a VHF section; so there is something for everyone. Prizes will be presented to the winners of each section at the Christmas Party.
				05 June 2006 EI2SDR was on the air for CW Field Day, operating from Garbally College, Co. Galway. Jim EI4HH, Paul EI5DI and Joe EI7GY were the operators. Band conditions were excellent, and we had over 750 QSOs in the 24 hours, using just 100W to a Windom antenna. See Paul's pic on the IRTS web site today (Monday), while Jim's pic will be on the IRTS site on Wednesday of this week.
				02 May 2006 South Dublin Radio Club On the 2nd of May, South Dublin Radio Club presented the prizes for two of the competitions that the club hosts. The first was for an internal club competition for working as many DXCC entities as possible for the year 2005 (DXCC 2005 Competition). The winner was Nicky Mullalley EI9JF with a score of 229 entities. The runner up was Mark Condon EI6JK with a total of 129. Nicky received a gift cheque for 100 Euro.(PHOTO A) The second competition is the SDR Spring Challenge which had a number of entries for both the Open and Restricted sections. Mark EI6JK (PHOTO B)was the winner of the Open section and Brendan EI0CZ was the winner in the Restricted section. Both received a gift cheque for 50 Euro. Many thanks to all who took part especially Tom Kelly EI2AJ who always makes a gallant entry. All are welcome to take part in the next SDR Challenge next February: rules can be had from the club Secretary or soon from the club's new web address - www.SouthDublinRadioClub.ie. Please click here to see photos
				02 May 2006 SDR Spring Challenge Prize Results Greetings. At its meeting last Tuesday night 2nd. May South Dublin Radio Club presented the prizes for two of competitions the club hosts. The first was for an internal club competition for working as many DXCC entities as possible for the year 2005 (DXCC 2005 Competition). The winner was Nicky Mullalley EI9JF with a score of 229 entities. The runner up was Mark Condon EI6JK with a total of 129. Nickey received a gift cheque for €100. The second competition the SDR Spring Challenge had a number of entries for both the Open and Restricted sections. Mark EI6JK was the winner of the Open section and Brendan Kilmartin was the winner in the Restricted section. Both received a gift cheque for €50. Many thanks to all who took part especially Tom Kelly EI2AJ who always makes a gallant entry. All are welcome to take part in the next SDR Challenge next February: rules can be had from the club Secretary or soon from this web site. Regards.
				25 Feb 2006 Paying respects It is with regret that I must announce that one of EI2SDR's long term members has passed away, Tommy Griffin, EI9BTB, has passed away, his funeral will held on Tuesday 28th Feb, as a result of this the club will not be meeting on Tuesday 28th Feb.
				11 Feb 2006 Largh A group of hardy individuals set out for Troopers town hill on the afternoon of Sat 11th February to fulfil a long planned field operation. The group met in Largh and proceeded to find the spot where they had operated from on a previous occasion. after scouting around for a while the caravan of jeeps, trailers and cars eventually found a spot. By this time the weather had deteriorated and a large tent, generators, radio, fuel, antennas and various other items of equipment were unloaded in strong winds and rain. With all hands on deck the station and accommodation were soon ready, and Tom EI7HT had a welcome pot of tea for the group. Plans for the antennas had to be curtailed due to bad weather conditions. The station consisted of the club's FT920 transceiver, feeding a 40m vertical with 8 radials. Conditions were relatively good except the bands were crowded with the Dutch PACC and the CQWW contests. The operation was casual and laid back with contacts made on SSB and CW and lots of chat and ( Click here for photos
				02 Dec 2005 Christmas Doo The Christmas Doo this year will be held in the usuall venue "The Morge" pub in Temoelogue. EI2SDR Christmas Party will start at 2000hrs till late.
				25 Jun 2005 Lighthouses on the Air A group of ten members from South Dublin Radio Club travelled to Inishowen to activate the lighthouse there for the Lighthouses on the Air weekend. The lighthouse is located on the Inishowen Peninsula near Moville Co. Donegal. Over 200 contacts were made including a KL7 and an HS station using only wire antennas and 100 watts! The operation was organised by Daniel EI9FHB and much thanks is due to him for his superb efforts and not forgetting the hospitality of the Lighthouse keeper through out the weekend. Members also took time out to examine the lighthouse equipment and were very impressed by what they saw. The lighthouse reference is IRE043. To see photos from this event click here
				05 Jul 2005 IOTA on Inisheer For the second year running an all-Ireland 18-man team revisited Inisheer Island (EU-006) to take part in the 2005 IOTA Contest under the callsign EJ0GI. The group entered the high-powered multi-op section with a vast improvement on previous years with a best ever score. This was the fourth successive year for the group to enter this contest. We operated from the only school house on the island and the venue proved to be an ideal location. And every thanks is due to the Principal for all his co-operation, assistance and hospitality. Thanks was also due to the owners of only hostel on the Island who accommodated the group very well. The local population was also very hospitable and showed a keen interest in the operation and we provided a colour piece regarding Amateur Radio and IOTA for their inter-island magazine and for the RTE maritime program “Seascapes” which was broadcast on August 25 th . The whole team had a wonderful time and the whole operation was a resounding success. So all you big guns out there Beware! To see photos from this event click here
				31 May 2005 There will be a sale of used radio equipment and accessories in the QTH of South Dublin Radio Club at 8.00 pm on Tuesday next, 31st May. All are welcome. The South Dublin Radio Club QTH is in the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham.
				25 Jan 2005 2nd Annual SDR Photo Competition Reults and winning photos can be found here.
				11 Jan 2005 2nd Annual SDR Photo Competition. Closing date for entries is 11th Jan 2005, presentation of prizes is 25th Jan 2005. This Photo Competition should be as every bit as successful as last years. A full list of categories and rules can be found here.
				14 Dec 2004 SDR Autum Challenge. The purpose of this challenge is to ancourage SDR members to become more active on the HF and VHF bands, at least for a month. The "challenge" is to work as many DXCC entities on as many HF bands as possible or to contact as many call signs on VHF as possible. The rules can be found here.
				29 Nov 2004 SDR Telecom. This is an affinity partner of The South Dublin Radio Club. If you are still connected with Eircom, and wish to support SDR, this project may be of interest to you. Members who subscribe to this service recieve a flat 5% discount against the standard Eircom Tariff (verified on the monthly bill). SDR recieve a cash sum monthly equivalent to 10% of the members paid call bill. There is no minimum contract. A paperless changeover can be made by ringing: 0818 200 555 For mor details contact Norbert O'Brien (EI7JG) 085 710 2211
				30/31 Oct 2004 CQ World Wide. South Dublin Radio Club & Glengormley Electronics Amateur Radio Society. Members of the South Dublin Radio Club once again teamed up with their twinned club members from the Glengormley Electronics Amateur Radio Society. Three members of the South Dublin Radio Club met with four members from G.E.A.R.S. to run signal tests on an experimental half-wave vertical helium Balloon antenna, able to opperate on 20m, 40m and 80m. The experiment took place in Co. Antrim, in a barn arranged by Alan GI0PCU. The antenna and balloons were designed and acquired by Norbert EI4JG, and the helium was acquired by Alan who also generously provided accommodation for all the SDR members. Tom, Norbert and Matthew made, positioned and adjusted the antenna for the different bands. Two junior operators also accompanied us on the expedition. Adam (Norbert's son) and Stephen (Tom's grandson) both aged 13. They both showed great interest in the hobby and were delighted to speak to a UK exhibition station. The members there were: Tom EI7HT, Alan GI0PCU, Norbert EI4JG, Dave 2I0NIR, Davy GI3OBO, Matthew EI7JL, Bill MI0XMN, Adam and Stephen. Needless to say the antenna provided outstanding performance and many contacts were made from 20 M to 80 M running only 100 W at all times with very complimentary reports being given. Much valuable information was learned from the weekends experiments. This was a very interesting event with a good team spirit. The use of this kind of antenna was a first, and definitely not a last for everyone present.
