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IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday 17th May 2020


Shannon Basic Radio Club Nets

A reminder that the Shannon Basin Radio Club is now having a net on Top Band every Monday evening at 20:00 Local on 1.916. The 80 meters net has changed frequency to be on Wednesday evenings on 3.720 plus or minus qrm at 20:00 and the 2 meter net is on Thursday evenings at 20:00 local. There has been a lot of interest in the nets over the last couple of weeks and everyone is welcome to join in. See the clubs Facebook page and www.sbrc.ie for more details.


Eight Meter Beacon Update

Reminder that the EI1KNH beacon is now on 8m using 20W on a vertical monopole. It shares the same site as EI0SIX and EI4RF. EI1KNH is running using PI4 & CW, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd minute of every 5 minutes. Links to download PI4 decoding software are on the QRZ page for EI1KNH, but it's easy to ID as it will make a CW ID every period. Tony EI7BMB deployed the new setup for EI0SIX. It's now running about 50W from a sommerkamp PA to a pair of horizontal loops stacked on a new tower approximately double the height as previously. Again, PI4 and 1,2 & 3rd minute of every 5. This should be a new ballgame for EI0SIX, as it's been plagued with issues for the last year. Some changes have been made to EI4RF. Previously it's been alternating between 2 antennas, north and east. The mast has now been rotated clockwise by about 45degrees, so now it's alternating NE and SE. This should improve chances of reception to the south, which has never been it's strong point. The original antenna to the north was due to 4m being a UK/EI thing. An aim to modernize EI4RF next is underway, hopefully when they change it's frequency to 70.013 MHz it can also be moved to PI4 or FT8 + CW. For now, it remains on 70.130 in CW mode, but with new headings for both periods.


Enhanced 50 MHz allocation in Germany

Federal Network Agency made a preliminary provisional implementation of the WRC results for the 6-m band in message 111 from the May 6 official journal 08/2020. This new regulatory development is very positive for amateur radio and is the result of a series of discussions between the Bundeswehr (Military) primary user and the DARC's Frequency Management Unit (DK4VW and DF2ZC). These detailed discussions have been ongoing since the end of 2018. Additional information about this new allocation is available from www.myham.net


2020 IOTA Contest

RSGB have announced that the annual Islands on the Air Contest, which takes place over the last full weekend of July (25th / 26th July), will go ahead this year, however, in line with 'Stay at Home' guidance to minimise the impact of Covid-19, the 2020 contest will be exclusively for Single Operators using their home stations. Also, RSGB will not be awarding trophies this year, but downloadable certificates will be available to winners. Another rules amendment for 2020 is that the sending of a signal report in every QSO is mandatory, a change from the 2019 rules which indicated that a signal report was optional.


Special callsign II2EMCA to commemorate EMILIO CAIMI

The special station "II2EMCA" will be active – cw only (HF / WARC) from 01.07.2020 until the end of the year - to commemorate EMILIO CAIMI (Milan 1876 – 1963), the famous key maker, who supplied the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica), since 1932. QSL direct via IZ2FME, and / LOTW. Info at “iz2fme /at/ amsat /dot/ org”.


IARU 95th Anniversary Award

URE, the member society for Spain of the International Amateur Radio Union, celebrated the 95th anniversary of IARU and World Amateur Radio Day by running 10 stations with the AM prefix on all bands and modes from 160 to 6 metres from April 15th to the 30th.

This generated great activity on the bands and 279 EI stations were logged making a total of 2,445 QSOs with the award stations. Congratulations to Mark Condon EI6JK from Roscommon who was the leading EI station. He finished with a total of 192 slots worked on SSB, CW and Digital. He topped the SSB list, was 3rd on CW and 4th on Digital. Second overall was Jer Aspell EI3HGB from Millstreet in Co. Cork and he was 2nd on SSB, 11th on CW and 3rd on digital. Third overall was Justin Behan EI3CTB from Dublin and he finished 8th on SSB, 10th on CW and 2nd on digital. Declan Craig EI6FR from Dublin topped the CW section and Jim Barry EI8GS from Cork was on top on digital. Full details are available on iaru95.es


5MHz Newsletter

The latest edition of The 5 MHz Newsletter (No 24 – Winter/Spring 2020) is now available for free pdf download from the ‘External Links’ section of the Wikipedia 60m Band page or the RSGB 5 MHz page. This edition includes 5 MHz news from 7 countries, GB3WES Beacon Closedown, a 5 MHz Controlled Feeder Radiation Dipole, plus features the latest World of 5 MHz Map.


Items for inclusion in next week’s Radio News can be submitted via e-mail to “newsteam /at/ irts / dot / ie” for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. Urgent news items for the radio news may be telephoned to the radio news editor, Mark EI6HPB on 086 355 2370.

Please note that items for the radio news should reach the editor no later than midday on Thursday in order to be guaranteed inclusion in the following Sunday’s bulletin. If you currently receive a copy of the IRTS Radio News Bulletin by email as a news reader and wish to modify your address, please inform the editor in order to have it changed on the news readers mailing list.

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