Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday June 2nd, 2024
Join EI3CC at the Oscars (Orbiting Satellites Carrying Amateur Radio)
Next weekend, 8th and 9th of June, Collective Communication is having a fun satellite weekend. They will be operating from their radio communications unit at Kilmurin Cove Co. Waterford. The Eircode is X91 C7D0 which is just west of Tramore. They intend to operate through Low Earth Orbit satellites as well as using the microwave up and downlinks of satellite QO-100 which is the only geostationary satellite carrying an amateur radio transponder at this time. If all goes well, they intend to utilize QO-100 for JOTA later in the year to allow scout groups to contact each other groups regardless of HF propagation or whatever contests are being held that weekend.
If you have ever thought of trying your hand at satellite communications, this could well be your chance. EI3CC may have an HF station on the air as well. You are invited to join them next weekend. They report that they will have a kettle boiling so there'll be plenty of tea and coffee available plus the odd chocolate biscuit too.
North Dublin Radio Club AGM
North Dublin Radio Club will hold their AGM at 8.30 p.m. on the 8th of June. The meeting will take place in the Artane Beaumont Family Recreation Centre, Kilmore Road, Dublin 5. All members are asked to attend.
Shannon Basin Radio Club Meeting on June 21st
The next meeting of Shannon Basin Radio Club is scheduled for the 21st of June. The venue is Hannons Hotel Roscommon, Eircode F42 PH33. The meeting will start at 8 p.m. The club is expecting a large turn-out of members is looking forward to seeing everyone. If you are interested in learning more about this and the club itself, please email admin /at/ sbrc.ie. Further information about Shannon Basin Radio Club may be found at www.sbrc.ie and via their social media channels.
APRS Thursday
Every Thursday, a global net called APRSThursday takes place using Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) for 24 hours. It is a network of licensed amateur radio operators who share messages and position packets through radio and internet. For any operators both old and new, it is a great opportunity to explore the APRS mode and make contacts with other stations joining the net. Up to 500 operators take part in the net each week. Further information may be found at aprsph.net.
VHF Digital Activity on June 5th
A regular series of FT8 and FT4 activities take place on the VHF and UHF bands each month. The next VHF FT8 activity takes place on the first Wednesday of the month which is June 5th. It is an open contest intended to promote FT8 & FT4 activity on the 2m, 70 cm, and 23cm bands. The action on the 2m band is centred on 144.174 MHz for FT8 and 144.170 MHz for FT4 from 17:00 to 21:00 UTC. You can learn more about this at www.ft8activity.eu
Propagation Update
During the early part of this week, you may be able to take advantage of tropospheric propagation on the VHF and UHF bands. The tropo propagation may be marginal to fair and short lived but it is worth trying your hand at digital and voice modes particularly on the 2m band for potentially some DX contacts. The sun is continuing to emit flares ranging from small C-class right up to major X-class flares. The latter is resulting mainly from the active region that has come back into Earth s view and caused our skies to light up with aurora recently. You can expect conditions on the HF bands to remain volatile as a result. The 2-meter and 6-meter bands are also worth monitoring if we see a return of aurora in the near future. The aurora can refract signals enabling signals to propagate much farther than normal.
Logbook of the World is still offline
The American Radio Relay League s popular Logbook of the World (LoTW) online database is still down at the time of compiling this news. The ARRL also report that even their telephone system is also still down despite the reported cyberattack occurring almost two weeks ago.
2024 IARU Region 1 50 MHz CW/SSB Contest
The 2024 IARU Region 1 50 MHz CW/SSB Contest takes place over June 15th and June 16th. It starts at 14:00 UTC and ends twenty-four hours later. The objectives are to make as many contacts as possible and to have fun. With potential Sporadic E propagation involved, it may be a good opportunity to try your the band especially if new to this VHF band or even the hobby itself. You can find out more about this contest at www.iaru-r1.org
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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