This Week’s News
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday November 8th, 2026
HAREC Licence Exam Update and Study Resources
The upcoming HAREC licence exam will take place in Dublin on Saturday, December 12th, with the venue and final schedule to be updated shortly. As places are limited, candidates are invited to apply early by visiting irts.ie/exam for the application form and the latest updates. Prospective candidates are strongly advised to study the sample exam paper and syllabus, which are available to download free of charge from irts.ie/exam. In addition, a comprehensive technical reference book can be downloaded for free at irts.ie/study.
Echo Ireland Winter 2026: We Want Your Stories!
Have you been building something interesting, taking part in a club event, or trying something new in amateur radio? Why not share it with the rest of the amateur radio community? The Winter 2026 edition of Echo Ireland is coming together, and we're looking for your stories, club reports, projects and photographs. Planning an event? We'd also love to hear about your upcoming club meetings, talks, rallies and activities so we can help spread the word. The deadline for submissions is Sunday, 15 November 2026, so now is the time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard!).
Send your contributions to echoireland /at/ irts.ie. We look forward to hearing what you've been up to!
IRTS President Takes Part in UKEI Contest from the Wicklow Mountains
Our President, Jeffrey EI7IRB, joined members of the Online Amateur Radio Community club in the Wicklow Mountains for the UKEI Contest Club DX Contest. Operating portable as EI9VM, the group kept the contacts coming well into the night, with fireworks going off in the distance. There was plenty of fun, a few laughs and even some very interested cows keeping an eye on proceedings. A big thanks to Mick EI6IKB and Vic EI5IYB for the invitation and for making Jeffrey feel so welcome.
Since becoming IRTS President, Jeffrey has been making an effort to visit as many clubs and amateur radio activities as he can, both at home and abroad. It's a chance to meet members, see what clubs are up to, hear what is going well and learn about any challenges they might be facing. Jeffrey is always happy to get an invitation to a club meeting, rally, contest, activation or other event. It doesn't have to be anything special. Even if your club is just having a regular meeting, he'd be glad to come along, meet the members and have a chat. If you'd like to invite Jeffrey along to something, send him an email to president /at/ irts.ie .
YOTA Ireland Contest Success
YOTA Ireland has shared news of its recent success in the CQ World Wide WPX SSB contest. YOTA contestant Jules, F4IEY, won the worldwide youth overlay category with a 20-metre single-band entry, while Megan, EI5LA, came in a close second with a 40-metre single-band entry. Special thanks were extended to the East Cork Radio Group, EI7M, for providing station support and helping facilitate youth participation in the competition. Building on YOTA's success in past contests and their continuing involvement in major international events, the amateur radio community looks forward to seeing further achievements and continued growth from Ireland's young operators.
Talk at South Dublin Radio Club
Derek EI8KV will give a talk and demonstration on Zeus and Hermes SDR systems on Tuesday the 10th of November. This should be of particular interest to anyone interested in software defined radio receivers and transceivers. The venue is the South Dublin Radio Club, Ballyroan Community Centre, Rathfarnham starting from 7.30 p.m. All radio amateurs and hobbyists are welcome to attend
Tipperary Amateur Radio Group AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will be held at 8 p.m. on Wednesday the 11th of November 2026, at Raheen House Hotel, 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
HF News
The V26JJ DXpedition team from Antigua and Barbuda has been active over the past week, though operators should note they have experienced technical difficulties uploading SSB log entries. While SSB contacts may not currently appear on their online log search, RTTY, CW, and FT8 logs are updating normally. As reported last week, Giovanni, IZ2DPX, is currently active from Cape Verde as D44PX, operating mainly on FT8. He hopes to focus more on SSB operating before going QRT on November 11th.
Also wrapping up on November 11th is the DXpedition by Al, EI2KM, who is currently active from Rwanda as 9X5KM, with plenty of Irish callsigns already in the log. Meanwhile, Charlie, EI8JB, is due to be QRV from Cape Verde as D44JB from the evening of November 13th through November 20th. Both Al and Charlie are members of the EIDX Group. For full QSL and operating details, please check the individual QRZ.com pages for these stations.
VHF/Microwave News
Round 11 of the FT8 Activity Contest on 432 MHz takes place on Wednesday, November 11th. The event runs from 17:00 to 21:00 UTC. Operating on the 70-centimetre band using FT8, this provides a great opportunity for operators to test their UHF digital setups and work UK and European stations across the Irish Sea. VHF operators are encouraged to keep a close eye on the 6-metre band throughout November. Driven by high solar activity, intercontinental F2 propagation and trans-equatorial propagation (TEP) openings remain very possible around local noon, particularly on paths toward South America and Southern Africa.
IRTS 80m Counties Contest Results
Results for the IRTS 80m Counties Contest are being published and will be available on the contests page of the IRTS website at irts.ie/contests . Congratulations to all the winners and to everyone who participated in this final IRTS contest of the year.
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, news, meetings, or other items of interest, please send them via email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie . The deadline is midnight on Thursdays. Items intended for inclusion in Echo Ireland should be sent to echoireland /at/ irts.ie
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