IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday July 6th, 2025

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This Week's News

IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday July 6th, 2025
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IRTS News Team Summer Break

   The IRTS news team will be taking its annual summer holidays from
   Sunday July 20th until Sunday August 3rd. This means that the last IRTS
   HF bulletin before the break will be the 80m bulletin at 12 p.m. next
   Sunday, July 13th. The next bulletin after that date will be the 40m
   bulletin on Sunday, August 3rd at 11 a.m. For events that may be taking
   place during the holiday period, you are advised to send the details to
   newsteam /at/ irts.ie as soon as possible so they can be included in
   the next IRTS news bulletin before the summer break.

   The IRTS wishes to thank all of our newsreaders both HF and regional
   weekly readers for your continued great service to the society. We hope
   you all enjoy your summer break!
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IRTS Hamfest 2025

   Preparations are now at an advanced stage for IRTS Hamfest 2025. This
   is hosted by the IRTS and will take place over the weekend of September
   6th and 7th. It will be in conjunction with the IRTS SSB Field Day
   weekend. The venue is the Mullingar Showgrounds which are just outside
   Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Novice and experienced people will come
   together in one place along with a very wide array of amateur radio
   equipment, technologies, and expertise. Gates open for visitors at 12
   p.m. on Saturday September 6th. Entry will be free for IRTS members.

   Across 30 acres that have been set aside for the event, live
   demonstrations and interactive exhibits will include working the QO-100
   geostationary satellite, portable operation, a showcase of how
   DXpeditions are set-up and operated in addition to how to operate low
   earth orbit satellites. Skill-building and learning zones will focus on
   soldering techniques, sharing one antenna with multiple radios,
   emergency communication systems, and much more. All amateur radio clubs
   are invited to take part.

   A dedicated website for the event and all the latest information can be
   found at www.irts.ie/hamfest . If interested in getting involved,
   contact the team via email to hamfest /at/ irts.ie
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IOTA Standings Table Updates

   Information is being sought from operators for the EI HF IOTA standings
   table that is published on the IRTS website. This is a table showing
   the number of IOTA references worked by EI stations participating in
   RSGB's IOTA award programme. The main information required is the
   operator's callsign and name, the number of Island groups worked and
   confirmed in addition to a breakdown of the numbers per continent. You
   can view the existing EI HF IOTA standings table on the Information
   section of the IRTS website and submit updates via email to pagemaster
   /at/ irts.ie
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Tog Hackerspace on the Airwaves

   Tog Hackerspace report that after months of behind-the-scenes work,
   they are now a registered radio club with both the Irish Radio
   Transmitters Society and ComReg. They have been issued with their very
   own club call sign EI0TOG. In the coming weeks, they'll be getting the
   station properly set up in the space. Once it's live, members and
   guests will be able to hop on the airwaves and try out EI0TOG under the
   supervision of a licenced operator. You can find out more about them at
   tog.ie/radio
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Contests and Events

   The IARU HF World Championship takes place next weekend. It starts at
   12:00 UTC on Saturday July 12th and ends at 11:59 UTC the following
   day. The IRTS contest manager Mark EI6JK is seeking operators to
   operate the IRTS contest callsign EI0HQ for the six CW and SSB slots in
   this IARU HF championship. If interested, please contact Mark EI6JK via
   email to contest_manager /at/ irts.ie as soon as possible.

   The World Radiosport Team Championship takes place every four years. It
   is a radio contest event, designed to provide a platform for
   high-achieving ham radio contesters to compete on a level playing field
   in the same geographic region using identical antennas, output power,
   and other operating conditions. The 10th WRTC takes place from the 8th
   to the 13th of July 2026 and is hosted by the UK. However, next weekend
   and in conjunction with the IARU HF World Championship, five WRTC
   stations will be tested under field conditions. The operating location
   will be a site in Suffolk. Mark EI6JK will act as one of the test
   stations so listen out for a familiar voice and his CW "fist". Two
   awards are available for chasers during this event. You can find out
   more about the test at wrtc2026.org
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13-Year-Old Sets a New High Speed Telegraphy Record

   At this year's international amateur radio exhibition in
   Friedrichshafen, a 13-year-old set a record in high-speed telegraphy.
   13-year-old Romanian Alexandru YO8YNS, amazed the audience with 1,160
   characters per minute. Despite his young age, he is a multiple world
   champion and already an old hand in high-speed CW. At last year's
   High-Speed Telegraphy World Championship in Tunisia, YO8YNS set a new
   world record with a score of 311,192 points and a top speed of 1,126
   characters per minute, which he has now broken this year.
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Record Breaking Balloon Launch Attempt in August

   On August 15, 2025, a unique balloon mission is planned by a Polish
   amateur radio team. This is being organised by the AstroLife community
   in cooperation with experienced stratospheric balloon operators and
   amateur radio enthusiasts SP5LOT and SQ5RB. They seek to launch a
   balloon from central Poland that will carry a scientific payload up at
   least 40km into the stratosphere. The team plan to equip it with a
   camera and transmitter that will transmit live images digitally during
   the flight. They are crowdfunding the project and you can find out more
   at 4fund.com/cz3jys
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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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