Latest News

March Club Meeting
The March meeting of the EI2WRC group will take place on Monday, March 25th at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. Any one that has an interest in amateur radio or communications in general are very welcome to come along. SWL’s are in particular very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 18 March 2024 at 15:30





Happy St. Patrick's Weekend!!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh go léir ☘️☘️☘️


























Posted by EI2WRC Friday 15 March 2024 at 12:00





Next HAREC Exam
EI2WRC are thrilled to say they have a special QSL card on order for the EI150IMD event. We will be active from Rosslare, Co Wexford on Marconi Day April 27th. Gugliemo Marconi established a wireless transmitting station on the site which is now Marconi House in Rosslare in 1901 to act as a link between Poldhu in Cornwall and Clifden in County Galway. The call may also be active at other times. Dates and time to be confirmed. Please keep ay eye out on DxClusters and the groups social media pages.
























Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 09 March 2024 at 11:30





145 Alive

Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 07 March 2024 at 21:30





Next HAREC Exam
The IRTS Examinations Board is pleased to announce that they have received approval from Comreg to hold the next HAREC exam on Saturday the 11th of May 2024. The venue will be the Maldron Hotel located in Tallaght, Dublin 24. Registration with commence at 10.30 a.m. and the exam will commence at 11 a.m. It finishes at 1 p.m. An exam may be held in Kerry on the same date and time. A decision will be made in relation to this subject to demand and availability of a suitable premises.

Applicants who wish to sit the next exam but have not yet applied, should download, and complete the exam application form from the downloads section of the IRTS website. Applicants are also advised to consult the “Applying for an Exam” section on the IRTS website for instructions on how to proceed with the application or contact Mick EI6IKB via email at irts.exams@gmail.com.

The deadline for applications is the 27th of April 2024.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 04 March 2024 at 12:30





2024 AGM Report

The 2024 AGM of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group took place on Monday the 26th of February 2024 at 8 p.m. on the Zoom platform. The club were also delighted to welcome some non-members of the club who attended along with a large number of members. Club Chairman Raymond EI6HFB welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. He started the meeting by observing a minute’s silence for silent keys and also any family members that club members had lost during 2023. The minutes of the 2023 AGM were then read. Once that had concluded Raymond then went on to give a report on the highly successful year that 2022 had being for the club. In his report Raymond thanked all the club members for keeping the club active each year with all the different activations and weekly events that the club does.

He said that as chairman his main objective was to promote the hobby and thanked all the various people in the club for helping him do this. He also thanked the club’s long standing QSL manager Alan EI3HDB for all his hard work over the past few years. Due to work and family commitments Alan is unable to continue this role and everyone in EI2WRC wish him the best for the future. Although not in attendance at the meeting due to a previous engagement club treasurer Ralph EI2KU had sent in the financial report for presentation at the meeting. 2023 was another healthy year for the club with continued growth both in membership and financially.

After all the reports were read, proposed, and adopted the meeting then moved on to the election of officers and other club roles for 2024/2025. Raymond then thanked the outgoing committee members for all their hard work over the previous year and the following committee was then deemed elected for 2024/2025. Chairman Raymond Cowman EI6HFB, Vice Chairman Joe Donnelly EI8DY, Secretary Mark Kilmartin EI4FNB, Treasurer Ralph Musto EI2KU, Public Relations Officer Seany Byrne EI2HZB, Club Officer 1 John McCarthy EI8JA, Club Officer 2 Pat Dwyer EI7IUB & Club Officer 3 Roger Greengrass EI8KN.

Once the election of officers and club roles had taken place the official business of the meeting concluded and a very informal and light hearted chat took place between the members. This continued on for quite a while and eventually the evening came to a close.




Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 27 February 2024 at 12:00





EI150IMD Special Event

Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 24 February 2024 at 10:00





EI2WRC-The Early Days





Short video containing some early activation's from the EI2WRC club. Special thanks to Ian White EI6GY for providing the original video clips. All video content remains the property of Ian and cannot be used or reproduced in any form without his permission.

Posted by EI2WRC Monday 30 January 2023 at 17:00







EI2WRC 80 Metres Counties Contest Section Winners

Congratulations to the EI2WRC team of Seany EI2HZB and Keith EI2045 on winning the Low Power, EI/GI Station section in the 80 Metres Counties Contest Section held on the 1st of January. The EI2WRC station was active from Sean’s shack in south Carlow and scored a total of 3,864 points which consisted of 22 counties and 2 DXCC’s. Well done lads on the win and especially well-done Keith who only recently joined the IRTS as an SWL. Keith hopes one day to sit the HAREC exam and get a callsign just like his dad!



















