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This Week's News

IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday January 25th, 2026
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Update from the IRTS

The Coolmine Rally is on Sunday the 15th of February 2026 at Coolmine
Community School in Dublin. Doors open at 10 a.m. IRTS will be present
for casual chats about our work and memberships. IRTS awards curator
Mark Kilmartin will also be collecting award trophies from previous
winners. For anyone who needs to get in contact with Mark regarding
return of trophies, you can find his contact details on the contact
section on irts.ie

We are seeking additional HF newsreaders to join our current panel of
news readers for the weekly Sunday morning 40m and 80m IRTS news
bulletins. If any licensed IRTS member living in EI feels like that
they would be interested in becoming part of the IRTS newsreaders
panel, please get in touch with the IRTS news team via email to
newsteam /at/ irts.ie
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AGM Weekend Update from Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club

In preparation for the IRTS AGM Weekend on the 18th and 19th of April,
the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club writes in to say that they have
secured the following accommodation arrangements with Treacy's Oakwood
Hotel in Shannon. Standard room rates per night for bed and breakfast
are EUR169 for a twin room and EUR149 for a single room. Upgrades, if
desired, are available for an additional charge. To avail of these
prices when booking, it is essential to use the reference number 232938
and book by phone and not online. The reference does not work for
online bookings. The hotel phone number is 061 361500. Further details
regarding the weekend are now available on the club website
limerickclareamateurradioclub.ie and the IRTS website. Additional
material will be made available nearer the event.
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EI2WRC Group Meeting

The January meeting of the EI2WRC group will take place tomorrow,
Monday, January 26th at 8 p.m. sharp at the Southeast Technological
University in the Netlabs Research and Innovation Building, SETU West
Campus, Carriganore, Waterford. The Eircode is X91 WR86. New members or
anyone that has an interest in amateur radio or communications in
general are very welcome to come along. SWLs are very welcome to attend
also. For more information about EI2WRC, their activities, and for
contact details please see www.searg.ie
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Tipperary Amateur Radio Group

The next meeting of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group will be held at
Raheen House Hotel, Raheen, Clonmel, Co Tipperary on Tuesday the 27th
of January 2026 at 8 p.m. The Eircode for this new venue is E91 AC82.
TARG would like to thank Tim and Lucy Clarke, the owners of The
Princess Bar, Clonmel for all their help and assistance over the years
in hosting the meetings at their licenced premises. TARG also wishes
them both a long and happy retirement, having recently closed after 39
years in business. For more information about Tipperary Amateur Radio
Group, you can email them at ei7trg /at/ gmail.com
__________________________________________________________________

VHF/Microwave News

IRTS members active on VHF and above are encouraged to submit their
worked squares information for 2025 and earlier years where applicable.
The team is updating the information for the VHF/Microwave section of
the IRTS website. You can send the information to the VHF/microwave
managers by email.

The repeaters, beacons, and gateways listings are included as part of
the upcoming updates. Thanks again to those that contributed to the
refresh of information over the past few months. The team continue to
welcome any additional changes or updates.

Interest is sought regarding a CW activity event for the 2m and 70cm
bands in the near future. It will not be a contest but a fun relaxed
activity to try some CW contacts on the bands. If interested, contact
the VHF/Microwave team with suggestions regarding possible dates,
duration, and format.

The email address to reach Keith EI5IN and Denis EI4KH for all these
topics and any other items of interest is vhf_manager /at/ irts.ie
__________________________________________________________________

Amateur Radio as a Vital Link for Emergency Communications

Allegations of undersea cable sabotage or damage is motivating some
citizens in Taiwan to learn how to send and receive their own emergency
communications. A nonprofit civil defence group, Ganghu, has started
training people on how to communicate using amateur radio, in case the
internet becomes unavailable. Taiwan relies on 15 international and 10
domestic communication cables to carrying most of its internet traffic.
These cables are damaged on average seven to eight times a year,
according to a 2025 report by Taiwan's National Security Bureau.
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Belarus Threatens Ham Radio Operators with the Death Penalty

It is reported that Belarussian state authorities have detained over 50
licensed members of BFRR, the Belarusian Federation of Radioamateurs
and Radiosportsmen. They are accused of treason and espionage and have
been paraded on state television. The accusations are that they have
used Baofeng handhelds and consumer-grade SDR dongles to intercept
military radio traffic. Hardware like that is incapable of cracking the
modern AES-256 digital encryption typically used by government security
forces. QSL cards received through the QSL bureau and logged contacts
with operators in Europe or the United States are being presented as
clandestine reporting to NATO agents.
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Bouvet Island DXpedition Update

The operators, the medical and the support team of the upcoming Bouvet
expedition are preparing for their departure from Cape Town on the 1st
of February. They will be on air for around three weeks until the end
of February. Travelling on a large sailing vessel, an onboard
helicopter will be used to transfer numerous generators, tents, tools,
radios, antennas, and amplifiers to the island. Two camps are planned
which will be sited at favourable locations for propagation towards
North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Operations will be on all
bands from 160 to 10m, except 60m, and on the QO-100 satellite, giving
preference to human based modes like CW and SSB. Unlike the ill-fated
DXpedition in 2023, expect to be able to at least hear the 3Y?K CQ
calls, and hopefully make contact amid what will no doubt be the
biggest pile-up in 2026. Up-to-date information can be found at
3Y?K.com
__________________________________________________________________

IRTS 80m Counties Contest Results

The results of the IRTS 80m counties contest on New Years Day are now
available on the IRTS website. Well done to the winners and all that
took part.
__________________________________________________________________

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.

[C]
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