• IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday December 10th, 2023

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    This Week's News

    IRTS Radio News Bulletin Sunday December 10th, 2023
    __________________________________________________________________

    News from the IRTS

    Due to an unfortunate delay outside our control with the distribution
    of the winter edition of Echo Ireland containing the draft
    constitution, the original proposed response date for feedback on the
    constitution has been extended to December 31st. This is to allow IRTS
    members a better opportunity to review it. The current constitution is
    available on the downloads section of the IRTS website should you wish
    to compare the two documents. The email address for feedback is
    constitution /at/ irts.ie. Please note that submissions will only be
    accepted from fully paid up IRTS clubs and members. All related
    information is available on the IRTS Constitution and Rules Review page
    at www.irts.ie/constreview

    The IRTS wish to announce the appointment of a new Youth Officer to the
    society. Ana Ca�izares Bejarano EI5IXB takes over the youth officer
    role from Niall Donohue EI6HIB who recently resigned due to family
    commitments. Ana brings a wealth of experience to the role in dealing
    with youth and will bring this experience to the fore in promoting the
    hobby to the youth and this in turn will lead to more youngsters taking
    up this great hobby. Ana was also very heavily involved with the recent
    ISS contact between schools based in Dublin and the International Space
    Station. We all wish Ana the best of luck in her new role.

    The first IRTS contest of 2024 will be the IRTS 80m Counties Contest
    and it will take place on Monday the 1st of January 2024, starting at
    17:00 UTC, for the duration of one hour. This generally follows the
    very successful format of the 40 meters contest. The full rules are
    available in the contest section on the IRTS website www.irts.ie The
    contest is open to all. EI and GI stations must send their county
    abbreviation as well as the report and a serial number starting with
    001 for the first contact. Please note the rule about the permitted
    frequencies for this contest, which are for CW 3.510 MHz to 3.560 MHz
    and for SSB, 3.600 MHz to 3.650 MHz, in addition to 3.700 MHz to 3.775
    MHz. The very popular contest logging software SD by EI5DI supports
    this contest and is available as a free download from EI5DI.com.

    The society would like to extend its thanks to Engineers Ireland for
    the opportunity to present a talk in its headquarters on Clyde Rd,
    Dublin earlier this week, on how amateur radio can help in the
    development of science, technology, engineering, art, and maths and
    have a positive influence on future engineers. Attending Radio amateurs
    were made very welcome on the night and a good online attendance also
    joined in. The presentation can be viewed on the Engineers Ireland
    YouTube channel (https://www.youtub e.com/watch?v=AaXonLS3njo).

    To coincide with the launch of EIRSAT-1, the recently formed teacher
    support body "OIDE" has with the assistance of South Dublin Radio Club,
    developed a learning pack for 2nd level students based on "Radio
    Communication". This pack also contains a SDR receiver station which
    can be put together in minutes and students can see a visual display of
    the radio spectrum. Castleknock College in Dublin was amongst the five
    to receive this pack during the week where it went down as a great
    success amongst students. More details can be found on the ScoilNet
    website located at www.scoilnet.ie/l earning-path/ref/22901

    As in previous years, the IRTS News Team will be taking a small break
    over the Christmas period. The last 40m and 80m IRTS news bulletins for
    2023 will be transmitted on Sunday, December 17th. There will be no
    news bulletins on either Sunday December 24th or Sunday, December 31st.
    Normal bulletins will resume on Sunday, January 7th, 2024.

    The committee and officers of the IRTS would like to wish all our
    members and their families a very happy and peaceful Christmas and we
    hope that 2024 is a great new year for all of you. Thank you all for
    your great support of the society in 2023 and we look forward to your
    continued support throughout 2024 and beyond.
    __________________________________________________________________

    South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC

    The committee and members of EI2WRC would like to take this opportunity
    to wish all their radio friends and families in Ireland and all around
    the world a very happy, safe, and peaceful Christmas 2023. The club
    hopes you all have a wonderful festive time, and that Santa is good to
    you and brings you all the latest Yaesu and Icom radios! They would
    also like to extend every good wish to you all for the new year ahead.
    The club hopes that 2024 brings you all the very best of health,
    wealth, and of course, plenty of new DXCC entities. To find out more
    about EI2WRC, their activities, and for contact details, please see
    www.searg.ie
    __________________________________________________________________

    Tipperary Amateur Radio Group AGM

    On Wednesday the 6th of December 2023 last, members of the Tipperary
    Amateur Radio Group met at the Princess Bar, Clonmel at 8 p.m. for
    their Annual General Meeting. This was a well-attended meeting with
    group members travelling from Co. Kilkenny, Co. Waterford, and Co. Cork
    joining their Co. Tipperary based colleagues. Andy EI5JF chaired this
    very productive meeting, and TARG Secretary John EI7IG read the minutes
    of the previous AGM. Group treasurer Thomas EI2IT reported a healthy
    financial situation.

