Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday August 17th, 2025
IRTS Hamfest 2025
Over 15 of Ireland's top amateur radio clubs will come together for IRTS Hamfest 2025 over the weekend of September 6th and 7th. The venue is Mullingar Showgrounds outside Mullingar, Co. Westmeath with over 30 acres of the site dedicated to Hamfest. Overnight operation from Saturday night to Sunday morning as part of the SSB field day weekend is included. A very wide array of amateur radio equipment, stations, and related technologies will be on site that you can try out for yourself and avail of the practical hands-on learning opportunities from experts.
Entry is free for IRTS members. The cost is twenty euro for non-members for the weekend or ten euro per day. Free camping facilities are provided. If you are not yet a member of the IRTS, consider joining to avail of free entry to Hamfest in addition to the many other member benefits. You can find further information about IRTS Hamfest 2025 at www.irts.ie/hamfest .
Automatic Station Coordinator and HF news reader opportunities
After many years of service, John McCarthy EI8JA has decided to step down from his role as IRTS Automatic Station Coordinator. We wish to thank John and are very grateful for his long years of dedicated service. The society is now seeking candidates for a new automatic station coordinator. Those interested in learning more about the repeater and automatic station coordinator position are invited to contact the IRTS Honorary Secretary via email to irts_secretary /at/ irts.ie .
The IRTS is also seeking HF newsreaders to join our current panel of news readers for the weekly Sunday morning 40m and 80m IRTS news bulletins. There is very little involved in reading a bulletin and no experience is necessary. If any licensed IRTS member living in EI feels like that they would be interested in becoming part of the IRTS newsreaders panel or if you require more information, please get in touch with the IRTS news team via email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie .
Tipperary Amateur Radio Group
The next meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will be held at The Princess Bar, Irishtown Upper, Clonmel, Co Tipperary on Wednesday the 20th of August 2025 at 8 p.m. The Eircode for this venue is E91 PW90. The meeting is open to all and short-wave listeners are in particular very welcome to attend. For more information about Tipperary Amateur Radio Group, visit their group website at www.ei7trg.ie .
VHF/Microwave News
The RSGB is holding a LoRa balloon challenge on Saturday, the 20th of September. A balloon equipped with a LoRa digipeater will be launched at 11 a.m. local time heading for high altitude. The launch site will be Welshpool in the UK which should enable operators near the east coast of EI to try their luck with the event also. The balloon is expected to be airborne for approximately two hours reaching an altitude of 90,000 feet. The uplink frequency of the cross-frequency digipeater on board the high-altitude balloon will be 439.850MHz and the downlink frequency will be 433.850MHz. The RSGB has published a very helpful instruction guide for those interested in getting involved in the fun. Further information including this guide may be found at rsgb.org .
The next 145 Alive event will run on the September 27th, 2025. If interested in taking part as a net control station, email 145aliveuk /at/ gmail.com .
On Tuesday morning August 19th, the Youngsters on the Air event near Paris will attempt a contact with astronaut Mike Fincke on board the International Space Station. The contact is scheduled for 09:18 UTC. The ISS callsign will be OR4ISS. It should be very easy to hear the downlink side of the conversation in EI on 145.800MHz even with a handheld radio.
IARU Intruder Watch Service Newsletter
The July edition of the IARU Region 1 Intruder Watch Service newsletter has been published. Over the horizon radars top the list of intruders in the amateur radio bands. Closer to home, the report from IARU Monitoring System Region 1 Coordinator Michael EI3GYB features further insights about life at sea from fishermen intruding on the 80m band. This free report can be downloaded from the Monitoring System section of the IARU website located at www.iaru-r1.org
Contests and Events
The summer camp for Youngsters on the Air or YOTA takes place from Monday 18th until the 25th of August. IRTS Youth Officer Ana EI5IXB is leading the Irish contingent for what is set to be an exciting week of discovery and learning involving amateur radio.
The IRTS SSB Field Day weekend takes place over September 6th and 7th, 2025. Running from 13:00 UTC on Saturday 6th until 13:00 UTC the following day, it is an excellent opportunity to learn more about setting up a station from scratch, refining your skills as an operator or contester, as well as having an enjoyable social occasion involving radio. Further information about this event can be found at www.irts.ie/contests .
The RSGB FT4 contest series continues on Monday night, the 18th of August. This runs for two hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time. The 80m, 40m, 20m, 15m, and 10m bands are used for the event.
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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