				24/25 July 2004 South Dublin Radio Club & Glengormley Electronics Amateur Radio Society. Members of the South Dublin Radio Club once again teamed up with their twinned club members from the Glengormley Electronics Amateur Radio Society (helped by Brendan EI0CZ) to activate a west coast island in the IOTA Contest. Nineteen bodies made the trip from Rossaveel to Inisheer on the Thursday afternoon and helped by the local tractor owner, got all the gear quickly moved to the school, their shack for the weekend. The island hostel was completely taken over by the group with a few members using local B & B establishments. All the catering requirements were brought from the mainland and chef Dave 2I0NIR keep the troops well fed and watered for the weekend. Two complete stations were set up using two tribanders, a bobtail curtain for 40m (by Norbert G3ZEV) and dipoles for 80m. The rigs were a TS850 and IC 756PRO and two laptops were networked using Writelog logging software. Band conditions were considered poor but lots of G stations were worked on 40m. The QSO total was around 1150 with 250 multipliers worked. Much of the activity was on CW, ably operated by Brendan EI0CZ and Davy GI0OBO. This group are improving with every outing and are already looking forward to next year. The team worked very well and all the gear was packed up by Sunday night and was followed by a great session in the local pub. 6m and 2m stations were set up at the hostel and some good DX was worked before departure on the Monday. The team members were: Paul EI2GSB, Kyle EI2JO, Tom EI7HT, Tony EI7JN, Tony EI9FIB, Nicky EI9JF, Mark EI6JK, Paul Daniel EI9FHB, Matthew EI7JL, Brendan EI0CZ, Jim EI1492, Dave 2I0NIR, Norbert EI4JG, Alan GI0PCU, Davy GI3OBO, Bill GI6EJW, John MI0JFC, Bill MI0XMN
				11 July 2004 At a recent meeting of South Dublin Radio Club, the prizes for the club's annual Spring Challenge were presented. This year, the winners were as follows; In the Restricted (CW only) section, the winner was Tom Kelly EI2AJ. Tom is a QRP fan, but in view of the poor band conditions this year, he admitted that he increased his power to 30 watts while participating in the Challenge in February. The Open section winner was club member Mark EI6JK. The Spring Challenge takes place every year during the month of February, the challenge being to work as much DX as possible during the month.
				4 July 2004 Any CW operators out there? South Dublin Radio Club members are combining with some of the GEARS club members from County Antrim to operate in the IOTA contest at the end of July. They plan to operate from Inisheer, one of the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway and are looking for CW operators to join the team for the contest. Anyone who might be interested in this is asked to contact Kyle O'Connell by phone to 087-4169845, or by email to mail@kyleoconnell.com. One of the antennas which the group plans to use during the IOTA contest is a Bobtail, which has been tested extensively by SDR members in recent weeks. The antenna appears to have excellent gain over a range of angles of elevation, especially on the 40 metre band.
				10 May 2004 As part of the Day of Welcomes celebrations on 1st May in Bray Co. Wicklow, members of South Dublin Radio Club operated the Special Event Station EI25CY. The QTH was in a portacabin on the promenade, right in the middle of the celebrations organised by Bray Town Council to mark the accession of 10 new countries to the EU. The emphasis of the celebrations was on Cyprus, which was Bray's "twin" for the day. The seaside location proved to be excellent from a propagation point of view, ensuring plenty of pile-ups for the day. The antenna used was a G5RV. Visitors to the QTH included Jan OK1FWC (from the Czech Republic) and Janusz SP9JZT/ EI9JN (from Poland), both of whom helped to pull in stations from their native countries. For the second day of the weekend, the call sign was activated from the QTH of Nikki EI9JF in County Kildare. Right up to midnight, there was great demand for the call, helping to give a final total of more than 1,600 QSOs in the log. Congratulations to Robert Fitzsimons, a member of the SDR Committee and who recently passed the Theory Examination: Robert has now been issued with the call sign EI2GQB At an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 4th May, club members adopted a new Constitution. The main reason for the change in the Constitution was to make it easier for special activities such as contests and special event stations to be run by club members.
				3 May 2004 At a recent meeting of South Dublin Radio Club, Paul O'Kane EI5DI made a presentation on his participation in the DXpedition to Rodrigues Island in the Indian Ocean. Paul was able to give a first-hand account of the expedition, including the equipment used and operating procedures. His presentation was illustrated with slides of the island, the antennas and the operators. Paul finished the presentation with tips for would-be DXers.
				26 April 2004 At a meeting on the 13th of April last, members of South Dublin Radio Club discussed the proposed draft new constitution for the club. A number of changes to the original draft were discussed and agreed. A revised draft, incorporating these changes, can now be downloaded from the club's web site Paul O'Kane EI5DI will be attending the club meeting on Tuesday 27th of April to talk about his experiences on the Rodrigues Island DXpedition, contesting tips and how to get the best from his SD program.
				12 April 2004 An announcement about two important meetings for South Dublin Radio Club members. The committee is planning to put a proposal to members to adopt a new constitution. The change is being proposed to facilitate the running of a wide range of activities within the club and in particular to make provision for sub-groups with special interests to operate. Copies of the draft of the proposed new constitution have been handed out at recent club meetings, and may also be downloaded from the club's web site. An Extraordinary General Meeting to consider this proposal will take place at 8.00 p.m. on Tuesday 4th May, in the club QTH. An information night, to discuss the new draft, will be held on Tuesday 13th April. This is a very important move for the club, and all members are strongly encouraged to participate on both nights.
				9 March 2004 Three members of South Dublin Radio Club sat the recent Radio Theory examination, and all three passed. They are Paul Eustace, Michael Friary and Robert Fitzsimons. Well done to the three, and also of course to Jim EI4HH who steered them through the theory course over the past few months. This good news led to a double celebration in the club QTH on Tuesday 9th March: firstly for the 100% success rate in the recent examinations, and secondly for the receipt by the club at the IRTS President's Cup, in recognition of the club's cross-border activities.
				27 February 2004 SDR members travelled to Carrickfergus for the annual GEARS Quiz. Last year, they won the quiz, but their luck ran out this time, and they had to settle for 4th place. In any case, it was a very enjoyable night, with plenty of eyeball QSOs between the SDR and GEARS members.
