MIØJVI Blog

I’m sure some of you saw a story on Lidmag about some interesting new inventions to be conceived in Northern Ireland. For those of you that haven’t:

Unconfirmed reports have reached the LidMag Newsdesk of an undisclosed number of new inventions, conceived in Northern Ireland, which, if true, could revolutionise Amateur Radio.

Northern Ireland is no stranger to inventors or producing new fangled gadgets – the first pneumatic tyre, developed by John Boyd Dunlop arrived onto the streets of Belfast in the late 19th Century. Perhaps you may be familiar with the portable defibrillators carried in Ambulances – yet another Northern Irish invention, by the late Professor Frank Partridge [...] .

Few details are known at this time, though, our source did let it slip of a product referred to as ‘SWR Grease’, claiming this product could revolutionise antenna installations in so much that it could effectively permit any random piece of wire to be 100% efficient as a radiator of RF energy. It remains to be seen how such a product will work in theory, and in practice is another matter entirely.

Either way [...]. Such a product could save valuable time in emergency communications or simply field day contests. It appears, in this early stage, that ‘SWR Grease’ [...]. Early indications also show that it should be available for sale by the beginning of January 2009, once the Health & Safety Executive has conducted tests to ensure it is safe for consumer usage.

Well, a little later than expected, I received word from HSENI, after asking if there were any developements, that they have given the go-ahead for this revolutionary product to be mass produced. They said that a number of tests were used to determine the structure and subsequent risk of the product. Thus, as it contains a large amount of Calcium hypoclorite – Ca.2Cl-H-O – they have designated it with the Hazardous Substances Databank Number: 914. Extreme caution should be used and protective clothing is required.

Let’s see how well it performs…

I have published my QSLing policy.

It may look quite demanding but it really is just common sense and will make life so much easier and enjoyable if it is followed.  Please feel free to get in touch if you have any comments.

73, Jon MIØJVI

Well, a long time longer than originally planned, but I’m glad to say that I’m back on HF for the foreseeable future with 100W and a Yaesu FT-857.  I’ve even managed to cross off a few call signs from the “to contact list”   Still have a few to contact…

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, nonaddictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter/summer solstice holiday, practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2009, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that it is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference.

The small print:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Disclaimer: No trees were harmed in the sending of this message; however, a significant number of electrons were slightly inconvenienced.

<drum roll> My new callsign is…….MIØJVI </drum roll>

It appeared pretty quickly on the Ofcom Online Licensing Centre, given that the form was only posted late on Monday evening past   Now for the EI one to arrive, when I finally get around to sending it to ComReg

Well, this time yesterday I was waiting on the train to Dublin from Belfast Central.  After a 2hr journey, I was standing on Dublin’s Amiens Street bound for Lower Abbey Street, the site of the ComReg Offices which took a moment or ten to find!

1350GMT arrived and I was shown into the Room where I would be doing the exam by the 2 invigilators from the IRTS, EI7CD and EI4GK. After the rules were read out and formalities dealt with we started the paper at 1400GMT – 3 sections (A- Radio Theory, B- National and International Regulations and C- Safety and EMC), 60 questions and pass of 60% in each section to pass overall.

Ninety minutes later, having finished and read through the paper a few times, I submitted it and left along with a few of the other chaps doing it, heading back to Connolly Station, and arriving back in Belfast shortly after 1900GMT where I got the Derry train back to Ballymoney.

Upon reflection, the whole experience was a good one- Dublin has been the farthest I’ve travelled on my own and the experience of a proper Radio Licence examination was good as before now I’ve only ever sat them in radio clubs’ meeting places and not at a Government Agency’s HQ before.

Let’s just hope I get good news in the next 2 weeks………

UPDATE: Today, 14/October/2008 I have found out that I passed! So watch this space for the new callsigns…

Several hundred pounds, 3 driving tests, 2 theory tests, and an uncountable number of driving lessons later, I am now pleased to say that I passed my driving test on Friday past (7/11/2008)!  Don’t worry – I’ll give you plenty of warning if I venture onto the roads in NI!

Well, I’m now into the 2nd teaching week of the Autumn Semester and thankfully so far there have been no major problems – all the rooms have been sussed out and have already got coursework to do The joys of the student life………….  So far, everyone seems nice, students and lecturers alike, some more so than others.

At leas there’s only 10 full weeks left of Semester

Guess who’s now a fully registered University student at the University of Ulster?!

That’s right – after 14 years of a combination of Primary and Grammar School I’ve now progressed up the ladder to Full Time Third Level Studies following a programme which, at the end of, I will hopefully be a ‘Bachelor of Arts of the University of Ulster with Honours in French and Spanish. Registration was on Monday 15 September 2008 at the Coleraine Campus and it was more a case of musical chairs (without the music!) as each student had to enrol for modules, have the form signed off, pay for tuition fees, send the form to the Registry Office and collect their ID/Library Card (which this year wasn’t a pathetic piece of laminated paper!)

That done, there was an Induction for all YrI students in the Faculty of Arts, today – 16 September 2008 – whereby services of the University were outlined, tours of the campus and its facilites shown and queries raised. In the afternoon each had an interview with their Advisor of Studies. Al lthat remained to be done after that, for some, was to go back home and get pi*sed! Naturally I wouldn’t do something like that…or would I?

As you are more than likely aware, I’m planning to sit the Advanced RCE sometime within the next few months, having heard that a local(ish) club is planning to facilitate the exam in December 2008. For this exam, and the course they are offering, they want £105 (the last time I checked).

This got me thinking last week…and I wondered if it would be less expesive to travel to the Republic of Ireland to sit the exam in the ComReg offices in Dublin. To my pleasant surprise, when I included return train tickets to Belfast and on the Enterprise Service to Dublin Connolly, inclusive of the cost of sitting the exam and the study material provided by the IRTS, the total came to £60.

I’m quite happy to self teach the material for the Advanced Exam or for the Experiementer’s Exam (in RoI) and with the vast difference in the cost of sitting each I’m increasingly considering going to Dublin, after which I may apply for both an EI callsign and use the HAREC facility (due to the fact that the Republic of Ireland, like the UK, is a CEPT signatory) to apply for a ‘Reciprocal’ licence with Ofcom.

Comments please…