Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday November 17th, 2024
News from the IRTS
The latest IRTS Committee meeting took place on Wednesday, November 13th. The meeting was well attended by committee, officers, and club reps. Some items to come out of the meeting are as follows:
Club details:
The committee is putting out a renewed call for clubs to update their contact details with the society before the end of November as we are undergoing our insurance renewal process and need to include active clubs. The society website will then be updated to reflect the current data. A renewal form can be found on the download section of the website www.irts.ie/downloads
News call-ins:
Following representations made to committee members and with the good conditions we are currently experiencing on the bands, a decision has been taken to amend the call-in sequence to all IRTS news bulletins going forward. The change agreed was to prioritise those stations that are operating mobile or portable from remote locations i.e., away from your home QTH. All other stations will be taken by number rotation, alternating high to low in weekly sequences with no differentiation based on station power.
Youngsters on the Air (YOTA):
December is an active month for YOTA, Youngsters on the Air. A full list of participating stations can be found on the website www.events.ham-yota.com The objective is to show the amateur radio hobby to youth and to encourage youngsters to be active on the ham radio waves. Feel free to make a QSO with the youngsters, they are happy to get some attention and exchange information. Licensed and unlicensed youth will be making QSOs, be aware this could be their first radio contact ever and give them a chance to experience a possible new hobby.
New membership:
IRTS membership is on the rise with the addition of 47 new members thanks to the NSWLC and Class Hotel which started recently. Of that seven are YLs and two are under the age of 18. We wish them all the best of luck with their studies. This brings the total new membership this year to 115, a welcome sign that our hobby is thriving. Plans are underway to foster the YL community with now over 27 licenced throughout Ireland, if any ladies would like to get involved, please contact us at irts_secretary /at/ irts.ie.
The next IRTS Committee meeting:
The next committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 8th, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. on the Zoom platform. All affiliated clubs are invited to send a representative. Meeting details can be obtained by contacting the secretary in advance.
South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC
The November meeting of the EI2WRC group will take place on Monday, November 25th at 8 p.m. sharp at the South East Technological University Netlabs Research and Innovation Building, SETU West Campus, Carriganore, Waterford. Eircode X91 WR86. As this will be the last physical meeting for 2024 all members of the group are please asked to attend. Plans for activations to be added to their already jam-packed calendar for 2025 will be discussed. As always anyone that has an interest in amateur radio or communications in general are very welcome to come along. SWLs are in particular very welcome to attend.
This year, the EI2WRC Christmas party night will take place on Saturday, December 7th at 6.30 p.m. at the Marina Hotel, Canada Street, Waterford, Eircode X91 PK2W. Dinner tickets must be prebooked and tickets cost 35 euro per person. For more information or to book a dinner ticket, please get in contact with Edwin EI2HEB at QTHR as soon as possible please.
EI2WRC will be hosting the 92nd IRTS AGM Weekend in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Rd, Carlow over the weekend of the 12th and 13th of April 2025. Planning for the event has begun and will continue to gain speed over the coming weeks. For more information, go to searg.ie and click on the IRTS AGM 2025 link. Hotel rooms are being booked as we speak with quite a few taken already, so people who are planning on attending are advised to book their hotel rooms as soon as possible to guarantee having one for the weekend.
For more information about EI2WRC, their activities, and for contact details, please see www.searg.ie
VHF/Microwave News
The first geostationary satellite with amateur radio transponders was launched almost exactly six years ago. Es'hail-2 or Quatar-Oscar 100 (QO-100) carries amateur radio transponders and has a footprint extending from Brazil to Thailand. Both the narrowband and wideband linear transponders on board use the 2.4GHz S band for uplink and 10GHz X band for downlink. It is relatively easy and affordable to operate through this satellite especially using a dedicated WebSDR, hosted at the Goonhilly Earth Station in Cornwall for receiving the downlink signals.
For operators in EI however, an additional authorisation is required to use the 2.4GHz S band for transmission which is restricted to satellite operation only. Furthermore, if or when granted, that authorisation is valid for a maximum of one year for the station location on record. A new application would be required when the authorisation expires. Comreg's Amateur Station guidelines contained in the ComReg 09/45 document provides further information. Applications should be made through Comreg's licencing portal located at www.elicensing.comreg.ie
IARU Monitoring System Region 1 Newsletter
The October edition of the IARU Monitoring System Region 1 newsletter reports high activity from Russian Contayner and Chinese "Foghorn" over-the-horizon radars. These have been very active in the 40, 20, 17, 15, and 12-meter bands. As there s a chance you may confuse them with possible shack-related noise sources locally, it is useful to familiarise yourself with what the intruder signals look and sound like. Thankfully, the IARU newsletter contains examples of these to help identify them. The newsletter may be downloaded from the Monitoring System section of the IARU website located at www.iaru-r1.org
UKEICC 80m CW Contest
The next contest of the UKEICC series of 80m contests takes place on Wednesday the 27th of November 2024 at 20:00 UTC using CW. There will be no UKEICC contests in December, but the series continues in January 2025. The EI5G bonus station will be operated by Tim EI2KA and the G5GEI bonus station will be operated by Mark G4MEM.
100 Year Commemoration of the Grimeton VLF station
On December 1st, 1924, the VLF transmitter, with call sign "SAQ" at Grimeton Radio Station in Sweden, was put into commercial operation with transmissions across the Atlantic Ocean. On December 1st this year, one hundred years later, SAQ will air to commemorate this event. The unique Alexanderson alternator from 1924 is scheduled for one transmission over the antenna on VLF 17.2 kHz CW. Further information is available at www.alexander.n.se
Items for Inclusion in Next Week's Radio News
That is the news for this week. Items for inclusion in next week's radio news can be submitted by email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie for automatic forwarding to both the radio and printed news services. The deadline is midnight on Thursday.
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