				24 February 2004 The annual general meeting of South Dublin Radio Club took place on Tuesday 24th February. There were 20 members at the meeting, with 4 visitors also in attendance. It's been a busy year for the club, with plenty of activity, including contests, antenna experiments and other outdoor activities. The three existing executive officers - Chairman Tom McGrath EI7HT, Secretary Mark Boothman EI9IB and Treasurer Mark Condon EI6JK - stepped down from their positions, in accordance with the club's constitution, and elections were held for a new committee. The new committee elected for 2004 was as follows: Chairman: Jim Holohan EI4HH Secretary: Daniel Cussen EI9FHB Treasurer: Tony Ryan EI9FIB Other committee members: Rob Fitzsimons SWL Kyle O'Connell EI2JO Tom McGrath EI7HT Nicki Mullally EI9JF A number of activities are already planned for 2004 - including a club outdoor activity day, focusing on antenna experiments, on 13th March, and an intra-club contest based around the next SSB EU Sprint Contest. Ideas for further activities were floated at the AGM, to be considered by the new committee.
				7 January 2004 - post by Daniel Cussen to EI2SDR Discussion Group Xmas party - Very Successful Xmas draw 30 tickets sold at 5 Euro each Next Tuesday 13th of January Visit to Dublin Port Radio. Meeting at the Shell garage beside the point theatre at 8pm sharp. After the visit we will go to the morgue in Templogue for drinks as usual. For those who can't go to the port the normal club night is still on. Those visiting the port will need to be paid up members for last year OR this year. If you haven't paid your 12 euros membership or you bring a non-SDR member then they will have to pay on the night. Sat 17th/ Sunday 18th January. We will be testing a bobtail HF antenna in the Wicklow Mountains. Kyle is organising this. Those who want can camp overnight. More details at the next meeting. Contest group meeting Tuesday the 20th of January next. Meet at the normal club night. Theory exam on 4th of February in Comreg in town. Those who want to sit the test please ring Derek at Comreg ASAP. AGM Tuesday 24th of Feb. New committee will be elected. The current Secretary (Mark Boothman), Treasurer (Mark from Crumlin) and Chairperson (Tom 7HT) will not be able to go for re-election to the same post so the committee will change. Radio Club Quiz on Friday 27th of Feb in Belfast (Gears) We wone it last year. 2 cars went up. Hopefully similar this year. Held in the hotel where Gears normally meet. 10 April EU Sprint uses 20, 40 and 80 metres. SDR will be giving its own prize. 100W max for SDR members Photos from recent events at: http://www.qsl.net/ei2sdr/ Thanks to Joe for updating the site.
				4 January 2004 The committee of South Dublin Radio club has organised a visit for SDR members to Dublin port radio. On Tuesday January 13th SDR members will get to visit Dublin Port Radio where they will get to see how the operation works. They will also get to 'see the face' behind the regular weather and safety broadcasts given on marine VHF frequencies. Membership of SDR is of course open to all and new members are welcome.
				16 December 2003 At the recent SDR Christmas Party, the winners of the club's Autumn Challenge were announced. Mark Condon EI6JK won the Open Section, Joe EI7GY was the winner of the restricted, CW only, section (to win the prize, Joe concentrated on 30 metres the month of November), while Thos EI2JD won the VHF section, with a combination of 2 metre and 6 metre contacts.
				13-14 December 2003 Members took part in the ARRL 10 metre contest from the shack of Nicki EI9JF. Band conditions were fairly poor, with limited openings to the US and Canada. However, European and South American stations were heard during daylight hours for much of the two days.
				9 December 2003 South Dublin Radio Club recently held a photo competition among its members. 70 photos in all were entered. The competition categories included a number of amateur radio related pictures. The winners were announced on Tuesday 9th December. Brian Cusack EI7FB, one of the founders of SDR, who is a professional photographer, was the judge. In announcing the winners, Brian made the point that some of the winning entries were well up to professional standards. The first prize went to Charlie EI7HG, with his "UFO Footprint" photo taken on Stradbally Beach. Other prize winners were Kyle EI2JO (one of his picturers is a most unusual close-up of a printed circuit board), Jim GI0BJH, Mark EI9IB, Alan GI6IXD and Tom EI7HT. SDR's final meeting of the year is its Christmas Party in the Templeogue Inn on Tuesday next, 16th December at 8.00 pm. As previously reported, the highlight of the night will be the announcement of the SDR Autumn Challenge Winners. As the Challenge was hotly contested this year, there is considerable interest in the result.
				9 September 2003 Classes in radio theory will commence in South Dublin Radio Club on Tuesday 23rd September, at 8.00 pm. Anyone interested in joining these classes is asked to come along, if possible, to the next club meeting, on Tuesday 16th September, so that the club can gauge the demand for classes. The classes will be held in the club QTH, which is the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
				3 August 2003 There will be no meetings of South Dublin Radio Club for the first two weeks of August. The next meeting will be on Tuesday the 19th of August, at the usual time of 8.00 pm. Visitors and new members are always welcome. The club meets on Tuesdays at 8.00 pm at the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham. Members of South Dublin Radio Club and its sister club GEARS, from County Antrim, operated in the IOTA Contest from Inisbofin, off the Galway coast. The callsign used was EJ2SDR. A lot of planning went into this years event, using the lessons learned from the group's first contest operation in the 2002 IOTA Contest. Computer problems forced them to resort to paper logging, but that apart, the event went well. Band conditions seemed well down on previous years, with little or no activity on 10 metres.
				20 July 2003 South Dublin Radio Club is delighted to note that two of its members have received "A" call signs within the past few weeks. They are Tony Byrne formerly EI9FLB, who now has the call EI7JN, and Kyle O'Connell who has upgraded from EI9FGB to EI2JO. Congratulations to both, and we look forward to working them on the HF bands.
				13 July 2003 On Tuesday the 1st of July last, the radio equipment owned by the late John Kearns EI8DE was sold at the weekly meeting of South Dublin Radio Club. John Kearns was interested in many different aspects of radio, including HF DXing and satellite operation, so there was a wide range of HF and VHF equipment on offer. The sale was well attended by SDR members and visitors, and everything was sold. Sean EI4GK, Declan EI9HQ and Joe EI7GY - who organised the sale on behalf of the Kearns family would like to record their appreciation to South Dublin Radio Club for their assistance in arranging the sale.
				22 June 2003 At the South Dublin Radio Club meeting to be held at 8 p.m. on Tuesday July the 1st a sale will take place of the equipment of the late Dr. John Kearns EI8DE. John who died in 1999 was a DXer of note who had a particular interest in Satellite operation. His equipment is all in excellent condition and many items come complete with manuals, etc. The items for sale will all carry realistic price tags and will not be auctioned. A list of the items available in the sale may be found on the SDR web site www.qsl.net/ei2sdr. Additional items may be added to the list before July the 1st.
