Estonia - My first experience

As you may know, I'm part of team Ireland for YOTA (Youngsters on the Air) which this year is being held in Estonia. 

So my adventure started off yesterday (3rd August) on a bus trip to Dublin airport which turned out to be fine and we were there in no time, probably because I fell asleep and didn't notice the time passing. It was a long wait to our flight time as 4 hours seemed like an eternity, but nevertheless we flew with Ryanair. The flight itself was ok but towards the landing I began to feel a little nauseous due to the roller coaster-type bobbing around. 

Tallinn hits us like a tonne of bricks as the heat was stifling. At passport control there were 3 lines - the "I don't give a s**t  who u are", the "ill scrutinise you a little" and the "you ain't getting through my line for love nor money". Guess which one we were in?

After waiting for about 15 mins with no movement whilst some guy gets the 3rd degree, blood tested, DNA swabbed etc (not really but it could've been done in that time) we decided to switch queues and soon enough the "I don't give a s**t" controller had us sailing through to baggage claim in no time which was a brief hop skip and jump to the outside world. 

We were met by Christjan who even had one of the cards with the YOTA logo on it, how very New York!  He very kindly brought us to the nearest mall whilst he and Ger delivered our bags to the hotel. 

Not only was he out chauffeur but he also very kindly brought us out that evening to sightsee the amazing city of Tallinn with its charming medieval buildings, gorgeous scenery, capital hill and the view from there, and also to a local restaurant for a bite to eat. We ended our tour with a well deserved drink in St. Patrick's bar and some final shopping through little markets. 

A long deserved sleep was had and how today he will be bringing us to telephone tower which is near Tallinn harbour. 

The adventure isn't over yet, to be continued .......

Contesters - fair play or just plain rude?

As you may know the IARU HF World Championship took place this weekend, a battle of the Kw stations taking over the airwaves in a frenzy of 59, 59, 59 and very little else involved. 

Now I like to take part in the odd contest, a flurry of activity to change the experience from regular QSO's in a bid to rack up points and even new dxccs or prefixes, but some contesters take the biscuit. 

Apart from the usual 900+ watt power levels, splattering of other callers only 2-5 kHz away either side and finding a station nearly on every frequency on every band, my pet peev (as well as being totally illegal) is the blatant disregard for the band plans and other operators rights to use their mode/calls without undue interference from other stations. 

My personal experience has been a recent one, today in fact. Whilst attending a special CASHOTA activation with NCRG on Spike Island, Co. Cork I had checked that my frequency was clear by asking this twice and receiving no reply(although there was tiny splatter from a station 4 kHz above on 7.167/8).  I began to operate on 7.163 and had a nice little steady stream of calls going, me giving the information and reference for the award program, and getting nice info in return for approximately 45 mins. Not only was my little pile up picking up pace, but I had a great time telling people about my location etc, when all of a sudden I was totally wiped out by a nearby station, splattering all over my frequency

I turned the dial to see who had wrecked my contacts (as I could no longer hear anyone) only to find a contest station OP0HQ on 7.162!  Only 1 kHz away! He obliterated my QSO's as if the bands weren't bad enough. 

I decided to call this station and sure enough he answered me in one call which indicated if he could hear me then he knew I was operating next to him. I asked why he had not checked frequencies near him and his answer was that the bands were jammed and he had the frequency since 5am. I pointed out that jammed bands were not my concern and there was no way he could have been occupying that frequency for the past 45 mins as I had operates quite successfully from that time and had the log to prove it.  He then retorted that the contest was on and would be finished at 12 which did not concern me in the slightest and I told him so. I couldn't believe the arrogant attitude and self righteousness of his comment and to think his was a HQ station!  It really annoyed me if Im honest. 

Another issue was the use of other portions of the bands not designated to SSB. I have heard contest stations operating in the CW and beacon portions   of the band, not to mention operating outside of bands eg 7.250 just to work the States which is unfair to other hams who abide by their band plans and rules & regs. 

Although I won't tar all contesters with the same brush as that would be extremely unfair, but those contesters who don't play by the rules give all contest stations a bad reputation. 

CASHOTA - a program for kings (or some other important people)

So it's that time of year again, well for NCRG it's always that time - CASHOTA!

We will be activating a new castle as part of CASHOTA weekend - Kanturk Castle in Co. Cork on the 19th May using reference EI022/C.

This is another first for both us and the CASHOTA Ireland program, which in fairness could use a bit of promotion. Every week I see different castles or stately homes being activated in the UK, with plenty of contacts to be made. However in Ireland the interest just doesn't appear to be there.

If you think about it, Ireland has a history steeped in royalty and there are castles and forts to be found all over the country yet only 22 of these has been done, with NCRG having credit for at least 7 of these in the last 2 years. Why is the ham community here not taking advantage of the opportunity to activate a site of importance in its day whilst giving CASHOTA chasers the chance to get an award?

It is also a chance for a single ham or group of hams to have some portable fun, with the activation going back to basics at some locations with the battery operated equipment, portable antenna setup and a packed lunch!

So if any of you would like to come for a chat, work the stations or just to visit the site, we would be delighted to see you on the 19th May.

Ciao for now
Lisa EI9GSB

EI13CLAN..a week of pile ups!

