IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday May 4th, 2025

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IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday May 4th, 2025
     __________________________________________________________________

IRTS Hamfest 2025

   The Irish Radio Transmitters Society is delighted to announce "IRTS
   Hamfest 2025" which is a celebration of all things amateur radio. This
   new initiative by the IRTS will take place over the weekend of
   September 6th and 7th in conjunction with the IRTS SSB Field Day
   Weekend. The venue for this event will be the Mullingar Showgrounds,
   Culleen, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath located just 6 km from Mullingar town
   centre.

   A dedicated subcommittee has been set up and are already planning for
   what promises to be two jampacked days of numerous amounts of ham radio
   topics and live hands-on demonstrations. These will appeal to both
   licensed operators, shortwave listeners, and members of the public.
   More information regarding all the exciting activities being planned
   will be made known in due course. Please make a date in your diaries
   for IRTS Hamfest 2025 on September 6th and 7th at Mullingar
   Showgrounds!
     __________________________________________________________________

New Weekly News Bulletin Announcement

   The IRTS Newsteam are delighted to announce an additional EI�IRTS
   weekly news bulletin. The new bulletin will be provided by the Patriot
   Radio Communications Club EI7PRC who are based in Watergrasshill in
   Cork. This new bulletin will take place at 8 p.m. local time on Sunday
   evenings on 70.350 MHz FM simplex. This bulletin is on a trial basis so
   if you can receive it, please call in and support it. The IRTS would
   like to thank EI7PRC for providing this additional weekly news bulletin
   and wish them every success with it.
     __________________________________________________________________

HAREC exams application deadline

   The closing date for HAREC exam applications is tomorrow Monday the 5th
   of May. The Harmonised Amateur Radio Examination Certificate exams take
   place on the 17th of May 2025 in the Clayton Hotel Dublin Airport. The
   address is Stockhole Lane, Clonshagh, Co Dublin, K67 X3H5.

   A complementary shuttle bus service is available from Dublin Airport to
   the venue. The morning exam will commence at 11 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.
   The afternoon exam will then commence at 2 p.m. and concludes at 4 p.m.
   For further information, please see the licensing section of the IRTS
   website or contact Mick EI6IKB at IRTS_exams /at/ irts.ie.
     __________________________________________________________________

ComReg 5 Year Notifications

   Many licenced operators within EI have reported seeing Five Year
   Notifications from ComReg arrive in their inbox. This states that in
   accordance with your licence terms, you are required to confirm to
   ComReg each and every 5 years that the licence details are still
   correct. If you have received this notification, it is advised that you
   take a few minutes to complete the action now to avoid potentially
   forgetting to do so until it's too late. ComReg note that failure to
   comply with this request may lead to revocation of your licence.
     __________________________________________________________________

West Tyrone Amateur Radio Club AGM

   The West Tyrone Amateur Radio Club is holding its AGM on Wednesday, the
   14th of May 2025, in the Order of Malta Hall, Omagh. The AGM commences
   at 8 p.m. All radio amateurs and shortwave listeners are welcome to
   come along. The club will review the past year and elect officers for
   the incoming year.
     __________________________________________________________________

Shannon Basin Radio Club Activation for Mills on the Air

   Shannon Basin Radio Club will be taking part in the annual Mills on the
   Air event at Elphin Windmill in Co. Roscommon on Saturday 10th and
   Sunday 11th May. The club is listed on the Mills on the air website and
   plans to start on that Saturday at around 11 a.m. SBRC looks forward to
   hopefully lots of QSOs as possible to support. The club is also
   supporting the Elphin windmill rebuild fundraising effort after storm
   �owyn which resulted in significant damage to this treasured landmark.

   Further information about the club may be found at www.sbrc.ie and via
   their social media channels.
     __________________________________________________________________

South Dublin Radio Club Hosting an Amateur Radio Open Night

   South Dublin Radio Club will be hosting an exciting amateur radio open
   night on May 27th as part of Dublin Tech Week. This is a week-long
   celebration of innovation and technology, uniting tech lovers,
   professionals, and communities across the city.