				25 May 2003 The winners of the SDR Spring Challenge which is based around HF activity during the month of February every year were announced recently. They are, in the Open Section, Mark Condon EI6JK and, in the restricted section (CW - one band only) Thos Caffrey EI2JD. The winners were presented with their trophies at a recent club meeting. Joe EI7GY, who checked the logs, reports that he had a particularly difficult task this year, as Mark's claimed score was only one point ahead of his nearest rival, Hugh O'Donnell EI2HI. All logs were checked in detail, and Joe was able to confirm Mark as the winner. Congratulations to South Dublin Radio Club member Tony Byrne EI9FLB, who has just passed his Morse test.
				27 April 2003 South Dublin Radio Club was awarded the Pat Conway Cup at today's IRTS Annual General Meeting. The Cup - which is awarded for "exceptional service to the IRTS or to Amateur Radio" - was given to the club this year in recognition of its activities throughout the year, including its frequent cross-border contacts.
				21 April 2003 Helping to put at least five counties on the air for the Easter Monday 2 metre Counties Contest, members of South Dublin Radio Club decided to spread themselves around the country for the contest. There were six separate entries from SDR members: Nicholas EI2JL and Joe EI7GY activated the club call from Bencroy, County Leitrim. Kyle EI9FGB braved the elements by participating in the contest from the summit of Tonlagee (which is 817 metres above sea level) in County Wicklow; the elements in question included deiving rain and a thunderstorm, which forced Kyle to cease operating for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, Mike EI4JL was on the Ox Mountains in County Sligo. Tom EI7HT operated from his home QTH in Dublin, where he was accompanied by Richie EI1402, also operating in Dublin was Tony EI9FIB, while Mark EI9IB operated from his home QTH in County Kildare.
				St. Patrick's Weekend 2003 Members of South Dublin Radio Club were active for the three days of the St. Patrick's bank holiday weekend. On Saturday, four SDR members were part of the team that helped to launch Summits On The Air in Ireland. On Sunday, they were in Leitrim, near Bencroy, operating on 2 metres and HF, from early in the morning until the evening. The 2 metre rig was kept busy all day, but activity was a little slower on HF. Having said that, the HF log for the day shows several pages of European contacts, and a few Africans. Although the SDR team called Stateside a number of times, they had no luck in this direction. On their return to Dublin, the SDR team were consoled by the news that many others had difficulty reaching the States on Sunday, due to poor propagation. Another SDR team was out on Monday, St. Patrick's Day, this time in the Wicklow mountains, and again on 2 metres and HF. Propagation continued to be poor, with just one Stateside station in the log, in the middle of many Europeans.
				28 February 2003 GEARS, which is based in Glengormely, County Antrim, held its first Annual Table Quiz night on Friday 28th February. The quiz was well supported by local radio amateurs and their friends, and everyone agreed that it was a well organised and enjoyable event. A team from South Dublin Radio Club (which is twinned with GEARS) attended and, in a very close finish, the SDR members came out on top, finishing just two points ahead of their nearest rivals. So, SDR brought the Shield back to Dublin. The team representing SDR were Tom EI7HT, Mark EI9IB, Thos EI2JD, Daniel EI9FHB, Tony EI9FIB and Joe EI7GY.
				25 February 2003 The SDR Annual General Meeting took place on 25th February. The meeting was well attended, and members took the opportunity to have a wide ranging discussion on the direction of the club. Plans were agreed for a number of events over the next few months, including outdoor activities and this year's IOTA contest. The Committee elected for 2003-2004 was as follows: Chair: Tom McGrath, EI7HT Secretary: Mark Boothman, EI9IB Treasurer: Mark Condon, EI6JK Other committee members: Peter Morrison, EI9ES Daniel Cussen, EI9FHB Kyle O'Connell, EI9FGB Tony Byrne, EI9FLB
				February 2003 On Tuesday last, 18th February, SDR members participated in an Amateur Television experiment, when a temporary ATV transmitter and receiver were installed in the club premises, and signals were exchanged with Dave EI2HR at his QTH is Tallaght, county Dublin. The experiment was a great success, and most club members took the opportunity to appear on camera. Further details of this experiment will be carried in the next issue of Echo Ireland.
				December 2002 SDR's Christmas Party, which took place on 17th December in the Templeogue Inn, was very well attended, with most current members and a few old friends present. Among the attendance was a group from the Glengormely Electronics Amateur Radio Society based on County Antrim, which is twinned with SDR. The party activities included the announcement of the winner of the Autumn Challenge, which is an activity competition for club members run during the month of November. This year the Challenge winner was Thos Caffrey EI2JD.
				October 2002 New call signs Four SDR members have been issued with new "A" call signs in the past week - they are: Mark Condon EI6JK Tony Cummins EI9JK Nicholas Cummins EI2JL Michael Gorman EI4JL JOTA South Dublin Radio Club participated in the JOTA weekend, by setting up and operating HF and VHF stations for the Wicklow Scouts. There was considerable interest from the scouts, most of whom were keen to take the mike; many of them spoke to JOTA stations in Ireland and abroad. SDR members were put to the test, answering questions on antennas and propagation, as well as the different modes and frequencies used by radio experimenters.
				September 2002 Summits On The Air activation in County Down As part of the Summits On The Air (SOTA) programme, Colin GI0RQK and Joe EI7GY recently activated Slieve Commedagh in County Down. The first contacts of the day were on 2 metres. Using just half a watt to a five-eighths vertical, Colin and Joe were able to make simplex contacts to Dublin. They then set up a 3 element Tonna for 2 metres and a half-wave dipole for 40 metres. Using a Yaesu FT-817 for 2 metres and 70 cms, and an IC-706 for 40 metres, Colin and Joe were kept busy for the afternoon. They had phone and CW contacts with stations all over Ireland and Britain, while there were a few continental European stations in the HF log.
				August 2002 With a view to increasing the number of operators active in the recent 2 metre Counties Contest, members of South Dublin Radio Club entered the contest from four different locations. Mark EI7FNB and Joe EI7GY activated the club call EI2SDR from the Ridge of Cappard in County Laois, and Kyle EI9FGB climbed Tonlagee, County Wicklow's second highest peak. Mark EI9IB operated from his home QTH in Kildare, while Nicky EI9JF operated from his QTH (also in County Kildare), accompanied by Nick EI5FLB and Mike EI9FFB. All stations reported good scores: although fewer counties appeared to be active than on previous occasions, good band conditions kept the totals up. For once, the weather was excellent, which was particularly welcomed by the portable station operators. On Tuesday next, 3rd September, a twelve week Morse course will commence at the SDR QTH in Marian Road, Rathfarnham. It is hoped that, at the end of this period, pupils will be in a position to sit the Morse exam. Anyone interested in joining this course should come along to the club meeting on Tuesday, which starts at 8.00 pm.
