Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday November 16th, 2025
Updates from the IRTS
Well done to everyone who completed the HAREC examination recently. Congratulations to the successful candidates that have received their shiny new licences. We look forward to hearing the new callsigns on the air. If luck was not on your side this time, don’t be disheartened and consider applying again when the next examinations are scheduled and announced.
The IRTS is seeking additional HF newsreaders to join our current panel of news readers for the weekly Sunday morning 40m and 80m IRTS news bulletins. 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, you are very welcome to get in touch with the IRTS news team via email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie
Our IRTS ComReg Liaison Officer is Jeffrey Roe EI7IRB. His role is to maintain communications between IRTS and the ComReg team. He regularly engages with ComReg to raise members' concerns and to help clarify any regulatory or licensing queries. Maintaining a strong and constructive working relationship with the ComReg team helps ensure that discussions are productive and issues are addressed efficiently and effectively. If any member would like him to raise a matter with ComReg on their behalf, you are asked to please contact him via email to comreg_liaison /at/ irts.ie
Test Equipment Night by South Dublin Radio Club
South Dublin Radio Club will hold a test equipment night on Tuesday 25th November 2025, from 19:30 to 21:30 at the club QTH. This will be a combined presentation and practical session focusing on the use and understanding of test instruments such as multimeters, vector network analysers, oscilloscopes, and related equipment. All are welcome to attend.
Club members and anyone from the wider amateur radio community with an interest in giving a short presentation or tutorial are warmly invited to take part. The use of slides or other visual aids will be supported. Anyone wishing to present, demonstrate equipment, or suggest a topic for the evening is encouraged to contact South Dublin Radio Club by email to southdublinradioclub /at/ gmail.com
Tipperary Amateur Radio Group AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will be held at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, the 25th of November 2025, at The Princess Bar in Irishtown Upper, Clonmel, Co Tipperary. This is a members-only meeting, and it is vital that all attend this most important event of the calendar year. TARG was formed in 1994, and you can follow them on their Facebook page under 'Tipperary Amateur Radio Group'. For any enquiries about the group, they can be contacted by email to ei7trg /at/ gmail.com
VHF/Microwave News
As reported last week, a new repeater serving the more northerly and north-eastern parts of the country is now active. The EI2CYR repeater is run by the Irish Elf DX Group. The repeater output is 145.61250 MHz. The input is 600kHz lower at 145.0125MHz. It uses narrowband FM, and the CTCSS tone is 156.7Hz. For reports or further information, the Irish Elf Dx Group can be contacted via email to irishelfdxgroup /at/ gmail.com
On the lower VHF bands, we are enjoying good conditions recently thanks to a F layer phenomenon called the ‘Winter Anomaly’. At northern middle latitudes, a greater electron density in the winter than in the summer occurs. This is mainly limited to a narrow altitude range near the peak F-layer height which can be over 400km - almost the same altitude as the International Space Station. This is resulting in good propagation conditions lasting for most of the daylight hours.
A very good indicator of this is hearing sustained activity on the 10 and 11 metre bands. When those bands are busy, it is worth spinning dial upwards into the lower VHF bands and trying the 8 metre band. Recent reports received indicate that this band is proving very productive now even with a modest setup. The centre of activity is 40.680 MHz either using data or voice contacts. SWL reports on the DX clusters are also very useful and appreciated to help encourage more activity on the band.
October edition of the IARU Region 1 Intruder Watch Service newsletter
The October edition of the IARU Region 1 Intruder Watch Service newsletter has been published. In this, they note that hardly a month goes by without the appearance of new signals, which add to the long list of known emissions and intrusions on the amateur radio bands. The newsletter reports with concern, that our HF amateur radio bands are increasingly being used as a testing environment for new military-related systems and electronic warfare approaches. The free report can be downloaded from the Monitoring System section of the IARU website located at www.iaru-r1.org
Contest and Events
Some great opportunities for both novice and experienced CW contesters are coming up. On Wednesday the 26th of November 2025, you can take part in the next UK and Ireland Contest Club series of 80m contests. It starts at 20:00 UTC running for one hour using CW. If you take part, keep your key handy as the RSGB 3.5MHz Autumn Series Contests continue the following night on Thursday 27th using CW. This runs from 20:00 UTC for 90 minutes ending at 21:30 UTC. Two days later and right at the end of the month, you can put your finely-honed skills to the test in the CQ World Wide DX CW Contest. This is one of largest amateur radio competitions in the world with over 35,000 participants. It takes place on Saturday November 29th starting at 00:00 UTC and ends at 23:59 UTC the following day.
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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