(BUTTON) Go Back

This Week's News

IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday September 13th, 2026
__________________________________________________________________

Updates from the IRTS

The IRTS Vice President, Paraic Nolan EI2LH, has decided to step down
from his role due to personal reasons. The IRTS would like to thank
Paraic for his contributions to the society and to the wider amateur
radio community. We wish Paraic all the best.

Each year, the IRTS annual general meeting is typically hosted by a
volunteering member club. For the host club, the AGM is a great
opportunity to bring operators together across the country while
showcasing the club's contribution to the Irish amateur radio
community. The IRTS is very grateful to Shannon Basin Radio Club which
has stepped up to host the 2027 AGM. The AGM weekend is scheduled to
take place on April 24th and 25th, 2027 at the Athlone Springs Hotel,
Co. Roscommon. The AGM itself will be held on Sunday, April 25th.
Further details will be announced in due course.

The IRTS would like to invite all operators to take part in the
upcoming 2m and 70cm counties contest, taking place today, Sunday, 13th
September. The contest begins at 2 p.m. local time with 30 minutes on
the 70cm band, followed by 90 minutes on the 2m bands, both FM and SSB
modes are used. We would like to extend a special invitation to our SWL
members to take part, listeners should keep a log of the exchanges they
receive and submit their log in accordance with the contest guidance.
The winning operators and successful short wave listeners will be
published on the IRTS contest results site. For full details and
contest guidance, please visit irts.ie/contests

Kildare Amateur Radio Club's upcoming Buy and Sell Extravaganza is
scheduled for Sunday, October 18th, 2026. The venue is the Kill GAA
Football Club in Kill Village, County Kildare. The Eircode is W91 XP95.
Doors will open at 11 a.m. and admission is free to children under 12,
and five euro for the general public. Further details and updates can
be found online at kildarearc.com . On the same day, the IRTS committee
will be also holding its in-person committee meeting, thus many
committee members will be attending the extravaganza, this presents a
great opportunity to meet the IRTS team in person. We look forward to
seeing you there.

ComReg has advised the IRTS that its review of the current amateur
radio licensing framework is progressing. LS Telcom has been appointed
as technical adviser and is examining matters including transmitter
power limits, operating modes, automatic stations and amateur frequency
allocations. Over the past six weeks, it has met with a range of Irish
amateur radio clubs and societies.

DotEcon has been appointed to review how HAREC examinations should be
administered in the future. This includes examination delivery,
locations, frequency, question formats, pass marks and the transparency
of question pools. The review does not include changes to the HAREC
syllabus.

Compliance Engineering Ireland will also carry out non-ionising
radiation measurements at volunteer amateur stations during September.
ComReg currently expects to publish its consultation and supporting
reports before Christmas. It is considering allowing between six and
eight weeks for responses. A longer update, with further details, is
available through the IRTS Groups.io group. Anyone with questions is
welcome, as always, to contact the IRTS ComReg Liaison Officer, Jeffrey
Roe, EI7IRB.
__________________________________________________________________

DX F?ile 2026 on October 3rd

Now in its 9th year, DX F?ile will be taking place on Saturday, 3rd
October at The Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis. The convention starts at 10:30
a.m. and runs until 6 p.m. It will be hosting International DX
presentations by the FP5KE, XX9W, TK5SI, and S21WD DXpedition teams.
Throughout the day. there will also be a fun DX Quiz, SSB, and CW
simulated pileups and their famous giant tombola raffle. A great day is
assured for the dedicated DXer. Tickets are selling out fast so if you
are interested or need any further information please send enquiries to
David Deane via email to ei9fbb /at/ gmail.com
__________________________________________________________________

Silent Key - Joe Dillon EI4FV

We are very sorry to report that Joe Dillon EI4FV passed away on
September 10th. Joe was licensed in the early 1980s having first being
active on CB. Joe had been a member of the North Dublin Radio Club as
well as a founder of the Bayside Scouts Radio Club. Joe was also a
former Treasurer of the IRTS and founded the radio club of the National
Council for the Blind in Drumcondra. Between the different clubs, Joe
was responsible for introducing a lot of people to the world of amateur
radio. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and wide circle
of friends. Ar dheis D? go raibh a anam. May he rest in peace.
__________________________________________________________________

EI2REG is back on air

Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club is pleased to announce that their
local repeater, EI2REG, is now back fully functional after a period off
air for repairs and some maintenance. The club extends a special thanks
to Simon EI7ALB and Diarmuid EI4LF for their work in that regard.
__________________________________________________________________

Shannon Basin Radio Club Hosting the IRTS AGM Weekend 2027

As announced at the start of the news bulletin, Shannon Basin Radio
Club will host the 2027 IRTS AGM Weekend. It will take place in the
centrally located Athlone Springs Hotel, Co. Roscommon over the weekend
of the 24th and 25th of April 2027. Radio-related activities will take
place on the Saturday afternoon which will be followed by the IRTS Gala
Dinner that night. The Shannon Basin Radio Club rally will then
commence on the Sunday morning. The rally will then be followed by the
IRTS 2027 AGM which will take place on Sunday afternoon April 25th.
Applications for trader and club tables for the rally are now open.
Traders and clubs will be contacted directly over the coming days, but
you are invited to email admin /at/ sbrc.ie for more information.
Further details about the weekend's event will be announced over the
coming weeks.
__________________________________________________________________

Emergency Traffic Priority Requested for ORARI Operation in Indonesia

In response to an ongoing disaster situation in Indonesia, the national
amateur radio organization ORARI has activated emergency communication
operations running through September 24th. Radio amateurs are kindly
requested to avoid causing interference and to give strict priority to
emergency traffic. Voice emergency communications are operating on
7.110 MHz, with JS8Call USB data traffic taking place on 7.100 MHz.
Satellite operations for the LAPAN-A2 / IO-86 spacecraft are using an
uplink of 145.880 MHz and a downlink of 435.880 MHz. Operators are
encouraged to maintain a listening watch where possible, follow any
further announcements from ORARI, and keep these frequencies clear.
__________________________________________________________________

Contest Updates

Well done to all those that took part in the SSB Field Day weekend last
week. This is a friendly reminder that the deadline for log submissions
is next Sunday, September 20th. These should be sent to contestmanager
/at/ irts.ie

As reported earlier in the news, the IRTS 70-centimetre and 2-metre
Counties Contests take place today September 13th. The 70cm leg begins
at 2:00 p.m. followed immediately by the 2-metre contest from 2.30 p.m.
The 145 Alive event is also taking place - it starts at 12 p.m. Every
operator is encouraged to get on the bands and enjoy the increased
level of activity.
__________________________________________________________________

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, news, meetings, or other items of interest,
please send them via email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie . The deadline is
midnight on Thursdays. Items intended for inclusion in Echo Ireland
should be sent to echoireland /at/ irts.ie.

[C]
News Archives


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.19
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)