   At the radio night on Tuesday the 27th of May, participants will be
   able to experience live radio demos, hands-on experiments, and learn
   how radio waves connect the world. Whether you're a tech enthusiast,
   tinkerer, or curious beginner, you will be able to discover the magic
   of amateur radio and how you can get involved. You can try your hand at
   radio operations, digital modes, and DIY electronics.

   The centre of activity for the club is the Ballyroan Community Centre,
   Rathfarnham, Dublin 14. The Eircode is D14 F1W1 and all are welcome.
   More information about the week of events may be found at
   dublintechweek.com.
     __________________________________________________________________

Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club Update

   Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club has been in touch to say that their
   next club meeting will take place at 7.30 p.m. on the 8th of May 2025.
   It will take place in Room 10A05 in the Technological University of the
   Shannon, Midlands, Midwest at Moylish in Limerick. The featured
   presentation will deal with Slow Scan Television.
     __________________________________________________________________

VHF/Microwave Updates

   The IRTS VHF/UHF/SHF webpage has been updated with additional weekly
   nets and updated timings. Work has also commenced to update the
   repeaters, gateways, and beacon information. Reports and input to help
   update this information especially regarding inactive or off-air
   repeaters are most welcome via email to vhf_manager /at/ irts.ie.

   The DX Info Centre forecasts periods of potentially good tropospheric
   ducting opportunities over the coming week. The best occurrences of
   tropo are likely to be on Thursday onwards but may be somewhat short
   lived.

   Sporadic-E season is soon upon us and interesting openings on VHF and
   above may start appearing for short periods before it fully kicks off
   usually from late May onwards.

   This weekend, there are a range of 2m, 70cm, and higher frequency
   activities including the RSGB 2m May contest, 10GHz Trophy Contest, and
   432MHz to 245GHz contest. Details are available at rsgbcc.org.

   The IRTS VHF+ management team is seeking input regarding any activity
   or interest in EI regarding the use of millimetre and sub-millimetre
   frequencies for radio experimentation. Specifically, information
   regarding usage above 275 GHz would be welcome and can include any
   relevant past or present academic and/or test and trial licence
   activities. This is an area of spectrum that is currently not
   allocated. The initiative is associated with a new IARU Region 1
   VHF-plus committee study to explore potential for a possible amateur
   radio allocation. You can contact the IRTS VHF/Microwave management
   team via email at vhf_manager /at/ irts.ie.
     __________________________________________________________________

Contest Updates

   Well done to all those that took part in the recent IRTS VHF and UHF
   counties contest on Easter Monday last. You are asked to please note
   that the closing date for logs is tomorrow, Monday May 5th. Logs should
   be submitted to the IRTS contest manager via email at contestmanager
   /at/ irts.ie. Further details regarding the scoring and rules are
   available at www.irts.ie/contests

   The next IRTS contest is the CW Field Day held over the weekend of the
   7th and 8th of June. This starts at 15:00 UTC on the Saturday and ends
   24 hours later. A 6-hour section is available for entry in addition to
   the full 24 hours. Good luck to all in the contest.
     __________________________________________________________________

Radio Rally Updates

   Lough Erne Amateur Club's Radio Rally takes place in two weeks' time on
   Sunday the 18th of May 2025. The venue is the Share Discovery Village,
   221 Lisnaskea Road, Lisnaskea, Enniskillen, BT92 0JZ. Doors will open
   at 11 a.m. Entry costs five euro or five pounds which includes a ticket
   for the draw. The rally will include a bring and buy and usual
   facilities including food and refreshments. Further details are
   available at LoughErneRadioClub.co.uk.
     __________________________________________________________________

Items for Inclusion in Next Week's Radio News

   That is the news for this week. Thanks to everyone for sending items
   into the weekly IRTS radio news. They are very much appreciated and are
   a great way to update the rest of the community about activities. If
   you have any club events, activities, meetings, or other items of
   interest, you are very welcome to email newsteam /at/ irts.ie with the
   details. These will be automatically forwarded to the IRTS radio and
   printed news services. The deadline each week is midnight on Thursdays.

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