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This Week's News

IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday February 22nd, 2026
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Updates from the IRTS

As we enter Spring - a favourite season for outdoor radio adventures,
the IRTS encourages everyone to enjoy radio experiments and field
activities with safety first in mind. Your IRTS membership includes
complimentary public liability insurance, please find the full policy
at irts.ie/insurance

For those new to the ham radio hobby, the license exams are typically
held twice yearly - in early summer and late autumn. While the 2026
exam dates are not confirmed yet, now is a great time to start
preparing, you can find study materials, including a free
complimentary study guide at irts.ie/study

IRTS wishes all members a safe and fun season of radio activities.
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IRTS AGM Weekend Gala Dinner

The Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club reports that it is continuing its
preparations for hosting the IRTS AGM Weekend. They are pleased to
confirm that anybody wishing to book tickets for the Gala Dinner on
April 18th should send their details to their club treasurer using the
email address irtsgaladinner.2026 /at/ gmail.com

When the tickets are printed and available, the treasurer will contact
those who have booked and make arrangements for payment. As the gala
dinner is one of the highlights of the AGM Weekend, it is hoped to see
as many people as possible in attendance.
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South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC

The 2026 Annual General Meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio
Group EI2WRC will take place, tomorrow Monday the 23rd of February 2026
at 8.00 p.m. sharp on in the South East Technological University,
Netlabs Research and Innovation Building, SETU West Campus,
Carriganore, Waterford. Eircode X91 WR86. All members are asked to
please attend. Any new members or anyone interested in radio
communications in general or finding out more about the group are
welcome also. For more information about EI2WRC, their activities, and
for contact details please see www.searg.ie
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DMR Demonstration Evening with South Dublin Radio Club and TOG Hackerspace

South Dublin Radio Club in collaboration with TOG Hackerspace will host
a Digital Mode Radio (DMR) demonstration evening on the 24th of March
from 7.30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at the club. Jeffrey EI7IRB will give a
practical demonstration covering setting up a DMR hotspot, creating and
programming a codeplug in addition to tips and lessons learned during
setup. This session will be of interest to anyone curious about DMR or
looking to improve their existing setup. Members who would like to
contribute presentations on other aspects of DMR are very welcome to
get involved. The venue will be the South Dublin Radio Club, Ballyroan
Community, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14.
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Shannon Basin Radio Club Updates

The next Shannon Basin Radio Club SSB DX net takes place on the 80m
band next Thursday night from 9 p.m. The exact net frequency will be
posted on the club's social media channels closer to the time. For
information about the club, you can email admin /at/ sbrc.ie or visit
their website.
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World Amateur Radio Day

Every April 18th, radio amateurs worldwide take to the airwaves in
celebration of World Amateur Radio Day. Operators worldwide take to the
airwaves in celebration of amateur radio and to commemorate the
formation of the International Amateur Radio Union in 1925. The IARU
has announced that the theme for this year's World Amateur Radio Day
will be "Entering the Next Century of Amateur Radio Communications and
Innovation". Special event stations will be active all around the
world. Of note so far is the Radio Amateurs of Canada holding a "Get on
the Air on World Amateur Radio Day" special event. They encourage
amateurs to get on the air and contact as many RAC stations. The RAC
official stations will operate across Canada from 00:00 UTC to 23:59
UTC that day.
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New 60m allocation in the U.S.A.

The Federal Communications Commission in the United States of America
recently expanded Amateur Radio privileges on the 60-meter band. The
new rules took effect on the 13th of February. United States Amateurs
holding a General, Advanced, or Extra class license are now permitted
to operate on four fixed frequency channels, each having an effective
bandwidth of 2.8 kHz, as well as one 15kHz wide segment. The channels
are 5330.5, 5346.5, 5371.5, and 5403.5kHz with 100W Effective Radiated
Power, and a 15kHz segment from 5351.5 to 5366.5kHz with 9.15W ERP.
Here in Ireland, we have six spot frequencies with 200W ERP
authorisation and 15W on the same 15kHz wide segment. This means that
the USA and ourselves now share three of the fixed channels which use
the USB/CW dial frequencies of 5330.5, 5346.5, and 5403.5kHz as well as
the 15 kHz wide segment. Please consult the ARRL webpage
on arrl.org/60m-channel-allocation for details, especially when working
American hams on CW on 60m.
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VHF/Microwave News

Periods of enhanced propagation due to tropospheric ducting are
expected during the coming week. At the time of writing, late Monday
night and for a short time on Thursday afternoon appear to be the best
opportunities. Round 3 of the European FT8 and FT4 activity series
continues on the 2m band on March 4th from 5 p.m. The project focuses
on encouraging regular activity, fair comparison of results, and easy
log submission for everyone interested in weak-signal digital modes.
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Contest Calendar

The 2026 CQ 160M SSB Contest will be held next weekend, starting at
22:00 UTC on Friday, and ending after 48 hours at 22:00 UTC on Sunday.
All skywave propagation on 160m is limited to the hours of darkness.
This means Irish hams can achieve a total of 32 to 38 hours of night
time operation, while catching some sleep during daylight. Continental
operators may eke out a few more contacts on groundwave during the day
but being on the western edge of Europe we have an advantage just
before sunrise on Saturday and Sunday, with opportunities to catch
American stations, just as topband fades out.

The next UK and Ireland Contest Club contest in the 2025-26 series of
80m contests is on Wednesday 25th February 2026 at 20:00 UTC on CW.
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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 /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.

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