This Week’s News
IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday May 10th, 2026
IRTS President’s Visit to Germany
On Sunday, May 3rd, the IRTS president Jeffrey Roe EI7IRB, visited the German amateur radio station DL0DM located within the Deutsches Museum in Munnich, which is among the world's largest technology museums. The DL0DM callsign originally issued on 20th of December 1949, represents a historic special event station housed in the museum.
The IRTS sincerely appreciates the warm hospitality of Luise DL4LA, Severin DL9SW, and Martin DL5MAC. The society looks forward to further engagement with the worldwide amateur communities in the near future.
Silent Key: Raymond Elgy, EI3DQB formerly of Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club
With profound regret, the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club announces the passing of Raymond Elgy EI3DQB, a long-standing and esteemed member of their club. Raymond had generously provided a site to host the two-meter repeater at his home QTH, which has proved to be a significant asset to the club. This kind gesture is deeply appreciated not only by them but also by many within the broader amateur radio community. The club extends their sincere condolences to Raymond’s son, Simon, his family, and his numerous friends.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. May he rest in peace.
The next meeting of the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club will be held on May 16th in the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) at 7.30 p.m. and will feature a presentation by Seán Kearney EI5JOB on electromagnetism. All members are invited to attend.
South Dublin Radio Club at Dublin Tech Week 2026
South Dublin Radio Club (EI2SDR), in collaboration with TOG Hackerspace, will be taking part in Dublin Tech Week on Saturday 23rd May 2026 with a public outreach event titled: “Making the Invisible Visible - Amateur Radio and Connected Tech”. The event will take place from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the conference space at Ballyroan Library, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
The event aims to showcase how wireless technology connects people, devices, and space through hands-on demonstrations and interactive displays suitable for all ages.
The event is also designed as an accessible introduction to amateur radio and wireless technology for the general public, highlighting the educational and technical aspects of the hobby. Club members interested in assisting with demonstrations, projects, or station operation are encouraged to get involved. Admission is free, and all are welcome. Further details can be found on the Dublin Tech Week website and South Dublin Radio Club social media channels.
DX News: St. Kitts DX-pedition
David FitzGerald, EI7BR, and Roger Greengrass, EI8KN, will be active from St. Kitts in the West Indies from the 13th to the 21st of May. They will be QRV using the callsigns V4/EI7BR and V4/EI8KN. Roger, a keen contester, has also been issued the callsign V49B, which he plans to use for any appropriate contests during their stay.
The pair will be operating from Calypso Bay, just 200 feet from the Caribbean Sea, using a Yaesu FT3000D and an Elecraft KPA500 amplifier. Activity is expected on all bands from 160 to 6 metres, including 60m, using both SSB and FT8. Their antenna farm includes a Mosley beam for the high bands and several verticals for the low bands, along with a 5-element Yagi for 6 metres. While this is a holiday-style DX-pedition, David and Roger hope to get a significant amount of airtime. Keep an eye on the cluster for activity periods and check QRZ.com for their QSL policy.
VHF/Microwave News
For meteor scatter enthusiasts and those curious about the mode, the peak of the Eta Aquarids meteor shower has just passed. This shower, which consists of debris from Halley’s Comet, is known for producing fast-moving meteors that create high-velocity ionized trails. These are perfect for pings and short-duration bursts on the 6-metre and 2-metre bands. As with most meteor scatter events, the early morning hours from approximately 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. local time tend to be the most productive. The MSK144 mode is the most popular mode used. Centres of activity to listen out for are 50.260 MHz and 144.360MHz USB.
A week of activity on VHF and above is coming up. On Tuesday, May 12th, UK and FM activity contests on the 70cm band take place. Unfortunately, no significant tropospheric propagation is expected to help matters. However, it is worth listening out from 7 p.m. especially for stations located in the eastern side of the country. On the following evening, Wednesday May 13th, activity switches to the FT8 and FT4 modes on the same band from 6 p.m. Thursday night sees the 50MHz UK activity contest taking place from 8 p.m. for 90 minutes. Rounding off the week is the RSGB 144MHz May Contest over Saturday and Sunday next. This starts at 14:00 UTC on Saturday May 16th running for 24 hours.
Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club Rally
Lough Erne Amateur Radio Club will hold their annual rally at the Share Discovery Village, 221 Lisnaskea Road, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, post code BT92 0JZ, next Sunday, the 17th of May. The doors open at 11 a.m., the entry fee is 5 pounds sterling or 5 euro. There will be various trade stands for equipment and components. Please contact Alan at argault91 /at/ gmail.com 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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