Archived News Script
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday June 28th, 2026
IRTS Hamfest 2026 Returns to Mullingar
By popular demand, IRTS Hamfest 2026 is returning this summer to the Mullingar Showgrounds. The highly anticipated two-day gathering is scheduled to take place on Saturday and Sunday, the 8th and 9th of August. Organisers stress that everyone is welcome to attend and admission to the event is completely free of charge. For those keen to get actively involved - whether by planning a presentation or setting up a "show and tell" table to exhibit projects - proposals can be sent via email to hamfest /at/ irts.ie. You are encouraged to keep a close eye on the official webpage at irts.ie/hamfest for further details. For real-time news and announcements leading up to the weekend, you can follow ei0irts on social media.
IRTS Visit to Friedrichshafen Radio Club
On Thursday, June 25th, IRTS President Jeffrey Roe and committee member Mark visited the Friedrichshafen amateur radio club, operating under the callsign DK0FN. The IRTS extends its sincere thanks to Falko, DM5XT, for the exceptionally warm hospitality and welcome during the visit.
Welcome Nets for New Licensees on VHF and UHF
Denis, EI4KH, operating the IRTS headquarters station EI0IRTS, took to the airwaves last Wednesday, June 24th, to extend a warm welcome to the latest wave of new licensees making their first contacts on local VHF and UHF repeaters. The society notes that it is fantastic to hear so many fresh voices joining the bands and offers its congratulations to everyone who has recently entered the hobby. To assist new operators in getting established, the IRTS website provides a wealth of local resources. Amateurs can easily locate nearby voice and digital repeaters by visiting irts.ie/repeaters and find details on local radio clubs across the country at irts.ie/clubs.
National Short Wave Listeners Club AGM
The National Short Wave Listeners Club held their Annual General Meeting on Sunday June 21st. A large attendance heard reports from the outgoing officers which showed continued growth in the club. The recent class had eighty-six members sign up last October and most of them sat the HAREC exam on May 16th. This was an increase from sixty-three the previous year. Many newly licensed members remain with the club to avail of the Sunday socials which cover most aspects of our hobby. The average attendance this past year has been forty-six. The club currently has 184 members. Outgoing Chairman Pat EI2JQB thanked everybody who helps the club operate successfully, especially the officers and tutors. A special thanks to Paraic Nolan EI2LH who has the major job of processing the membership records and liaising with the IRTS Membership Officer and to Equipment Manager Mike EI2LF who looks after the several complete stations that are loaned to new licensees, thanks to generous donors. The officers elected for the coming year are Chairman Pat MacGrath EI2JQB, Secretary Dave Moore EI4BZ, Membership Officer/Treasurer Paraic Nolan EI2LH, Equipment Manager Mike Griffin EI2LF, and the Club Representative to IRTS is Stephen Dillon EI3116. The club will take a break from online activities during July and August but intending students can still sign up for the Autumn classes by visiting SWL.ie where a membership application form can be downloaded.
International Museums Weekend at EI0MAR
Tony, EI5EM, reports that he was the sole operator representing the Hurdy Gurdy Museum of Vintage Radio in Howth, EI0MAR, during the International Museums Weekend event. Operating across both Saturday and Sunday, band conditions proved to be poor, but the weekend was highly successful on the social front, with Reg Shannon expertly guiding a steady stream of visitors around the exhibits. Numerous amateurs dropped by the station to support the event, including Mark, EI4BNB; Joe, EI2JZ; Fergus, EI6IB; David, EI3IXB; Jim, EI4HH; and Veronica, the editor of Echo Ireland. This provided a wonderful opportunity for Tony to meet the editor in person after years of corresponding via email regarding article submissions. Because the radio bands were quiet, the team had ample time to thoroughly demonstrate the station to the public, with visitors showing a keen interest in the setup and especially enjoying seeing live Morse code in action. During the weekend, Tony also checked into the 2-metre IRTS Sunday morning news and logged several local contacts. Among them was a chat with the joint TOG and SDR radio expedition over on Ireland's Eye, who were activating two Parks on the Air (POTA) sites using the special callsign EJ0LGBT. Despite the lack of DX pileups, the beautiful summer weather and high public engagement made it a thoroughly satisfying event.
Barnesmore VHF Repeater Now in Service
Donegal Radio Club has announced that the Barnesmore VHF repeater, EI2JPG, is now officially in service as of Sunday, June 21st. The launch follows a long-anticipated wait for the final antenna installation. The repeater operates with an output frequency of 145.750 MHz and an input of 145.150 MHz, requiring a 67 Hz tone. The folded dipole antenna used for the system was generously donated by Raymond Long and was successfully mounted and cabled to the equipment cabinet mid-month. On the day of the launch, club members Dave, EI5IMB, and Malcolm, EI5JEB, visited the site to patch the antenna into the repeater and conduct live testing. After resolving some initial setup issues and performing fine-tuning, a number of successful contacts were logged with operators at varying distances. Additionally, with remote assistance from Jason, EI9LB, the repeater's AllStarLink Node has been successfully connected to Truskmore. This link will remain active for the next few weeks to gather vital test data and signal reports. Donegal Radio Club extends its thanks to everyone involved in getting the project over the line, as well as to the remote operators who provided signal reports during initial testing. The club highly welcomes further observations and reception reports, which can be emailed to donegalradioclub /at/ gmail.com or sent directly to any club member.
VHF/Microwave News
Some extraordinary propagation opportunities on VHF and above are popping up thanks to strong ionospheric and tropospheric activity. Over the past few days, long-distance paths stretching from Ireland all the way into southern Italy, alongside a dense cluster of active stations logged across Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia have been noted on the 2m band. Owen EI4GGB even reported hearing Italian FM broadcast stations from the centre of Ireland. Looking ahead, the focus extends to weather-driven propagation. According to the Hepburn Tropospheric Index, strong tropospheric ducting is projected to build significantly during the week. A high-index ducting path is forecast to sweep up from the Atlantic midweek directly impacting the south and west coasts of Ireland. Operators and SWLs are encouraged to monitor the 2-metre and 70-centimetre bands as well as the FM broadcast bands, as the combination of conditions will be highly favourable for exceptional over-the-horizon DX into continental Europe.
Upcoming IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day
The annual IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day is taking place over the first full weekend of July, running for a full 24 hours from 14:00 UTC on Saturday July 4th until 14:00 UTC on Sunday July 5th. This event comprises five entirely separate contests running concurrently across the 50 MHz, 70 MHz, 144 MHz, 432 MHz, and 1296 MHz bands. Operators have the flexibility to enter on a single band or across multiple frequencies using CW, SSB, or FM modes. Visit irts.ie/contests for further information.
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 the radio news editor Keith EI5IN via email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie with the details. The deadline each week is midnight on Thursdays. Items intended for inclusion in Echo Ireland, which is the IRTS quarterly journal, should be sent to echoireland /at/ irts.ie
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