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EI5IN > NEWS 05.05.26 22:04l 83 Lines 7447 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: IRISH RADIO TRANSMITTERS SOCIETY NEWS
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Irish Radio Transmitters Society
Radio News Bulletin
Sunday May 3rd, 2026
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IRTS Updates
During this year's annual general meeting, we were delighted to present the annual IRTS awards. Each year, these awards recognise individuals and clubs who have made significant contributions to amateur radio and to our society. This years recipients are as follows. For service to the society or to amateur radio, Daithi Roe, EI6JGB, received the Arup Cup, Mike Lee, EI4HF, was awarded the Michael Collins Memorial Trophy, and Raymond Long, EI9DM, received the Pat Conway Memorial Trophy.
For contributions to IRTS news media and the promotion of ham radio, Veronica Holohan, EI3149, received the Sheila Piper Cup and South Dublin Radio Club, EI2SDR, was awarded the John Ash Chapman Shield. For outstanding club representation, Denis OFlaherty, EI4KH, received the Pat Maher EI3AV Perpetual Cup. For DIY equipment construction, Ian Cortina, EI3LH, was awarded the Folan Shield. Finally, Andy McCarthy, EI7IOB, received the Presidents Cup for his outstanding contribution to the society.
The IRTS is run entirely by volunteers who work together to support the amateur radio hobby for everyone in Ireland. Congratulations to all the award winners for you all have made a real difference, and your efforts are greatly appreciated. Please visit irts.ie/awards for more information on the history of these awards.
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ComReg's Health of the Hobby 2026 Survey
Based on the feedback received during the ComReg talk at the IRTS AGM weekend, ComReg has reopened the survey to allow more time for people who may have missed the opportunity to provide feedback. If you have not completed it so far, you are strongly encouraged to take part so that ComReg has sufficient data to support recommendations to aid the hobby in Ireland. The survey is open until next Friday, May 8th. Please visit irts.ie to find the link to the survey website.
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POTA Rover Day by TOG Hackerspace and South Dublin Radio Club
On Sunday, 31st May, TOG Hackerspace and South Dublin Radio Club will run a POTA Rover Day around Dublin. Operating as EI0TOG, the group aims to activate five parks in one UTC day for the clubs first POTA Rover Warthog award. They also hope to call into the SDR net, the IRTS HF news, and the two-metre news during the day. Anyone wishing tojoin for oneor more of the parks can find details attog.ie/radio
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Galway Radio Experimenter Club Meeting
Galway Radio Experimenters Club will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday, the 5th of May in the Menlo Park Hotel Galway at 8 p.m. All radio amateurs and SWLs are more than welcome to attend, just drop them a note via the "contact us" page on their website at galwayradio.com
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Mills on the Air Activation by Shannon Basin Radio Club
Shannon Basin Radio Club will be active as EI2EWM from the historic Elphin Windmill in Co. Roscommon next weekend, May 9th and 10th. The club encourages stations and SWLs to listen out for the special callsign and to try get it in their logs. Visit nharg.org.uk to learn about the Mills on the Air program and sbrc.ie for further information about the club and how to contact them.
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VHF/Microwave News
FT8Activityis an open and friendly activity contest designed to promoteFT8 and FT4 operation on VHF and UHF bandsfor radio amateurs. Their next event takes place on May 6th using the 2m band from 6 p.m.
Every Thursday, a global net called APRSThursday takes place using Automatic Packet Reporting System 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. Activity globally has been growing steadily since it was started. Recently, it broke the 1000 operator mark for the first time. In Ireland, APRS activity takes place on 144.800 MHz using 1200 baud audio frequency shift keying. Visit aprsph.net for further information about the weekly net.
If interested about packet radio or curious to learn more, packet radio is alive and well in the midlands and southeast of the country. Called the Eirpak network, the modern version of what originated in the 1980s operates on 144.950 MHz using 3600 baud packet radio. Any operators interested in trying to connect or even extend the network are very welcome. You are very welcome to contact the VHF/Microwave managers via email to vhf_manager@irts.ie to enquire further about any topic, idea, or issue relating to VHF and above in Ireland.
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Contest Updates
The results of the recent IRTS 2m and 70cm Counties Contest have been published on the IRTS website. Well done to the winners and all the took part in this fun and friendly event. Overall, 12 counties were logged on the 70cm band. On the 2m band, 21 counties were logged in addition to a QSO with a station in Wales reported from the midlands.
The UK EI 80 Metre contest concluded last Wednesday with the final CW leg. The series has been running since last September and consisted of fourteen separate one-hour contests - seven CW and seven SSB, held on Wednesday evenings. Although the contest itself has been active for nearly twelve years, the league table has only been in place for the last four seasons.
Congratulations go to EI6JK Mark on winning the overall 2025/2026 season. This is the first time an Irish station has taken the top position in the four years since the league table was introduced. Mark EI6JK also won the SSB overall section for the year. Congratulations are also extended to Allan SM5CFS on achieving first place in the CW section.
Well done to everyone who took part throughout the season and to all category winners.
This year has seen an increase in participation from European stations. Operators continue to enjoy the one-hour format and the benefit of seeing provisional results only minutes after the log submission deadline. Congratulations and sincere thanks also go to the organisers of these enjoyable contests. Their work ensures that results are published promptly, and it is clear that a great deal of time and effort goes into managing everything behind the scenes.
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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, on 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. To book your space, please contact Alan at argault91@gmail.com
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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@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@irts.ie
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