				July 2002 Dublin - Dundalk - Glengormley DX Group get school lessons on IOTA in Innisbofin Island (by Mark Condon, EI7FNB) Since returning from the IOTA contest with Sean, Declan, Joe and Kohei on Inis Mor in July 2001, I have had the IOTA bug in me. At our Tuesday night meetings in South Dublin Radio Club I shared my enthusiasm for the IOTA contest with my fellow members. I knew that SDR had been a big contest club 10 or more years ago, with many successes in HF contests, but in recent years had concentrated mainly on the VHF side of contesting. While I enjoy VHF contesting, I felt that the time was right for SDR to rise again to the challenge of an international HF contest, and IOTA in my view is the best of such contests. My lobbying paid off, and club chairman Tom EI7HT set up a separate contest committee, with me in the chair. Little did I know what was ahead of me. Originally, we set out to have a small station, with just a few operators. Then Thos EI2JD expressed an interest in being involved along with some of his Dundalk Club friends. Also, some members from our sister club GEARS (Glengormley Electronics and Amateur Radio Club) from County Antrim offered to join us. By March of this year, it began to look as if we had a serious IOTA group in the making. We held a meeting in April, and I was astonished by the large turnout and enthusiasm from everyone. We started out with twenty members in the team, we lost only one somewhere on the way, and by the end of July, nineteen of us travelled to Inisbofin. I know I will get into trouble by singling out someone for mention, but here goes. I have to mention Alan EI7EH, one of the SDR founder members, who researched and arranged our QTH as well as our transport, accommodation and food for the weekend. He did a fantastic job, and arranged for the school on Inisbofin to be ours for the weekend. The full list of participants is shown below. Of course everybody had a part to play in the lead up to the weekend - lining up equipment and software in advance, and helping to put it all together on Inisbofin. Everything went smoothly for the contest. Our call sign for the weekend was EJ5E. We concentrated heavily on multipliers, and put a lot of effort into keeping track of islands worked and not worked. We also kept a close eye on the competition on nearby Inis Oirr - the EJ4F group consisting of Sean, Declan, Paul and Joe. It remains to be seen who comes out tops: if we do, I'm all of five euro richer, at Joe's expense! We learned a lot about contesting over the weekend, and we look forward to the next contest. The new licensees in the group (most with B licences) learned a lot about HF operation and propagation. We also discovered hidden talents amongst our members, such as Jim EI4HH, who is a great singer, and Alan EI7EH, who plays a mean guitar. And much more, but the rest is a secret. The DDG Group operating as EJ5E: Alan EI7EH Alan GI6IXD Charlie GI4FUE Daniel EI9FHB Dave GI3OBO Jim EI4HH Jim GI0BJH Kyle EI9FGB Mark EI7FNB Mark EI9IB Nicky EI9JF Oleg UT1YZ (originally from Ukraine, now lives in Dublin) Pat EI2HX Peter EI9ES Thos EI2JD Tom EI7HT Tony EI7FKB Tony EI9FIB Tony EI9FLB
				May 2002 New call signs issued to club members: EI9JF - Nicki Mullally EI9FFB - Mick Gorman EI9FGB - Kyle O'Connell EI9FHB - Daniel Cussen EI9FIB - Tony Ryan EI9FJB - Matthew O'Brien EI9FLB - Tony Byrne
				April 2002 Congratulations are due to seven members of South Dublin Radio Club who passed their theory examination recently. The seven are: Tony Ryan, Matthew O'Brien, Nicky Mullally, Tony Byrne, Daniel Cussen, Kyle O'Connell and Mick Gorman. All have been attending the classes held over the past few months that were presided over by Jim Holohan EI4HH and Tommy Griffin EI9BTB. Most of those who passed are on the right side of 30, and one is just 16 years old -encouraging evidence that young people are still interested in taking up amateur radio. The SDR members would like to thank Tony Fay of North Dublin Radio Club, who made the arrangements for the examination to take place.
				17 March 2002 In keeping with a long tradition, members of South Dublin Radio Club set up a field day station for St. Patrick's Day. This year, they activated Co. Wicklow. Eight members were involved in running the field day operation, which included three separate HF stations. One station concentrated on the 15 metre "Irish" frequency of 21.317 MHz and on the Worked All Ireland 40 metre frequency, one worked DX on 10 metres and the remaining station operated on CW only. The field day operation took place from a field in Knockadreet, which is near Roundwood. It rained for most of the day, but the SDR members clocked up an impressive list of contacts, including many USA stations who were looking for QSOs with EI stations to mark St. Patricks Day.
				12 February 2002 The SDR annual general meeting took place on Tuesday 12th February at the club QTH in Marian Road, Rathfarnham. It was a "full house" with an attendance of more than 30. The attendance included Kevin O'Herlihy EI7IM, who now lives in Thailand and has worked over 200 countries since he moved there. Kevin was in Ireland for a visit. At the AGM, outgoing chairman Jim Holohan EI4HH reviewed developments during the year, during which club members participated in many events, including contests and the JOTA weekend. Treasurer Brendan de hOra EI3GV summarised the club's finances, while speaking in relation to the IRTS, Joe Ryan EI7GY outlined the main activities of the national society. A new committee was elected for 2002, and is as follows: Chairman - Tom McGrath EI7HT Secretary - Mark Boothman EI9IB Treasurer - Mark Condon EI7FNB Other committee members are: Peter Henshaw EI5JE Daniel Cussen EI1443 Nicki Mullally EI1224 Tony Cummins EI7FKB Tony Byrne EI1404 Peter Morrisson EI9ES With 3 amateur television experimenters on the committee, club members can expect that ATV will feature significantly in club activities. South Dublin Radio Club is one of the more active clubs in the Dublin area, with a typical attendance of 20 or more members every Tuesday night.
				February 2002 The Annual General Meeting of South Dublin Radio Club takes place on Tuesday the 12th of February at 8.00 p.m. in the club QTH at Marian Road, Rathfarnham. This is an important meeting, and all members are requested to attend. A final reminder for HF operators that the South Dublin Radio Club Spring Challenge runs for the full month of February. The challenge provides a great opportunity to renew your acquaintance with the HF bands. Full details of the Challenge were published in the November/December 2001 issue of Echo Ireland.
				December 2001 SDR is 21 years old this year. This achievement was marked at the club's recent Christmas Party. Three of the founder members - Derek EI7FM, Stuart EI8EN and Alan EI7EH - were at the party and presented current chairman, Jim EI4HH, with a plaque listing the founder members. For the record, the list of the radio experimenters who came together in 1980 to set up South Dublin Radio Club are believed to be as follows: Liam Wynne EI2FL Peter Harris EI3FC Nigel Lyon-Bowie EI5EK Ben Rodriguez EI5BYB Tony Baker EI6EW Niall Syms EI6FB Roy Cookman EI7H Alan Shattock EI7EH Brian Cusack EI7FB Derek Peyton EI7FM Stuart Kinnear EI8EN Ben Croly EI8EQ If anyone has been left off this list, or if anyone has additional information about the formation of the club, SDR members would be interested in hearing about it. Contact any club member or Joe EI7GY Kohei EI8JC, a very popular member of South Dublin Radio Club, has returned to Japan following a stint working for his Japanese employer in the Dublin area. Kohei was a regular attender at SDR meetings, and was generally accompanied at club meetings by junior op Momoka, aged 5, who used the opportunity to improve her English and help the SDR members to work on their Japanese. Kohei, who has the call JR0BAQ, is an expert CW operator, and operated on CW and phone with the EJ4GK crew on Aran Mór during the IOTA contest in July. Both Kohei and XYL Michiko, who had the call sign EI8FOB, participated in the Autumn Counties Contest. A few months ago, Kohei joined other club members at the JOTA outing in Wicklow, and helped to introduce the Scouts present to the joys of amateur radio. On his final club night, Kohei was presented with a Waterford Glass bowl by the SDR members, to mark their appreciation for his attendance and participation in club events. The South Dublin Radio Club Autumn Challenge is a challenge that runs during the month of November, with rules similar to the well known Spring Challenge, with the exception that the Autumn Challenge is confined to SDR club members. This year, the winner of the open section was Peter Henshaw EI5JE, while the winner of the restricted section (for CW only) was Kohei Nishiyama. The awards were presented to Peter and Kohei at the SDR Christmas Party.
