Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday 26 February 2023
News from the IRTS
With the 2023 IRTS AGM taking place in April, the 2022 Cup and Trophy award holders are asked to return their awards as soon as possible please, so that the Awards Curator Mark Kilmartin Ei4FNB can prepare them for the new recipients at the AGM 2023 awards ceremony in Ballinasloe. For anyone wishing to contact Mark you can find his details on the IRTS website. Cups and Trophies can also be returned to any IRTS committee member.
IRTS Examination Board Announcement
The Examination Board are pleased to announce the date for the next HAREC examination will be Saturday 13th May 2013. The venue or venues will be announced later, based on demand. We strongly urge all intending applicants to get your applications in to us as soon as possible, to allow adequate planning for venues and arrangements. Details on how to apply can be found on the IRTS website under "applying for an exam". The Exam Board will update all candidates directly via email, once they have applied for an exam.
The Exam Board would also like to wish all recent exam candidates the best of luck and hope to hear many new EI callsigns on the air very soon. This recent exam was offered only to existing candidates, based on very limited spaces being available, in an effort to help clear some of the backlog. ComReg kindly offered the use of their facilities for this exam, which is not available on a weekend.
NSWLC Report February 2023
Rafal, Ei6LC reports as of today, NSWLC has 102 members, all of whom are current IRTS members. Just under 50 members have left the NSWLC last month, following the January renewal deadline. Every year NSWLC requests that every member sends us a new, signed membership form to explicitly indicate their wish to remain in the Club. HAREC Foxtrot classes are continuing right on schedule and have just passed their half-way point. Attendance has stabilised at approx. 40 students each Thursday. The course is still planned to end on the 4th of May. Beside the training sessions the Club has continued to meet every Sunday, except the bank holiday weekend. Attendance has increased again, to between 44 and 53 each Sunday, via Zoom. The theme of every Sunday is announced ahead of each meeting, and ample time is allocated to answer questions arising from the current HAREC course. The main themes of the last three meetings were Homebrewing, with Keith Ei5KJ giving a live demonstration of Making An Oscillator, followed by Aviation Ground Systems, led by Simon Ei7ALB, and Flight Tracking with ADS-B and SDR, led by Domhnall Ei9IMB.
IRTS AGM Weekend 2023 Update
The 2023 IRTS AGM weekend will be held on April 29th and 30th. The venue is the Shearwater Hotel in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. It is being hosted by the Shannon Basin Radio Club who are looking forward to warmly welcoming everyone to the event. The plans for the weekend’s short talks and radio rally are being finalised. Further details will be issued in due course. Please note that the deadline for applications for trader and club tables at the radio rally is Thursday March 16th. If you wish to secure a table at the rally, contact Keith Ei5iN via email at admin /at/ sbrc.ie for details as soon as possible and before this deadline expires. The rally will appeal to anyone with an interest in radio and electronics. It will also feature the popular monster raffle. We are delighted to announce that so far, Long Communications, MFJ Enterprises, Icom UK, Wescom Ireland Ltd., Messi & Paoloni, and Airmast are among the companies that are very kindly sponsoring prizes for this. Tickets are required for the gala dinner on Saturday April 29th. They are €35 each and selling fast. Gala dinner ticket purchasing details, as well as accommodation information for the AGM weekend are available on www.sbrc.ie/agmweekend There will also be a limited number of dinner tickets for purchase at the IRTS table in the Limerick Clare radio rally on Sunday.
Lagan Valley ARS Rally
Reid, Mi0BOT sends an invitations to the Lagan Vally Amateur Radio Society annual rally on the 4th of March 2023 at the Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, Hillsborough, BT266AR. The doors will open at 10:30, please note the earlier starting time. The Rally ends at 13:00. The Hillsborough Village Centre is just off the main A1 road linking the North and South of the island. Several EI's attended the rally last year, Lagan Valley ARS hopes to welcome many EI hams again. More information will be posted on the Club's website at www.lvars.uk as the event draws nearer.
CQ WPX RTTY
The raw scores for the CQ WPX RTTY Contest a fortnight ago have been published on www.cqwpxrtty.com . Congratulations to Mick Ei6IKB who may be able to claim the World Winner spot in the Rookie overlay. He is currently showing in the top spot, but the 2nd place is very close behind, it now depends on the adjudication process to find out who made fewer mistakes. Good luck, Mick!
IRTS QSL Card service
Just a reminder that #9 Buro QSL cards will be available for collection at the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club Rally next Sunday 26th Feb. Also any #9 non-members cards that I have, can also be collected, before they get returned via the Bureau. I plan to locate near the IRTS stand on the day, so please drop by. It's great to see some QSL cards for some new #9 calls coming in on the last delivery.
DX News
Thierry, F6CUK started his activity as FT8WW from Crozet Islands, IOTA AF-008. FT8WW was already logged on 20m with good signals. He will operate on 80 to 6m and possibly 160m and via the QO-100 Satellite.
Ulmar, DK1CE will is active again as TZ1CE from Mali, until the 16th of March, again operating on 160 to 10m, SSB and FT8 on the side.
Hiro, JF1OCQ will be active as D67AA from Comoro Islands, IOTA AF007, from the 9th to the 22nd of next month. He will operate on 160 to 10m, mostly CW, SSB, and FT4, FT8.
Nervous Novices CW Net on 80m
A new weekly CW net has been recently started by Eamo EI7LC. It is a friendly place for inexperienced operators, for anyone still learning Morse, and for those who would like to have a chat using CW without feeling the pressure of a traditional QSO. This new net takes place every Wednesday at 2030 Irish local time, somewhere between 3.550–3.555 MHz. Listen for the Nervous Novices call, which is “CQ NNCW”. Good operating practices and quality sending are highly encouraged but are not required. There is no maximum speed, however, the net requires that all operators QRS to the slowest participant so that everyone can copy. If you are still new to CW, do not miss this opportunity for an enjoyable way to improve your skills.
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.
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