Posted by EI2WRC Friday 26 January 2024 at 13:00





Upcoming Rallies
Some dates for your diaries! On Sunday 11th February 2024 the Phoenix Amateur Radio Club EI2PAR Rally will take place at Coolmine Community School, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, D15 FW97. Doors open at 11 a.m. Admission €5. Refreshments will be available. To book a table or for any further information contact Tony on 087-2439997. On Sunday 25th February 2024 the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club Rally will take place at the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, Co. Clare V95 HOXK. Doors open at 11 AM. Admission €5. For further details contact Dermot Gleeson at dermotgleeson1@gmail.com. On Saturday 2nd March 2024 the Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society Rally will take place at Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, Hillsborough BT26 6AR. Doors open at 10:30 - Finish at 13:00. Book a table by e-mailing rally@lvars.uk
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 16 January 2024 at 12:45





January Club Meeting
The January meeting of the EI2WRC group will take place on Monday, January 29th at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. Any one that has an interest in amateur radio or communications in general are very welcome to come along. SWL’s are in particular very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 16 January 2024 at 12:30





Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year From Everyone At EI2WRC To All Of You!!!

























Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 30 December 2023 at 13:00





Call-In Challenge 2023

The EI2WRC 2023 Tuesday Night IRTS News Call-In Challenge took place on Tuesday, December 9th, 2023. The challenge which was only for a bit of fun was to try and beat the previous record of 74 callers back in December 2021. The news bulletin which was read by Seany EI2HZB got under way at 8 p.m. was at full tilt until it concluded shortly after 11 p.m. after having taken 136 callers. This of course thrashed the previous record by 62 callers. A massive thanks to all who called in during the night. Larger than average numbers were also noted on the Southern Ireland Repeater Network Zello channel, The Southern Ireland Radio Room Zello channel, and on the EchoLink node which is connected to the repeater network. Siobhán’s EI2003 TikTok’s channel also had a massive attendance of close on 50 people. This was the last Tuesday night IRTS News bulletin from the club foe 2023 so thank you all so much for your great support of our bulletin on a Tuesday night throughout 2023 and we look forward to sharing many more Tuesday nights together in 2024.The E2WRC club would like to thank Hugh EI2HI who keeps an eye on the digital side of things for us on Tuesday evening. Thanks also to Siobhán EI2003 for her brilliant TikTok feed which now brings the bulletin to a whole new generation of people. Without the repeater network, we would have a very limited service on a Tuesday night. What was once a local news net has now turned in to an international net with people calling in from the US and beyond so a massive thanks to John EI8JA, Neil EI3JE and all those that’s involved with Southern Ireland repeater Network group for giving us this great network to use for the news. Tuesday night IRTS new bulletins will return on Tuesday January 9th, 2024.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 20 December 2023 at 17:00





Season's Greetings From EI2WRC





Season's Greetings from all of us to all of you

Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 13 December 2023 at 17:00







Christmas Party Night 2023

The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group had an unbelievable Christmas party night once again this year. The party this year was held on the 9th of December at the same venue as the 2022 party The Waterford Marina Hotel. Club members arrived as early as 2 p.m. to start celebrating what was another great year for the club. A huge thanks to everyone who came along to join us on the night. A special mention to Patsy EI9CUB, his XYL Ann Marie and Junior Op Dylan who travelled down all the way from Cavan to join us on the night. Likewise, Hugh EI2HI who travelled up from Bandon. A massive thanks to the management and staff of the Waterford Marina Hotel who pulled out all the stops to make it a night to remember with amazing food and excellent service. A great night was had by all, food was lovely, the craic was mighty, a “few” pints were consumed, and everyone got home safely. The biggest thanks of all must go to the club’s event coordinator Edvin Van Mierlo EI2HEB who put the whole night together. Well done Edwin it was a brilliant night, and everyone had a bal







Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 10 December 2023 at 17:00





Call In Challenge 2023


Please share and spread the word!!


























Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 29 November 2023 at 15:00





December YOTA Month

A reminder to all that December is once again Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) month. This is a busy time of year especially for young ham radio operators across the world. This December, many YOTA teams will light up the bands in the interests of giving youngsters a taste of our great hobby. A full list of participating stations can be found on the website events.ham-yota.com. For the entire month of December, several youngsters will become active with YOTA as the call-sign suffix. The idea for this is to show the amateur radio hobby to the youth and to encourage youngsters to be active on the radio waves. Therefore, if you happen to hear a YOTA station active on the bands over the month of December, please take a few minutes to give them a call as it’s a great way to help promote the hobby to the next generation of DXers, contesters, and rag-chewers.

Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 26 November 2023 at 15:00






Phoenix Amateur Radio Club Rally 2024
The Phoenix Amateur Radio Club wish to advise everyone that the provisional date for the Phoenix Amateur Radio Club Rally which was last held in 2020 is now set for Sunday 11th February 2024. Further details will be announced in due course.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 19 November 2023 at 11:10





2023 SEARG Christmas Get-together
A reminder that the annual SEARG Christmas Get-together will take place this year on Saturday, December 9th in the The Waterford Marina Hotel, Canada Street, Waterford City. The evening will be a very informal event with a few drinks and dinner served at 6:30 p.m. sharp. Tickets for the dinner cost €37.50 per person and must be pre-booked in advance. The club extends the hands of friendship and extends a very warm welcome to anyone who is not a club member to come along on the night and join in the festive activities. Whether you may be a licensed op, an 11m op or maybe a SWL you are all very welcome to come along and join us to round off what was another excellent year for the club. For anyone that may be interested in attending and as dinner tickets are now getting scarce you are asked to please contact our Events Coordinator, Edwin EI2HEB as soon as possible please.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 17 November 2023 at 17:00





November Club Meeting
The November meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 27th of November 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 14 November 2023 at 14:00





New Callsigns
Well done to all those who sat the recent HAREC exam and recently got their new callsigns. For anyone who want successful, don’t lose heart, brush yourselves off and get back on the horse and go again. It's a brilliant hobby and a hobby that’s worth the effort to get your call signs. The next exam won’t be long coming around so go again!
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 09 November 2023 at 09:00





IRTS AGM Weekend 2024
The IRTS were delighted to announce yesterday that the 91st AGM Weekend will take place over the weekend of April 13th and 14th 2024. The event, which will be hosted by the Shannon Basin Radio Club, will take place in the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway. The weekend will consist of the usual very interesting Saturday afternoon workshops/talks, the Saturday night gala dinner, the ever-popular Sunday morning radio rally, and of course, the IRTS 2024 AGM which will take place on Sunday afternoon April 14th. A special room rate package has been negotiated for the event. Further details will be released in due course. Everyone in the IRTS would like to express their sincere thanks to the Shannon Basin Radio Club for undertaking the task of hosting next year’s event.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 06 November 2023 at 10:00





HAREC Exam

Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 29 October 2023 at 09:00





2023 SEARG Christmas Get-together
The annual SEARG Christmas Get-together will take place this year on Saturday, December 9th in the same location as last year, The Waterford Marina Hotel, Canada Street, Waterford City. The evening will be a very informal event with a few drinks and dinner served at 6:30 p.m. sharp. Tickets for the dinner cost €37.50 per person and must be pre-booked in advance. The club extends the hands of friendship and extends a very warm welcome to anyone who is not a club member to come along on the night and join in the festive activities. Whether you may be a licensed op, an 11m op or maybe a SWL you are all very welcome to come along and join us to round off what was another excellent year for the club. For more information or to book dinner tickets please contact our Events Coordinator, Edwin EI2HEB as soon as possible please.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 26 October 2023 at 12:00





Upcoming Club Meetings
As Monday, October 30th is a Bank Holiday there will be no physical meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC. The next physical meeting will be our November meeting on Monday, November 30that 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 18 October 2023 at 13:00





IRTS SSB Field Day Section Winners!

A massive congratulations to the EI2WRC/P team of Martin EI2HIB, Seany EI2HZB, David EI3IXB, Mark EI4FNB and Jim EI4HH on who were sole entrants and won the 24 Hours Restricted Section of the IRTS SSB Field Day held over the weekend of September 2nd & 3rd 2023. The station was operated from Co. Carlow for the event and great fun was had by all who called in over the weekend. Special thanks to Shirley also who made sure all the contesters were fed and watered over the weekend!















Posted by EI2WRC Monday 02 October 2023 at 16:00







145 Alive Event 2023 Video




The very first Irish 145 Alive Event. It aims to promote the use of the 2m band. A massive thanks to Siobhán EISWL2003 for the brilliant video production of the event

Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 30 September 2023 at 18:30







145 Alive Activation

The group had a great fun afternoon QRV as EI2WRC for the 145 Alive event on Saturday, Sepyember 30th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The group was active from The Nine Stones carpark. The carpark which is 435m ASL is located in south Carlow at the entrance to the RTE mast on Mt. Leinster. The grid square locator was IO62op and the WAI Square was S85 Carlow. It was great to see 2m FM so active and a massive thanks to all the stations who worked EI2WRC. It was a pity about the weather but one of the things we have no control over. Hopefully we will another 145 event soon again! A massive thanks to both David EI3IXB and Tim G5TM for all their hard work in arranging the event.












Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 30 September 2023 at 17:00







Irish Schools contact with the International Space Station Friday, October 6th 2.11 p.m. Local Time (13:11 UTC)

Primary school pupils involved in the Technological University Dublin STEM: Try Five Project, which allows students to experience hands-on activities under the theme of space science & exploration, have a once in a lifetime opportunity to make contact through amateur radio with the International Space Station (ISS) this week. Six girls and six boys from 4th class representing the six participating DEIS primary schools will have about 11 minutes to put their local community on the astronomical map as they make direct contact via amateur radio with the ISS while it orbits Earth at a speed of 27,600 km per hour.