				October 2001 SDR members set up a JOTA station in the scout hall in Wicklow Town for the recent Jamboree On The Air weekend. The scout hall is located just beside the river Vartry, close to where the river joins the sea. The SDR members put up two HF antennas, including a Windom with one leg spanning the river, along with a number of VHF antennas. The event proved very popular with the Wicklow scouts, and a large number attended the event on both the Saturday and Sunday. Many other JOTA stations were worked, with excellent signal reports received from most contacts - confirmation that the Windom over the river was highly effective. Although the scouts seemed reluctant to take the microphone at first, within a few hours there was a queue of scouts anxious to take their turn sending greetings to fellow scouts in other JOTA stations. The demonstration of amateur radio was made even more interesting for the scouts when an Amateur Television Station was set up in a car park above Wicklow town, beaming pictures to the scout hall. This was a real hit with the scouts.
				August 2001 SDR members Nicholas EI5FLB, Mark EI7FNB and Joe EI7GY activated the club call during the recent Counties Contest. The QTH was the Ridge of Cappard, County Laois, from where much of the Dublin and Wicklow mountains are clearly visible. Coming after the enforced absence from the hills in April, because of Foot and Mouth restrictions, and helped by the excellent weather, the SDR crew made more than 50 contacts on a combination of FM and SSB. The antennas used were a 13 element Tonna, horizontally polarised, and a 7 element ZL-Special as the vertical antenna.
				July 2001 Club members Mark EI7FNB, Kohei EI8JC/JR0BAQ and Joe EI7GY joined with Seán EI4GK and Declan EI9HQ for the IOTA Contest from Inis Mór, Aran Islands. Separately, Club member Daniel SWL, along with SDR visitor Andy N9TGR/EI8IM took part in the IOTA Contest from Clear Island off the Cork coast. They joined Jeremy EI5GM and others from the Cork Radio Group and were also joined by other Cork members Tom SWL, Alan SWL, Finbar EI1CS, Anatoli, and Chuck EI4IS. On the Friday evening they set up their tri-band beam (10, 15, 20) on top of a 10 metre (30 foot) portable tower overlooking the harbour beside the Bed and Breakfast accomodation. The radio shack was set up in a tent supplied by Daniel and the callsign for the weekend was EJ3HB. A great time was had by all on and off the radio! They also stayed over the Saturday night with the radio operated in shifts over the 24 hour IOTA competition. With 1 radio and 7 people they took turns logging contacts, operating the radio, enjoying the great sunshine and meeting the locals. Overall they made 1,410 contacts with total points around 1,500,000. Interstingly enough they had problems with the beam on Saturday morning, dodgy traps, and so ended up using wire dipoles cut for each band and a beam for 10 metre band. The bands appeared very lively no doubt partly due to our rare IOTA location.
				15 July 2001 Members of South Dublin Radio Club were recently again North of the border to attend the Bangor Rally. SDR's twin club from the North, the Glengormely Electronics Amateur Radio Society - GEARS - had a stand at the Rally selling secondhand equipment. The proceeds of sale of the GEARS stand will be going towards the purchase of a caravan, to enable the club to operate portable during contests and other events. The SDR visitors, who were Tom EI7HT, Tony EI7FKB, Nicholas EI5FLB and Daniel SWL, were invited to attend the GEARS Barbeque, which was held after the rally in the People's Park, Bangor. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. In keeping with tradition, the SDR members were on the air for the entire journey North and the journey home again, keeping all the listeners up to date with their activities on the day.
17 June 2001 South Dublin Radio Club took to the hills over Ballinascorney on Saturday 2nd June. The eight members were champing at the bit for some outdoor activity following the Foot and Mouth restrictions and the chance to operate the Club's latest acquisition - the Kenwood TS570DG. Around midday the Club's 2 metre frequency became alive as members pleaded on their mobiles and handhelds for directions to the proposed operating site. Within the hour the club were up and running in WAI Square O2 Wicklow, with a G5RV, a 10 metre Vertical, a 6 metre Beam and a 9-element Tonna for 2 metre. Conditions were good and in no time the club had worked Achill Island on 6 metre and Rathlin Island on 40 metre. The 6 metre opening died fairly rapidly, however, a good QSO rate was maintained on HF. The club operated the station up to 1830 hrs. A good day was had by all! SDR members were: Tom EI7HT, Tommy EI9BTB, Jim EI4HH, Nick EI5FLB, Mark EI7FNB, Tony EI7FKB, Michael SWL and Daniel SWL.
Visit to Terenure Members of SDR recently visited the QTH of the Terenure College Radio Club. There was a good discussion on amateur radio topics between the members of the two clubs, and arrangements were made for future get-togethers. The Terenure College Radio Club has a permanent QTH in the grounds of Terenure College, and many of its members were former pupils of the college.
13 May 2001 Congratulations to SDR member Kevin Craig EI3FCB, who has recently passed the Morse Test and is now awaiting his new call.
Counties Contest, Easter Monday 2001 Members of South Dublin Radio Club participated in the Counties Contest on Easter Monday. Three separate stations were set up around Dublin, including the club station at the club's QTH in Rathfarnham. Despite the absence of portable stations, good scores were achieved by the three stations, each of which operated on both SSB and FM. Best DX from the club QTH was County Tipperary. County Down was also worked and a Galway station was heard briefly, but not for long enough to complete a QSO.
St Patrick's Weekend For the past few years, members of South Dublin Radio Club have activated rare counties for the St. Patrick's weekend. This year, in the light of the Foot & Mouth restrictions, the club's members "activated" their own QTH in Rathfarnham. One HF and two VHF tranceivers were in use throughout the day, one of the HF sets making use of a 10 metre vertical that was put up in the grounds of the club QTH for the day. 10 metres was wide open, and there were many pile-ups during the day. 22 countries were worked, including included rare countries such as Kuwait, Dominican Republic and Colombia. There was considerable interest from the USA, and 17 States were worked, including the West Coast. All in all it was a very successful event, with plenty of on-air experience gained by the newer club members.