As part of the North Cork Radio Group I was allowed the opportunity to operate the callsign EI13CLAN, which is a special callsign of the IRTS to celebrate the Gathering. NCRG had exclusive use of the call from 28th March to the 7th April and this turned out to be quite a week.

In my determination to get as much exposure as possible for the call, I decided to take my somewhat relaxed radio activity out of hibernation. Other than NCRG activations, I had hardly worked any stations under my own call recently with the exception of the CQ contest in October. What fun I had!

The first few days were slow for me as I steadied myself into the familiar rhythm of giving the call and waiting for the responses. The contest on the 30 & 31st March didn't appeal to me much this time as I found the bands were very crowded and splatter was completely at home dancing throughout all frequencies, so much so that I felt the call couldn't get the recognition it deserved.

Then the magic began to happen. From the 1st April the bands opened up and consistent calls began to flow in return to my call. I found myself glued to the chair for hours, with 120 replies on first pile up, followed by 150 the following day and 120 after that. I was in my element. I loved the attention and demand for the call and once I saw the call spotted on the clusters I knew it was plain sailing.

I decided to help Tony re-erect the mini beam antenna last Wed and what a difference this made! I found myself operating on 20m being shouted at and called from all parts of the world, 4 hours I sat there and netted a total of 320 QSOs! I was hearing much "88" and "73" from lots of operators, and was even requested a number of times for my personal call. In saying that I did take advantage and worked a few new DXCCs also for myself when the chance arose.

I loved working the special call and although I'm all radioed out today, I'm sure ill be back at it with my own call in no time. I will have my DX century soon

So bye bye CLAN it's be emotional and I look forward to meeting you again

Sunday is a day of rest?!!... Not in ham land

Last Sunday 3rd March was easily the most busiest day I have had yet. For some reason everyone seemed to choose this date for different reasons to have things on but as a ham I had to decided to go with the radio aspect of events.

It started off with my annual trip to the Limerick Radio Club rally (LRC). I started out from home at 930 and had quite an enjoyable spin to the venue on Ennis Road with Tony EI3GAB and my son Nathan (who at this stage is allergic to my constant dragging of him to these events).

There was a good array of items for sale and the best part for me of course is always meeting up and chatting with the friends I've made over the years. Unfortunately I couldn't stay very long as the 3rd March also kicked off the events calendar for our group, NCRG.

As it was Engineers Week we were activating Blackrock Castle in Cork City under the CASHOTA reference EI009/C.

Both me and Tony raced to the venue and set up the station in extra quick time, even the antenna (an end fed 53ft dipole) cooperated with us and we had no problem with tuning / swr as can sometimes happen in that venue.

As we operated the station we had quite a few little future operators come to visit us, and they were more than eager to jump on the band and say hello to our callers (thanks to all our friends who obliged us by taking the time to say hello).

Once the event finished at 5pm we packed up and set off home. I was so tired from the mad rush of the day, I was quite happy to sit down and relax, I couldn't even be bothered to unload the equipment from the car!

But I love the events and can't wait for the next one at Ballynamona Beach on 18th March.

My 15 minutes of fame

I received a call last Wednesday from one of NCRG sponsors indicating that they had been contacted by Newstalk, the national radio station. Newstalk had seen Blackrock Castle's advertisement of an NCRG event at their location and requested an interview on amateur radio by a member of the Group the following day.

I contacted the producer on the details he left, and after a phone call outlining what ham radio was, he asked me if I would attend at their studio on Opera Lane in Cork (which can be seen from the street through a glass window) on Thursday, 14th February (Valentines Day) to conduct the interview with none other than Sean Moncrieff (tv and radio presenter).

I have to say I was totes brickin it, with my stomach churning as the time grew closer, and I felt like I had a million butterflies floating around in there.

Right before I went on air (broadcast style) I discovered it was a live show which made it even more petrifying. I met Sean and had a brief chat before the beginning of the interview and then it was full steam ahead.

Those 12-15 minutes felt like a life time, and I tried to deal with the questions as best I could, although I did get a bit flustered what with my head reeling a 100 miles a minute with the information I wanted to include, dealing with the interview direction and just nerves in general but on listening back, I found it sounded okay.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see the SEARG lads had take the time to email in to the show to wish NCRG well (thx Sean), as well as all the nice messages received from everyone on Facebook.

All in all it was a good experience (after the fact) and I felt it created an awareness of the hobby for anyone who didn't know it was there. And you know what they say, all publicity is good publicity even if it is literally only 15 mins of fame

Ciao for now

Lisa EI9GSB

QSL cards

Couldn't believe it the other day when I came home from work and had received a major bundle of QSL cards in the post, which I have to say I was surprised at considering I had returned a number of them in September after our annual radio rally.

Some of the cards dated back to 2010, even some to the very first day I used my license on the 30th October 2010!

I was delighted to see the variations of Dxcc's worked, especially 2 lovely cards from amateurs in Japan.

I physically went through the log and confirmed the dates etc and set out returning cards to these operators who took the time to send cards to me. After about and hour & half, I was done and never so happy to see the end of the pile.

But they have all now been completed and will be winging their way to their new owners, I'm sure the bureau outgoing manager will be delighted with me !! ..... Once I sort them properly that is, ugh lol