Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday July 6th, 2025
IRTS News Team Summer Break
The IRTS news team will be taking its annual summer holidays from Sunday July 20th until Sunday August 3rd. This means that the last IRTS HF bulletin before the break will be the 80m bulletin at 12 p.m. next Sunday, July 13th. The next bulletin after that date will be the 40m bulletin on Sunday, August 3rd at 11 a.m. For events that may be taking place during the holiday period, you are advised to send the details to newsteam /at/ irts.ie as soon as possible so they can be included in the next IRTS news bulletin before the summer break.
The IRTS wishes to thank all of our newsreaders both HF and regional weekly readers for your continued great service to the society. We hope you all enjoy your summer break!
IRTS Hamfest 2025
Preparations are now at an advanced stage for IRTS Hamfest 2025. This is hosted by the IRTS and will take place over the weekend of September 6th and 7th. It will be in conjunction with the IRTS SSB Field Day weekend. The venue is the Mullingar Showgrounds which are just outside Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Novice and experienced people will come together in one place along with a very wide array of amateur radio equipment, technologies, and expertise. Gates open for visitors at 12 p.m. on Saturday September 6th. Entry will be free for IRTS members.
Across 30 acres that have been set aside for the event, live demonstrations and interactive exhibits will include working the QO-100 geostationary satellite, portable operation, a showcase of how DXpeditions are set-up and operated in addition to how to operate low earth orbit satellites. Skill-building and learning zones will focus on soldering techniques, sharing one antenna with multiple radios, emergency communication systems, and much more. All amateur radio clubs are invited to take part.
A dedicated website for the event and all the latest information can be found at www.irts.ie/hamfest . If interested in getting involved, contact the team via email to hamfest /at/ irts.ie
IOTA Standings Table Updates
Information is being sought from operators for the EI HF IOTA standings table that is published on the IRTS website. This is a table showing the number of IOTA references worked by EI stations participating in RSGB's IOTA award programme. The main information required is the operator's callsign and name, the number of Island groups worked and confirmed in addition to a breakdown of the numbers per continent. You can view the existing EI HF IOTA standings table on the Information section of the IRTS website and submit updates via email to pagemaster /at/ irts.ie
Tog Hackerspace on the Airwaves
Tog Hackerspace report that after months of behind-the-scenes work, they are now a registered radio club with both the Irish Radio Transmitters Society and ComReg. They have been issued with their very own club call sign EI0TOG. In the coming weeks, they'll be getting the station properly set up in the space. Once it's live, members and guests will be able to hop on the airwaves and try out EI0TOG under the supervision of a licenced operator. You can find out more about them at tog.ie/radio
Contests and Events
The IARU HF World Championship takes place next weekend. It starts at 12:00 UTC on Saturday July 12th and ends at 11:59 UTC the following day. The IRTS contest manager Mark EI6JK is seeking operators to operate the IRTS contest callsign EI0HQ for the six CW and SSB slots in this IARU HF championship. If interested, please contact Mark EI6JK via email to contest_manager /at/ irts.ie as soon as possible.
The World Radiosport Team Championship takes place every four years. It is a radio contest event, designed to provide a platform for high-achieving ham radio contesters to compete on a level playing field in the same geographic region using identical antennas, output power, and other operating conditions. The 10th WRTC takes place from the 8th to the 13th of July 2026 and is hosted by the UK. However, next weekend and in conjunction with the IARU HF World Championship, five WRTC stations will be tested under field conditions. The operating location will be a site in Suffolk. Mark EI6JK will act as one of the test stations so listen out for a familiar voice and his CW "fist". Two awards are available for chasers during this event. You can find out more about the test at wrtc2026.org
13-Year-Old Sets a New High Speed Telegraphy Record
At this year's international amateur radio exhibition in Friedrichshafen, a 13-year-old set a record in high-speed telegraphy. 13-year-old Romanian Alexandru YO8YNS, amazed the audience with 1,160 characters per minute. Despite his young age, he is a multiple world champion and already an old hand in high-speed CW. At last year's High-Speed Telegraphy World Championship in Tunisia, YO8YNS set a new world record with a score of 311,192 points and a top speed of 1,126 characters per minute, which he has now broken this year.
Record Breaking Balloon Launch Attempt in August
On August 15, 2025, a unique balloon mission is planned by a Polish amateur radio team. This is being organised by the AstroLife community in cooperation with experienced stratospheric balloon operators and amateur radio enthusiasts SP5LOT and SQ5RB. They seek to launch a balloon from central Poland that will carry a scientific payload up at least 40km into the stratosphere. The team plan to equip it with a camera and transmitter that will transmit live images digitally during the flight. They are crowdfunding the project and you can find out more at 4fund.com/cz3jys
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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