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station programme (ARISS), which will see students from primary schools in Dublin speaking with an astronaut on board the ISS. TU Dublin has set up a temporary amateur radio station on the roof of Central Quad, in City Campus. The technical team for this contact includes Robbie Phelan EI2IP, who has kindly organised all the equipment and station set up, Seamus McCague EI8BP, their ARISS radio mentor, Ana Canizares EI5IXB, coordinator of the activity in TU Dublin and schools, Mark Davis EI4ACB and Joe Ryan EI7GY as technical support and Enda Scully, a technician from the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering in TU Dublin.

All the equipment has been provided or sourced by Robbie Phelan EI2IP and it is in accordance with the requirements set up by ARISS. The ARISS ground station at TU Dublin has been allocated the very special callsign EI1ISS (Echo India One India Sierra Sierra) by ComReg for the occasion thanks to their ARISS radio mentor Seamus McCague. The station will be operated by Irish members of ARISS Europe and the Irish Radio Transmitters Society and the event will be streamed using TU Dublin’s YouTube account. The contact is scheduled for Friday, October 6th starting from 2.11 p.m. local time (13:11 UTC). The ISS is scheduled to use the callsign OR4ISS. The downlink is also planned to be 145.800 MHz and it is expected to be easily received across Ireland even with handheld receivers. A massive thank you to Ana Canizares EI5IXB, coordinator of the activity & Keith Nolan EI5IN, IRTS News Editor for the above article on the contact.

Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 29 September 2023 at 11:30









145 Alive Event

Participating stations in the 145 Alive event on Saturday September 30th from 12:00 UTC to 14:00 UTC. This event is on the 2m band using the FM mode.

























Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 26 September 2023 at 21:30






Next HAREC Exam
The IRTS Examination Board is pleased to announce that the next HAREC exams will be held on Saturday 4th November 2023 at 11 a.m., at both Cork and Dublin venues. Registration on the day of the exam will begin at 10.30 a.m. sharp. Candidates are advised to arrive in adequate time, so that the examination can begin on time at 11 a.m. Closing date for applications is Sunday 22nd October 2023. The Dublin venue will be the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin 24, Co. Dublin, Eircode D24 XC9W. The Cork venue will be the Clayton Hotel Silversprings, Tivoli, Cork, Eircode T23 E244. The exam room is located at the Conference centre - Harbour suite 8. With thanks to Declan EI9FVB for the update on the exam.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 20 September 2023 at 21:30





Class Golf Online Harec Course
Rafal EI6LA, on behalf of the the National Short Wave Listeners Club (NSWLC) would like to announce the next HAREC online training course! Class Golf will start on 9 November 2023. There will be 24 Thursday sessions, with the last one on 2 May 2024. There are no prerequisites for this course, other than a genuine desire to study for an amateur radio licence, and to take and pass the Irish HAREC exam. Students are required to sign up for a free Zoom account and they must be able to use email efficiently—these are our primary means of communication. The NSWLC have trained over 300 attendees since 2021.

Over 150 of our students took HAREC exams and, as of Sept 2023, just over 100 have passed and obtained their licences. We have 127 current members, including our tutors, mentors, and recently licensed amateurs, many of whom would be happy to help those studying with us. Like our 2022-2023 course, Foxtrot, class Golf is also based on the new Irish exam syllabus, introduced in 2022. The course uses the IRTS Study Guide, a 400-page learning resource which we have written last year, and which we are currently revising to incorporate the changes introduced in ComReg Amateur Station Licence Guidelines 09/45 R6 earlier this year. The updated version of our Study Guide will be released at the very start of class Golf in November. There will be no recordings to watch later. Sessions must be attended live. Classes are held each Thursday at 20:00–22:00 Irish time, however, we open meetings at 19:30 to assist in connection troubleshooting. We will also offer three optional Maths Tuesdays for those students who want to brush up on some basics.

Furthermore, all students are required to carefully read and follow the instructions which our tutors and mentors send by email, several times every week. Every student must become a member of the NSWLC and in doing so accept the NSWLC Constitution, NSWLC Online Code of Conduct, the IRTS Child Protection Policy, and the IRTS Anti-Bullying Policy. Membership of the NSWLC is free to the current members of the IRTS, and costs €30 per calendar year—making €60 for both 2023 and 2024. We strongly recommend joining the IRTS to avoid these fees. We do not charge any further fees to attend the course. There are already 27 individuals registered for the course. We are able to accommodate up to 100. To join the NSWLC and register for the course, please complete the steps at www.swl.ie
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 19 September 2023 at 17:00





September Club Meeting
The September meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 25th of September 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 14 September 2023 at 09:30





Railways On The Air 2023

Another great activation! It's never about the quantity of what we do but always about the quality 😉


























Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 14 September 2023 at 09:00







145 Alive!

The 145 Alive event is coming to Ireland for the first time on Saturday 30th September from 13:00-15:00 local time on 2m FM. The idea is to promote the use of VHF in a short friendly event, it is also being run in the UK at the same time which should add to the fun! We plan to set up a network of Control stations on high ground around the country & callers to the stations will then be passed on to the next control station, if there is one within range. We now need clubs & volunteers to help set up a chain of stations around the country. Please contact David EI3IXB on 087-833-4803, or by email to ei3ixb@gmail.com if you can help












Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 05 September 2023 at 16:30






IRTS SSB Field Day 2023 Video




As always a massive thanks to Siobhán EISWL2003 for the brilliant video production of our IRTS SSB Field Day Weekend

Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 03 September 2023 at 23:30





IRTS SSB Field Day Review

EI2WRC held their IRTS SSB Field Day in the usual location in Carlow over the weekend of the 2nd & 3rd of September. As in previous years the club were blessed with sunshine on both days. The event was hosted by EI2WRC PRO Seany EI2HZB, his YL Shirley and Junior Op Keith. Seany has kindly written a short note to thank everyone for making the weekend such a success-

“Finally, after the best weekend in a long, long time I can sit down and chill 😊 But I’d do it all over again tomorrow if I could! A massive thank you to everyone who made the IRTS SSB Field Day the best one I can remember ever having the pleasure of hosting. There is so many people I need to and wish to thank for making the event what it was. If I forget anyone my deepest apologies, firstly thanks to all in EI2WRC for backing me and Shirley and Keith to host this as in previous years. It do be a pleasure to have so many club members who we consider family at this stage come along for the weekend. Special thanks to the many club members who travelled extremely long distances to be here. Thanks to all the non-club members and friends who came along also to take part in the fun. Likewise, it was an absolute pleaser to have you all here.

Thanks to everyone who gave a hand on Saturday morning setting up the station and getting things up and running. Thanks to everyone who brought food and drink to add to the party. Although the radio was as predicted scarce, and the fun and craic was ever present we did manage a few QSO’s hi hi. A special mention to our lovely hostess Shirley who made sure everyone was looked after with tea, coffee sandwiches and any other treats they wanted. Also, the breakfast we all got this morning was Michelin 5 star and fit for royalty. So thanks Shirley from myself and everyone who had breakfast this morning. EI2WRC’s next event will be ROTA over the weekend of the 23rd & 24th of September from the Waterford & Suir Valley Railway in Kilmeadan, Co. Waterford. Keep an eye here on this age for more details about this event.”

Thanks, Seany, Shirley and Keith for hosting the event and we all look forward to returning in 2024!

Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 03 September 2023 at 22:00






Thank You Jim!

Special thanks to former IRTS President Jim EI4HH for giving Shirley a lovely bunch of flowers in appreciation of all her hard work at the EI2WRC IRTS SSB Field Day Event in Carlow over the weekend of the 2nd & 3rd of September. You're a gentleman Jim!
















Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 03 September 2023 at 21:30





August Club Meeting
The August meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 28th of August 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 21 August 2023 at 10:00



26th International Lighthouse Lightship Weekend - ILLW

A great weekend was had by all at EI2WRC in the 2023 26th International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend. The club activated Hook Lighthouse (oldest operational lighthouse in the world) ILLW Ref IE003 on both Saturday & Sunday the 19th & 20th of August. Hook Lighthouse is situated on the beautiful Hook peninsula in Co. Wexford. Thanks as always to all the EI2WRC members who activated the EI2WRC/P call over the weekend. Thanks to all who worked us on HF over the two days. 40m proved to be a great band and many contacts were logged. As per all EI2WRC events the quantity of QSO’s never matters and it’s all about getting the call out there and promoting friendship and the hobby. Thanks also to all those EI’s who called in, in person to the lighthouse to say hello. Great to catch up with so many friends some of whom we hadn’t seen in a while. A special word of thanks to Hook Lighthouse Manager Lorraine Waters and Phil Lawlor from Irish Lights for all their help in putting this weekend together. The club accepted Lorraine’s very kind invitation to return in 2024 and plans are in place already for next year. EI2WRC’s next activation will be the IRTS SSB Field Day which will take place at Seany EI2HZB’s QTH over the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of September. There is an open invitation to all to come and join in the fun and the social side of that weekend. More details to follow soon on Latest News page and on our Facebook page.



Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 20 August 2023 at 21:00




IRTS SSB Field Day

























Posted by EI2WRC Monday 14 August 2023 at 13:00


,

26th International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend



























Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 06 August 2023 at 10:00








Inistioge Vintage Rally 2023


The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group enjoyed a very successful day at the Inistioge Vintage Rally on Sunday August 6th. The club erected Mark’s EI4FNB homebrew G5RV and have a pile up on 40m from start to finish. It was great to work so many EI’s all day long and thanks to everyone who gave us a shout. Thanks to club members Mark EI4FNB, Joe EI8DY, Dermot EI7IMB, Steve EI2JLB, Johnny EI2ICB and Seany EI2HZB for setting up the station and putting the EI2WRC/P call on the air. Thanks also to all the many people who spotted us on various clusters all day long. As always we had many visitors to the station including club member Roger EI8KN and YL Cecily who were at the event and dropped by the SEARG demo area for a chat. Never a club to rest on its laurels we will be out and about again on the 19th & 20th of August from Hook Lighthouse ILLW REF IE003 for the 26th International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend. Make sure you get this in your log as Hook Lighthouse is the oldest operation lighthouse in the world! More details on this event soon. Club member and social media guru Siobhán Heaney SWL EI2003 has put together a video of some yesterday’s highlights. This video can be viewed above or by clicking here. Please follow Siobhán on her TikTok channel The Irish Outdoor Cook. You can also subscribe to her YouTube channel with the same name.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 07 August 2023 at 14:30


Inistioge Vintage Rally 2023
The group are delighted to be asked back again this year to this great event. Always nice to be able to attend the smaller non-commercial type events and do what we always have done which is promote this great hobby.

















Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 27 July 2023 at 18:00





IRTS Newsteam Holidays
There will be no IRTS weekly news bulletins for the following two weeks Tuesday the 1st of August and Tuesday the 8th of August. As per Christmas the entire IRTS news team will be taking two weeks off for summer holidays. The next IRTS news bulletin will be the 40m news on Sunday the 13th of August at 11 a.m. The next Tuesday night news bulletin from the club will be on Tuesday the 15th of August at 8 p.m. The IRTS would like to thank everyone involved in the weekly news bulletins from the news editor to all those who read the bulletins on Sundays and during the week. A massive thanks also to all the many people who support all the bulletins by calling in and of course not forgetting our SWL friends who send in signal reports also. Thank you all for your support of the service and we look forward to your continued support in the future.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 09:00


July Club Meeting
The July meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 31st of July 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.

Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 13 July 2023 at 21:00


TikTok Live Feed
The IRTS weekly news bulletin is transmitted every Tuesday night at 8 p.m. local time by members of EI2WRC via the Southern Ireland Repeater Network, EchoLink Node 225431, IRLP Node 5883, DMR TG 27240 and also on the Southern Ireland Repeater Network channel on the Zello app. In recent months the is also a live TikTok video feed of the news bulletin. This service is provided by Siobhán Heaney EI2003 from Co. Laois on her TikTok channel ‘theIrishoutdoorcook”. Since Siobhán has started doing this live TikTok feed the hobby of ham radio has been introduced to a whole new audience with many new people becoming interested in the hobby. Also, as a result of the live feed many new callers have called in to the news from as far away as the USA and Canada. Well done Siobhán on your live feeds and the brilliant promotion of amateur radio.







Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 12 July 2023 at 11:00




Well done Siobhán EI2003
Massive congratulations to our 1st ever recipient of the club's new Sponsor A SWL initiative Siobhán Heaney who has received the EI2003 call from the IRTS!!

Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 29 June 2023 at 14:00


Sponser A SWL Initiative 2023
EI2WRC are pleased to announce that this year’s recipient of the first ever Sponsor A SWL initiative is Siobhán Heaney from Co. Laois. Many of you will know Siobhán from her TikTok channel The Irish Outdoor Cook. She has been doing a live feed of EI2WRC’s Tuesday night IRTS news bulletin for the past few months and she has also taken over the management of the EI2WRC Twitter page to great effect. EI2WRC have given free club membership to Siobhán as well as paying for her membership of the IRTS to complete the online HAREC course with the NSWLC. In addition, the club will pay her exam fee’s when she sits the exam. Club members will also provide additional assistance to Siobhán while she’s doing the HAREC course. Siobhán has very kindly written the following introduction about how she got interested in amateur radio.

"Hello everyone. My name is Siobhán and I’m currently living in Co. Laois. I’m a full-time mum, blessed with one daughter. My hobbies are gardening, gymnastic leotard design and of course as of late amateur radio. It all began back in the 1980’s with a passion for citizen band radio. I knew at a young age before I was introduced to CB that I was drawn to the hardware of electronics and that it would come in handy one day. I was still in school while my older brother was squandering his hard-earned cash on cassettes and cassette players. The constant wear and tear of play, FF, RW, record, volume too high would eventually break his 2 and 1’s. I would open them up and instantly knew what section to fix, using only my dad’s insulating tape. A few months later my best friend at the time, her dad gifted her with a whole CB-80 channel rig, plus two 40 channel rigs and a large linear power supply. I remember being totally bedazzled standing there gawking at her operating it. I couldn’t believe how fast she learned to operate it. At the time my best friend Sharon was only 15, I was 16. She taught me how to use it. From that day onwards I was totally hooked. I remember gobbling down my dinners so fast, so I could hurry to her house to operate her radio. Every evening we would communicate with many CB enthusiasts from all over the Cork city area. There was a lot of women operators. Fast forward to today, my passion of been able to operate my very own radio will be a dream come true. I like and enjoy the whole concept of amateur radio. Calculating ,evaluating as well as most importantly using common sense. Good for conditioning the old neurones! Today I own my very first HF transceiver. An Icom 718 which I use for listening to HF. Of course, old habits die hard! I just had to open it up and explore the internals. Even though risky and untrained I successfully installed a brand-new DSP unit, first attempt while doing it live on a TikTok video. I am looking forward to doing the online HAREC course with the National Short Wave Listeners Club and hopefully passing my exam and getting active on the amateur bands soon”.

