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This Week's News

IRTS 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 year's 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 O'Flaherty, 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 President's 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 - `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 club's 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 to join for
one or more of the parks can find details at tog.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

FT8Activity is an open and friendly activity contest designed to
promote FT8 and FT4 operation on VHF and UHF bands for 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 /at/ irts.ie to enquire further about any topic,
idea, or issue relating to VHF and above in Ireland.
__________________________________________________________________

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 /at/ 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 /at/ 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 /at/ irts.ie

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