• IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday July 6th, 2025

    From newsteam at irts dot ie@devnull@panix.com to rec.radio.amateur.misc,rec.radio.info on Sun Jul 6 23:00:04 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.radio.amateur.misc

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    This Week's News

    IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday July 6th, 2025
    __________________________________________________________________

    IRTS News Team Summer Break

    The IRTS news team will be taking its annual summer holidays from
    Sunday July 20th until Sunday August 3rd. This means that the last IRTS
    HF bulletin before the break will be the 80m bulletin at 12 p.m. next
    Sunday, July 13th. The next bulletin after that date will be the 40m
    bulletin on Sunday, August 3rd at 11 a.m. For events that may be taking
    place during the holiday period, you are advised to send the details to
    newsteam /at/ irts.ie as soon as possible so they can be included in
    the next IRTS news bulletin before the summer break.

    The IRTS wishes to thank all of our newsreaders both HF and regional
    weekly readers for your continued great service to the society. We hope
    you all enjoy your summer break!
    __________________________________________________________________

    IRTS Hamfest 2025

    Preparations are now at an advanced stage for IRTS Hamfest 2025. This
    is hosted by the IRTS and will take place over the weekend of September
    6th and 7th. It will be in conjunction with the IRTS SSB Field Day
    weekend. The venue is the Mullingar Showgrounds which are just outside
    Mullingar, Co. Westmeath. Novice and experienced people will come
    together in one place along with a very wide array of amateur radio
    equipment, technologies, and expertise. Gates open for visitors at 12
    p.m. on Saturday September 6th. Entry will be free for IRTS members.

    Across 30 acres that have been set aside for the event, live
    demonstrations and interactive exhibits will include working the QO-100
    geostationary satellite, portable operation, a showcase of how
    DXpeditions are set-up and operated in addition to how to operate low
    earth orbit satellites. Skill-building and learning zones will focus on
    soldering techniques, sharing one antenna with multiple radios,
    emergency communication systems, and much more. All amateur radio clubs
    are invited to take part.

    A dedicated website for the event and all the latest information can be
    found at www.irts.ie/hamfest . If interested in getting involved,
    contact the team via email to hamfest /at/ irts.ie
    __________________________________________________________________

    IOTA Standings Table Updates

    Information is being sought from operators for the EI HF IOTA standings
    table that is published on the IRTS website. This is a table showing
    the number of IOTA references worked by EI stations participating in
    RSGB's IOTA award programme. The main information required is the
    operator's callsign and name, the number of Island groups worked and
    confirmed in addition to a breakdown of the numbers per continent. You
    can view the existing EI HF IOTA standings table on the Information
    section of the IRTS website and submit updates via email to pagemaster
    /at/ irts.ie
    __________________________________________________________________

    Tog Hackerspace on the Airwaves

    Tog Hackerspace report that after months of behind-the-scenes work,
    they are now a registered radio club with both the Irish Radio
    Transmitters Society and ComReg. They have been issued with their very
    own club call sign EI0TOG. In the coming weeks, they'll be getting the
    station properly set up in the space. Once it's live, members and
    guests will be able to hop on the airwaves and try out EI0TOG under the
    supervision of a licenced operator. You can find out more about them at
    tog.ie/radio
    __________________________________________________________________

    Contests and Events

    The IARU HF World Championship takes place next weekend. It starts at
    12:00 UTC on Saturday July 12th and ends at 11:59 UTC the following
    day. The IRTS contest manager Mark EI6JK is seeking operators to
    operate the IRTS contest callsign EI0HQ for the six CW and SSB slots in
    this IARU HF championship. If interested, please contact Mark EI6JK via
    email to contest_manager /at/ irts.ie as soon as possible.

    The World Radiosport Team Championship takes place every four years. It
    is a radio contest event, designed to provide a platform for
    high-achieving ham radio contesters to compete on a level playing field
    in the same geographic region using identical antennas, output power,
    and other operating conditions. The 10th WRTC takes place from the 8th
    to the 13th of July 2026 and is hosted by the UK. However, next weekend
    and in conjunction with the IARU HF World Championship, five WRTC
    stations will be tested under field conditions. The operating location
    will be a site in Suffolk. Mark EI6JK will act as one of the test
    stations so listen out for a familiar voice and his CW "fist". Two
    awards are available for chasers during this event. You can find out
    more about the test at wrtc2026.org
    __________________________________________________________________

    13-Year-Old Sets a New High Speed Telegraphy Record

    At this year's international amateur radio exhibition in
    Friedrichshafen, a 13-year-old set a record in high-speed telegraphy.
    13-year-old Romanian Alexandru YO8YNS, amazed the audience with 1,160
    characters per minute. Despite his young age, he is a multiple world
    champion and already an old hand in high-speed CW. At last year's
    High-Speed Telegraphy World Championship in Tunisia, YO8YNS set a new
    world record with a score of 311,192 points and a top speed of 1,126
    characters per minute, which he has now broken this year.
    __________________________________________________________________

    Record Breaking Balloon Launch Attempt in August

    On August 15, 2025, a unique balloon mission is planned by a Polish
    amateur radio team. This is being organised by the AstroLife community
    in cooperation with experienced stratospheric balloon operators and
    amateur radio enthusiasts SP5LOT and SQ5RB. They seek to launch a
    balloon from central Poland that will carry a scientific payload up at
    least 40km into the stratosphere. The team plan to equip it with a
    camera and transmitter that will transmit live images digitally during
    the flight. They are crowdfunding the project and you can find out more
    at 4fund.com/cz3jys
    __________________________________________________________________

    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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