Everyone in EI2WRC wishes Siobhán the very best of luck as she sets out on the road to getting her licence and EI callsign.

Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 28 June 2023 at 10:00



June Meeting
The June meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place this Monday night, Monday the 26th of June 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.

Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 24 June 2023 at 12:30

Sponser A SWL!
EI2WRC are delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new initiative titled “Sponsor A SWL”. The initiative will see the group reaching out to a selected SWL from the south east area each year who has shown serious interest in completing the online HAREC course and getting his or her licence. As part of the venture the club will give free membership to the person to the EI2WRC club for one year as well as paying for the persons membership of the IRTS to complete the online HAREC course with the national short-wave listeners club. In addition, the club will pay the exam fee for the chosen SWL to sit their exam. Club members will also act as mentors and will be available to provide assistance to the SWL while doing the HAREC course if he or she is having issues or difficulties with any aspect of the course. The chosen SWL for this year’s launch has already been picked and will be announced soon!

Posted by EI2WRC Monday 19 June 2023 at 11:00

June Meeting
The June meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 26th of June 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.

Posted by EI2WRC Monday 19 June 2023 at 10:45

Bunmahon Activation 2023
OOn both Saturday and Sunday, the 3rd & 4th of June EI2WRC were QRV from the Old Copper Mine, Tankardstown, Bunmahon, Co. Waterford. For anyone who worked the EI2WRC/P station the site which has four different designators can be logged in any of the following three award categories. EIFF (Echo India Flora and Fauna) reference EIFF-0263 Mid Waterford Coast SPA. EI POTA (Echo India Parks On The Air) references EI-0162 Mid Waterford Coast SPA & EI-0163 Tankardstown Copper Mine and also EI COTA (Echo India Castles On The Air) reference EI-01566 Tankardstown Copper Mine. All the logs for these awards have now been uploaded to the relevant award sites. Over the weekend both the weather and band conditions were excellent with the sun shining on both days and the bands being in excellent condition. Many calls were logged and all the EI2WRC members that attended at some stage over the weekend had a great time.

Thanks to all who came over the weekend. A special thanks to Edwin EI2HEB for towing down the club caravan and planning the weekend. Thanks to Dermot EI7IMB and Joe EI8DY for staying overnight and keeping the station in operation. Massive thanks to Jim EI8IG for arriving on the Saturday night with lovely hot food for the gang. It was great to work so many of you over the weekend on different bands and thanks to all who gave us a call. A special word of thanks to John Galloway, Manager of the Geopark Centre for the usual warm welcome to the site.


Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 04 June 2023 at 20:30



Bunmahon 2023 SES


Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 30 May 2023 at 11:30



Irish Vintage Society’s All Ireland Vintage Rally

A great day was had by all the EI2WRC members who attended the Irish Vintage Society’s All Ireland Vintage Rally on Sunday the 28th of May which was held in Ballyfin, Co. Laois. The group have often been in attendance at much smaller events of this nature, but this was the group’s 2nd time to be in attendance at the national event. The group wish to thank Martin Ffrench EI3GO and the Ballyfin Vintage and Veteran Club for their very kind invitation to attend the event. Throughout the day members of the club were active on HF showcasing the great hobby to the public. As per usual there was a great interest from the public as to what amateur radio is all about. A massive thanks to all our members who made the trip up to Ballyfin to attend the event.












Posted by EI2WRC Monday 29 May 2023 at 15:30



May Meeting
The May meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 29th of May 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 25 May 2023 at 14:30



SES Irish Vintage Society’s All Ireland Vintage Rally

EI2WRC are delighted to announce that the group will be showcasing the hobby to the public at the Irish Vintage Society’s All Ireland Vintage Rally on Sunday the 28th of May which is being held in Ballyfin, Co. Laois (Eircode R32 AD92) with gates opening at 10 a.m. The group have often been in attendance at much smaller events of this nature, but this is the second time to be in attendance at the national event. The group wish to thank Martin Ffrench EI3GO and the Ballyfin Vintage and Veteran Club for their very kind invitation to attend. Come along on the day and see vintage machinery and cars from days gone by. All the usual attractions will be there, as well as a steam thrashing display. All monies raised will be donated to local charities. If you cannot attend keep a listen out on the bands and keep an eye on the cluster for the EI2WRC/P call.




