11 March 2001 South Dublin Radio Club members were invited by their twin club in the North, Glengormely Electronics Amateur Radio Society, for a field day over the St Patrick's weekend but, due to the Foot & Mouth restrictions, SDR's participation in this event has been cancelled. As SDR always holds a field day on St. Patrick's weekend it was decided, again due to the Foot & Mouth restrictions, that the club should not go into any farmland in the South also. The club will be contributing to the St. Patrick's weekend activities with an operation on Sunday 18th March, based in the club's QTH in Rathfarnham. Club members will be active on HF and VHF, starting from 10.30 am. Tom McGrath EI7HT is the event manager, and he has said that visitors to the club QTH during the day are very welcome. It is planned to use 145.350 MHz to provide an on-air reports of operating frequencies throughout the day.
Annual General Meeting The club's AGM took place on 13th February at the club QTH in Rathfarnham. There were 21 members in attendance. The business of the meeting included a review of the year's activities and a discussion on plans for the future. The most lively discussion at the meeting was about the mandatory requirement for a pass in the 12 wpm Morse Test before operation on the HF bands is allowed. Club members recognised that this requirement was in accordance with International Law. However, on a vote it was agreed that the club would ask the IRTS to consider submitting a request to the ODTR to remove the mandatory Morse requirement as soon as this becomes legally possible, and in the meantime to ease the Morse requirement by reducing the speed of the test to 5 wpm. The new committee elected for the year was as follows: Chairman - Jim Holohan EI4HH Secretary - Tommy Griffin EI9BTB Treasurer - Brendan de hÓra EI3GV Other members: Tom McGrath EI7HT, Mark Condon EI7FNB, Mark Boothman EI9IB and Tony Byrne EI1404.
11 February 2001 Congratulations to Nicki Mullally EI1224 who took and passed the Morse test at the Coolmine Rally. Nicki is a member of South Dublin Radio Club and has been in the club's Morse class for the past few months. With the Morse under his belt, he is now concentrating on taking the theory exam.
4 February 2001 A reminder that the Spring Challenge runs for the month of February. It is a challenge to HF operators to see how many DXCC countries they can work over a period of a month, in normal QSO mode. There are two sections - an open section (for all bands, all modes) and a restricted section (one band, CW only). You can find full details of the Spring Challenge on page 23 of the current IRTS Year Book. South Dublin Radio Club has very attractive trophies for the open and restricted sections, and these are presented to the winners at the IRTS Annual General Meeting.
28 January 2001 The Ian Morris Memorial Trophy has been awarded annually at the IRTS AGM for the Short-wave Listener with the highest total of DXCC countries confirmed in the previous calendar year. Up to now, QSL cards were required for all countries claimed. This has proved difficult for listeners and a rule change has been introduced to ease the situation. This comes into immediate effect and applies to entrants at the forthcoming AGM in Limerick. The new wording of the rules are as follows; Donated by South Dublin Radio Club, this trophy is awarded to the Short-wave Listener with the highest number of DXCC entities heard in the previous calendar year. While confirmation of entities heard is not required, entrants will be expected to produce a number of QSL cards, (not necessarily from the year in question), to demonstrate their commitment to Short-wave Listening. Applications for the award should mail their entries to the Awards Manager, Peter Grant EI4HX at QTHR or submit their list by e-mail to Peter at ei4hxperimental@eircom.net Entries should be with Peter by March 31st. QSL cards can be produced at the AGM in Limerick. Of course, if you are not travelling to the AGM, you must mail the cards to Peter.
Annual General Meeting The Annual General Meeting of South Dublin Radio Club will take place on Tuesday 13th February at 8.00 pm in the club's QTH at the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham. All members are requested to attend.
31st December 2000 Attendance at the recent SDR Christmas Party included two visitors who travelled from Co. Antrim. They were Jim Hoey GI0BJH and Alan Stewart GI6IXD, who are members of GEARS (Glengormley Electronic and Amateur Radio Society), which is twinned with South Dublin Radio Club. GEARS and SDR have participated in a number of joint events over the past few years, and are planning more such events for 2001. As part of the twinning arrangement, all members of SDR are automatically enrolled as members of the Co. Antrim club, and all GEARS members automatically become members of SDR. The usual Tuesday night meetings of South Dublin Radio Club resume on Tuesday 9th January at 8.00 pm. The SDR Morse class is now well advanced, and the seven pupils in the current class are all committed to taking the Morse test early in 2001.
17th December 2000 The South Dublin Radio Club Christmas Party will be held on Tuesday 19th December at 8.00 p.m. in the Yellow House, Rathfarnham. All are welcome to attend. It is hoped that former members and others who occasionally attend club meetings will join club members at the party.
3rd December 2000 At a recent meeting of South Dublin Radio Club, Mike Staunton EI3DY gave a talk on the various digital modes used by radio experimenters. The talk covered long established modes such as RTTY and AMTOR, as well as more recently developed modes such as PSK31. The presentation included a live demonstration of PSK31 by Jim Holohan EI4HH. Mike Staunton also gave details of the PC software available for digital modes and the methods of linking transceivers to PC's. Although field days are normally associated with the Summer months, seven members of South Dublin Radio Club recently travelled to the Ridge of Cappard in Laois and activated HF, 2 metres and 6 metres. The weather was mixed, as can be expected for November, but the SDR members set up 2 HF and 3 VHF stations. Almost 100 contacts were made, to North and South America, Europe and Asia, using phone and CW.
19th November 2000 There will be a talk and a slide show on the popular digital mode PSK31 at 8.30pm on the 21st of November at the South Dublin Radio QTH in Marian Road, Rathfarnham. This talk will be given by Mike Staunton EI3DY. Visitors are very welcome to attend.
8th October 2000 On Tuesday next, 10th October, Joe Ryan EI7GY will be giving a talk on the IOTA programme at the South Dublin Radio Club QTH, which is in the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham. The talk will commence at 8.30 pm, and visitors are, of course, welcome. Theory classes will commence in the club on the following Tuesday, 17th October. Last year, six members of the club received their licences, and the club hopes to repeat this success in the current year. New members are very welcome.
3rd September 2000 The weekly meetings of South Dublin Radio Club resume on Tuesday next 5th September. The Club meets every Tuesday from 8.00 p.m. to 10.00 p.m. in the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham. Theory classes will commence shortly, and prospective students are asked to contact the club as soon as possible to register their interest. Last year was a very successful year for the club, with six of the pupils from the theory class gaining their licences.
6th August 2000 South Dublin Radio Club is delighted to announce that two more of its members have obtained their experimenters licences. They are Andrew McGrath, who was issued the call sign EI7FPB and Liam McMahon, who now has the call sign EI7FQB. Congratulations to Andrew and Liam.