    A review of the year as well as upcoming activities were discussed at
    length by the group members. The callsign EI30T will be aired on the
    various Amateur Radio Bands over the coming year to mark the 30th
    Anniversary of the Tipperary Amateur Radio Group since its formation in
    1994. Congratulations were extended to group members Tom EI5JDB and
    Eddie EI5JNB who were successful in passing the HAREC exam which they
    sat last November. Brian EI2JKB was acknowledged for his efforts in
    reading the weekly IRTS News every Sunday at 9.30 p.m. on 145.450 MHz
    FM. It was decided that the venue for all group meetings in 2024 will
    be the Princess Bar, Irishtown, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary. The meeting
    concluded at 11 p.m. when Andy EI5JF thanked all for their input and
    attendance at this AGM of TARG.

    The new committee was elected as follows: Chairman Andy Jay EI5JF, Vice
    Chairman Brian Kelly EI2JKB, Secretary John Ronan EI7IG, Treasurer
    Thomas Hallinan EI2IT, Group PRO Hugh O'Donnell EI2HI, and Events & QSL
    Manager Paul Norris EI3ENB. For more information about T.A.R.G, visit
    the group website www.ei7trg.ie or you can email them at ei7trg /at/
    gmail.com.
    __________________________________________________________________

    South Dublin Radio Club Christmas Party

    South Dublin Radio Club wish to remind you that their Christmas Party
    will take place on Tuesday the 12th of December 2023 at 8 p.m. The
    venue will be the "The Morgue" pub in Templeogue Village, Dublin.
    Members of other clubs and visitors are as usual very welcome to this
    social event. Limited free food will be available for paid-up members
    and visitors can choose from the bar menu until 9 p.m. The club will
    then break for Christmas and return on January 9th, 2024.
    __________________________________________________________________

    Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club

    Limerick Claire Amateur Radio Club report that they have activated
    their club station in the Shannon Aviation Museum, call sign EI4SAM
    every Saturday for most of 2023. This has proved to be very popular
    with lots of members and stations from around EI and beyond calling in.
    Volunteers are always required to operate the station and licensed
    amateurs as well as SWLs are more than welcome. Activation is usually
    between 11.00 a.m. and 3.30 p.m., initially on 7.123 MHz plus or minus
    QRM, followed by a check on other bands.

    Over 400 Transition Year students from several schools have visited the
    club station in recent weeks. EI2GT has provided talks which added
    significantly to the students' knowledge of and interest in amateur
    radio. The club was particularly active during Engineers Week with many
    students from primary and secondary schools experiencing their first
    introduction to amateur radio with presentations from EI2GT and EI7ALB,
    along with some science demonstrations such as the various ways of
    generating electricity.

    Monthly meetings have resumed on the second Thursday of each month in
    the Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands, Midwest in
    Moylish, Limerick and topics to date, have covered the use of the
    Raspberry Pi and the challenges in erecting a horizontal loop antenna.

    Finally, they have some important diary dates. Their club rally is
    scheduled to take place on Sunday February 25th at a venue to be
    decided and details will be announced shortly. The next club meeting
    will be held on December 14th and their club AGM will be held on
    February 14th.
    __________________________________________________________________

    Radio Scouting Ireland Update

    Radio Scouting Ireland teams have been busy since JOTA-JOTI. Firstly,
    Albert EI6KO and John EI3ISB visited Rathdrum Scouts for a ham radio
    demo at their weekly meeting. Following a presentation explaining
    Amateur Radio and Radio Scouting to a very enthusiastic bunch of scouts
    and leaders, they then took part in making their first QSOs using the
    EI10JOTA callsign. On Saturday 25th, Marty EI2IAB, Jim EI4HH, and Keith
    EI5KO set up four stations for the Scouting Ireland Scouting Together
    Friendship Day in Larch Hill.

    The event was especially relevant given the awful scenes in Dublin City
    just two days before. The Scout and Ukraine Friendship Day invited over
    200 young people from Ukraine and youth members of Scout Groups in
    Dublin to make new friends through fun, play, and adventure in
    scouting. Both events were very uplifting due to the enthusiasm and
    appreciation from all the youth and leaders involved.
    __________________________________________________________________

    Shannon Basin Radio Club Update Regarding the 2024 IRTS AGM Weekend

    The 2024 IRTS AGM Weekend hosted by Shannon Basin Radio Club will be
    held in the Shearwater Hotel in Ballinasloe, Co. Galway over the
    weekend of April 13th and 14th, 2024. The hotel reports swift uptake
    for rooms using the specially reduced room rate for the event and that
    only a few remain. Therefore, to avoid disappointment, the club advises
    you to call or email the hotel as soon as possible to secure one.
    Please quote reference 501365 when making your bookings over the phone
    or via email to the hotel. The Shearwater Hotel may be contacted at
    +353 90 9630400 or via email to info /at/ shearwaterhotel.com.

    Following last year's highly successful Shannon Basin Radio Club rally
    as part of the AGM weekend, trader and club table bookings for the
    radio rally have also been swift. You are advised to contact admin /at/
    sbrc.ie as soon as possible to secure trader or club tables. Further
    details are available at www.sbrc.ie/agmweekend
    __________________________________________________________________

    Items for Inclusion in Next Week's Radio News

    That is the news for this week. Items for inclusion in next week's
    radio news, which will be the last one for 2023, can be submitted by
    email to newsteam /at/ irts.ie for automatic forwarding to both the
    radio and printed news services. The deadline is midnight on Thursday.

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