Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday February 23rd, 2025
South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC
The 2025 Annual General Meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place at 8.00 p.m. sharp tomorrow, Monday the 24th of February, 2025 in the South East Technological University, Netlabs Research and Innovation Building, SETU West Campus, Carriganore, Waterford. The Eircode is X91 WR86. All members are asked to please attend. Any new members or anyone interested in radio communications in general or finding out more about the group are welcome also.
People who are planning on attending the IRTS AGM weekend are urged to book their hotel rooms immediately as only three rooms remain at time of writing. Dinner tickets for the Gala Dinner which will be held on Saturday, April 12th are now available to be pre-booked. Rally tables for clubs/groups and commercial traders for the rally on Sunday, April 13th can now be pre-booked also. Tables for individual traders will be made available to be pre-booked in the coming weeks. For more information, go to searg.ie and click on the IRTS AGM 2025 link.
For more information about EI2WRC, their activities, and for contact details, please see www.searg.ie
Dundalk Amateur Radio Society Bring and Buy Sale
Dundalk Amateur Radio Society's bring and buy sale will take place in their club headquarters on Wednesday the 5th of March. You are invited to bring any radio-related equipment that may be gathering dust to Marconi House in Dundalk. All funds raised will go directly to supporting the society and its activities. The sales starts from 8.00 p.m. You can find contact details for the club at ei7dar.com.
Shannon Basin Radio Club Update
Shannon Basin Radio Club's weekly SSB DX nets take place each Thursday night. The nets alternate between the 160m and 80m bands each week. The club reports that the nets are proving to be very popular with stations far and wide calling in. The next net takes place on the 80m band on Thursday night from 9 p.m. in the region of 3.775 MHz. Further details can be found at www.sbrc.ie and via the club's social media channels. Everyone is welcome including SWLs.
VHF/Microwave News
Education institutions and organisations interested in hosting an amateur radio contact with a crew member on board the International Space Station should note an upcoming deadline. The deadline to submit a proposal for the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is next Friday February 28th, 2025. Crew members aboard the International Space Station take part in these contacts which last approximately ten minutes. Proposal information may be found at www.ariss.org
The next 145 Alive event is taking place on Saturday, the 12th of April 2025. The coordinators for EI are the IRTS VHF/microwave managers, Denis EI4KH and Keith EI5IN. It is noted that this is the same weekend as the IRTS AGM Weekend. Stations interested in acting as net control stations are asked to contact the 145 Alive coordinators for EI via email to vhf_manager /at/ irts.ie.
World Amateur Radio Day 2025
World Amateur Radio Day will occur on April 18th,2025. It was on this day in 1925 that the International Amateur Radio Union was formed in Paris. This year is therefore a special 100th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union. Since 1925, the IARU has grown to include 160 member-societies in three regions across the world. IARU has set a theme of "Entering the Next Century of Amateur Radio Communications and Innovation" for the day and amateur radio operators across the world will take to the airwaves in celebration.
European Ham Radio School Stations Day
May the 5th, 2025 sees the 26th European Hamradio School Stations Day take to the airwaves. This event is intended to bring together pupils, students, teachers, and radio amateurs all over Europe. It's a good opportunity to present amateur radio at schools and universities. The European Hamradio School Station Day is an activity day and not a contest. The goal is to make as many contacts as possible with stations from all over Europe, especially school and university stations or training stations operated by pupils and students. Further details and participation rules may be found at www.aatis.de
Short Wave Listening Opportunity
Keen short wave band listeners will have an opportunity to listen out for test transmissions from Texas Radio Shortwave next weekend. For listeners in EI and wider European area, the tests are scheduled to run on 6070kHz on Saturday, March 1st at 16:00 UTC as well as Sunday March 2nd, at 12:00 UTC. Listener reports are encouraged and a special QSL card will be on offer for accurate reports on the test transmissions. To submit a report, you are asked to listen for at least 20 minutes and email your reception details to texasradioshortwave /at/ protonmail.com.
Contest Calendar Update
The RSGB FT4 Contest Series continues tomorrow night, Monday the 24th of February from 20:00 UTC to 22:00 UTC. It is intended to allow entrants to experience FT4 in a competitive context. The 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, and 10m bands will be used for this event.
CW operators have two great contest opportunities this week. The next contest of the UKIECC 2024-2025 series of 80m contests takes place on Wednesday the 26th of February at 20:00 UTC on CW. The EI5G bonus station will be operated by Pete EI7CC and the G5GEI bonus station will be operated by Mark G4MEM. Details are available at www.ukeicc.com
On the following night, which is Thursday, the 27th of February, you can also try your CW skills out in the RSGB 3.5MHz Club Championship Contest. This runs from 20:00 to 2130 UTC. Further details may be found at www.rsgbcc.org
Radio Rally Updates
Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society's annual rally takes place on Saturday next, the 1st of March 2025. The venue is the Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, Hillsborough, BT26 6AR. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. and the rally ends at 1 p.m. Further details can be found at www.lvars.uk
Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club's annual rally takes place the following weekend on the 9th of March in Treacy's Oakwood Hotel in Shannon. Only bookings made via email will be accepted. Contact Dermot Gleeson, EI2GT, at DermotGleeson1 /at/ gmail.com to book a table.
Lough Erne Amateur Club's Radio Rally will be held 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. 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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