30th July 2000 The meeting on Tuesday last, 25th July was the last meeting of South Dublin Radio Club members before the holidays. Club meetings will not be held during August but will resume again on Tuesday 5th September. South Dublin Radio Club meets on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in the Ballyroan Community Centre, Marian Road, Rathfarnham
16th July 2000 Theory Exam Results: The Marine Radio Surveyors recently held a Theory Examination in North Dublin at the request of the North Dublin Radio Club. Six candidates who attended classes run by the NDR sat the exam and five passed. Five candidates who had been attending classes run by the South Dublin Radio Club also sat the examination at the same venue. Three of the SDR candidates passed. Congratulations to the eight successful students. We look forward to hearing them on the air shortly. Congratulations also to the instructors from NDR and SDR who prepared the students for the Theory test. Latest news is that two of the SDR crew are already sporting new B callsigns.
16th July 2000 SDR Spring Challenge Trophy: Tom Kelly EI2AJ was the winner of the restricted section of this year's Spring Challenge. The Spring Challenge Trophy was presented to Tom by Jim Holohan EI4HH chairman of SDR at a recent club meeting. Tom, who is a QRP enthusiast, won the challenge using just 5 watts. Six other members of Phoenix Radio Club accompanied Tom to the SDR presentation, so both the SDR and Phoenix members enjoyed a really great night. Among the Phoenix members visiting SDR on the night was Paddy McGrath EI1DG who was the winner of the Spring Challenge restricted section in 1998. He was presented with a commemorative trophy in recognition of his 1998 achievement.
16th July 2000 South Dublin Radio Club members Brendan de hOra EI3GV and Joe Ryan EI7GY activated a rare Worked All Ireland Square on Sunday 9th July when they operated from H01, County Cavan. It is believed that this is the first time that this Square has been activated. There are no roads through the square and it was necessary to climb through farmland and worked-out bog to reach it. Permission had earlier been obtained from the farmer who owns the land in which the operation took place. Both HF and 2 meters were used on the day. Most of the activity was on 40 Meters, with contacts to all parts of Ireland and Britain. There was naturally great interest in this square. One point noted by Brendan and Joe was that many operators in their home QTHs were complaining of a high level of noise on both 40 and 80 meters, but up in the Cavan mountains, there was virtually no background noise. It seems from this that much of the background noise we hear can be from local electrical equipment, rather than atmospherics. For HF, a 40 meter long Window, supported in the centre by bamboo's and at each end by Joe's trekking poles, was used. A three-element beam was used on 2 meters. Power output on HF was 30 watts, while on 2 meters it was 5 watts. Power was supplied by gel-cells. The weather on the day was mixed, with sunshine and rain in about equal proportions. It was a very enjoyable day for Brendan and Joe during which they very much appreciated the support they received from the WAI community.
25th June 2000 AREN Exercise: A number of Dublin radio experimenters provided radio cover for the Ring of Imaal walk, which took place on Saturday 17th June. The walk is organised by An Oige, the Irish Youth Hostel Association, and covers 22 miles on the peaks around the Glen of Imaal, in County Wicklow. Over 160 walkers took part. The weather conditions were poor at the start, with very limited visibility, but the skies soon cleared and the day turned out to be ideal for the walkers. The amateur radio operation was based at the walk headquarters in Donard. The HQ station, using the call sign EI4BST, was manned by Sean EI3IP, Joe EI4FV and Paul EI3FKB. Radio cover for the checkpoints on the hills was provided by Gerry EI0CH, Eoin EI9HZ, Brendan EI3GV, Rod EI7DF and Joe EI7GY. The exercise went well and the early improvement in the weather resulted in a low volume of radio traffic. The main assistance provided by the radio amateurs was in tracing the few walkers who missed a checkpoint. A particular challenge for this operation is that the walk headquarters at Donard is relatively low-lying, so that communications with some of the more distant checkpoints has in previous years been difficult. This can be overcome by using relay stations on high ground, with a resulting slow-down in traffic speeds. This year, however, EI4BST tried a new antenna set-up and found that they were able to maintain contact with all checkpoints, without using a relay station.
23rd April 2000 Every February, South Dublin Radio Club challenges HF operators to see how many DXCC countries they can work on each of the HF bands. To give everyone an even chance, contest QSOs do not count in this challenge. There are two sections in the Challenge. The open section gives one point for each unique DXCC country worked on each HF band and allows any mode or combination of modes to be used. The restricted section is confined to one band (chosen by the operator) and limited to CW only. This year there were five entries, with one winner in each section. In the open section, the winner was Gerry Molloy EI5HJ, from county Galway. His total score was 246 points, covering 114 different DXCC countries and including quite a few rare ones. Gerry used a combination of phone and CW. He took advantage of the much improved band conditions and achieved the highest scores on 10 metres and 12 metres. In the restricted section, Tom Kelly EI2AJ from Dublin, was the winner. Using just 5 watts, Tom worked 41 countries on 10 metres using CW. In spite of the low power, Tom's log includes North and South America, Asia and Africa - a further reminder that QRP can be just as effective as high power operations. Other logs received for the challenge were from Kevin O'Herlihy EI7IM, who used phone and PSK, Stan Williams EI5IY who used phone and CW, and Joe Ryan EI7GY who used CW only. SDR would like to thank all the entrants. Neither of the winners was present at the IRTS AGM for the presentation of the trophies, but arrangements will be made to make the presentations elsewhere.
26th March 2000 Nine members of South Dublin Radio Club travelled to Co. Leitrim on Sunday 19th March, as part of the St Patrick's activity weekend. Two HF rigs - one into a vertical antenna and one using an 80 metre dipole – were set up, along with a 2 metre station. The 2 metre station used a 7 element Yagi, for both FM and SSB. The SDR members had over 100 QSOs during the day, with Europe, Asia, North and South America, on both phone and CW. On 2 metres, many Midland and Southern counties were worked, as well as Northern Ireland and Wales. SDR's sister club - Glengormley Electronics and Amateur Radio Society - was also active on the day, on 2 metres, 6 metres and HF from Slemish Mountain, Co. Antrim. Slemish has, of course, a strong association with St. Patrick, as it is here the sixteen year old Patrick, as a slave, tended sheep. It was while on Slemish that Patrick experienced a spiritual change that eventually led to his decision to return to Ireland after he had regained his freedom. The weather on the day was excellent, and members of both clubs enjoyed a fantastic day on the air, out in the open.
19th March 2000 The Annual General Meeting of South Dublin Radio Club took place on Tuesday 29th February in the club's QTH in Marian Road, Rathfarnham. The majority of the club's members were present, including the six new members who joined in recent months. There was a very lively discussion about the club's direction and plans were laid to increase the level of activity in the coming months. The discussion also covered the future of amateur radio generally, including the pros and cons of the moves in other countries to ease the Morse Code requirements for HF operation. Many of those present - licensed and not yet licensed - expressed the view that an easement in Morse Code requirements might be beneficial. The following were elected to next year's committee: Chairman: Jim Holohan EI4HH Secretary: Tommy Griffin EI9BTB Treasurer: Brendan de hOra EI3GV Other committee members: Nicholas Cummins EI5FLB Peter Henshaw EI7FDB Liam McMahon SWL.
12th March 2000 South Dublin Radio Club are returning to Co. Leitrim again this year for the EI Activity Weekend. They will be active from 1200 to 1800 on Sunday 19 March, on 2 metres and HF.