Posted by EI2WRC Monday 15 May 2023 at 15:00






Shannon Basin Radio Club Rally Report

EI2WRC were in attendance at the Shannon Basin Radio Club rally at the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe on Sunday April 30th. Throughout the morning many people called by the SEARG stand for a chat and a photo and everyone got their EI2WRC pen. The sweets on the stand proved to be very popular with the kids and the “big kids” seemed to enjoy them too! EI2WRC mouse mats, azimuthal maps and club mugs were also very much sought after on the day. The group were delighted to be able to donate a few mugs and mouse mats as raffle prizes. It was as always, great to be able to meet some many friends both old and new on the day. Thanks to all our club members for helping out on the day but a special thank you to Shirley SWL, Joe EI8DY and Raymond EI6HFB who spent all their time at the rally looking after people who called to the SEARG stand. Everyone in EI2WRC wishes to thank everyone in EI2SBC for their kind invitation to the rally and thanks for hosting the weekend this year. It was a brilliant weekend and everyone from EI2WRC that attended had a great time.









Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 02 May 2023 at 12:30





Award Winner

Congratulations to SEARG Public Relations Officer Seany EI2HZB on receiving the Sheila Piper Cup at the IRTS 90th Gala Dinner which was held on Saturday the 29th of April in the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe. The cup was presented to the IRTS by Jim Piper in memory of his late wife Sheila. The cup is presented each year for service by an individual to the various IRTS news media, i.e. Radio News, Echo Ireland, EiNews, web site and social media. Seany has been EI2WRC PRO for the past 10 years and has recently taking up the PRO role with the IRTS. The cup was presented to Seany by IRTS president elect at the time Enda EI2II.





















Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 02 May 2023 at 12:15




Events Cancelled
Due to unforeseen circumstances both our activation for Marconi Day 2023 and our club meeting Monday 24/04/23 have been cancelled.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 20 Apr 2023 at 14:45



April Meeting
The April meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 24th of April 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 14 Apr 2023 at 11:00



Shannon Basin Radio Club Rally
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will be in attendance at the Shannon Basin Radio Club rally at the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Co. Galway (Eircode H53 F5P9) on Sunday April 30th with doors opening at 10 a.m. Drop by the SEARG stand and get your free EI2WRC pen, there is a limited stock so come early, because once they're gone they're gone! Also, EI2WRC mouse mats, azimuthal maps and club mugs will be available for purchase. The group will also have a special incentive in place on the day. Any new member that joins on the day will receive a complimentary mouse mat, azimuthal map or club mug, and also enter a draw. The winner of the draw will receive their membership fee back. This offer only applies to new members joining and not to existing members who renew their membership on the day. The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group look forward to meeting many friends both old and new on the day. Everyone in EI2WRC wishes everyone in EI2SBC the very best of luck with the event and continued success with your club in the future. For more information on the event please see here
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 06 Apr 2023 at 18:00

International Marconi Day 2023
Members of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group the will be QRV as EI2IMD on Saturday, the 22nd of April for International Marconi Day 2023. The station will be active from the Burrows Car Park, Tramore, Co. Waterford with thanks to Waterford City and County Council. Tramore has a direct connection with Marconi as he often stayed there with his aunt, a Mrs. Cookman who resided at the Cove, Tramore. Special thanks to the the Cornish Radio Amateur Club for organising this special event. The club will be active on HF, VHF, UHF, DMR and digital modes. The EI2IMD call-sign will also be on air on the southern Ireland repeater network, with thanks to the southern Ireland repeater group. More details will be made known in the run up to the event on the SEARG Facebook and EI2IMD QRZ pages. For more information on the International Marconi Day please see www.gx4crc.com
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 20 Mar 2023 at 21:00

March Meeting
The March meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 27th of March 2023 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 16 Mar 2023 at 10:30

Early Membership Renewal Prize Draw 2023
Congratulations to the winners of our recent prize raffle for EI2WRC members who renewed their annual subscriptions or newly joined the club before the 1st of March. In 1stplace and winning a copy of “Radio Broadcasting: A History of the Airwaves” by Gordon Bathgate and also his subscription fee returned is Dermot Healy EI7IMB. In 2nd place is Marek Kubita EI7KH who wins a copy of “Ham Radio - Tips & Tales” by Hal Kennedy N4GG. Well done to both Dermot and Marek and thanks to all our members who beat the March 1st deadline.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 09 Mar 2023 at 21:30

EI2WRC 2023 AGM

The 2023 AGM of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group took place on Monday the 27th of February 2023 at 8 p.m. on the Zoom platform. Even though the meeting was held on Zoom many members were in attendance, some of whom had only recently joined the club. The club were also delighted to welcome some non-members of the club who attended. Club Chairman Mark EI4FNB welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. He started the meeting by observing a minute’s silence for silent keys and also family members that club members had lost in 2022. The minutes of the 2022 AGM were then read. Once that had concluded Mark then went on to give a report on the highly successful year that 2022 had being for the club. Mark listed the activities that the club had been involved in throughout 2022 and hoped that 2023 would be an even better year with activations. He was delighted to see that the club had planned to do some new activations this year. Mark said that the highlight of the year was the club hosting the IRTS AGM which was held in Carlow in April 2022.

Club treasurer Ralph EI2KU gave a report on the finances of the club noting that 2022 had been a successful year financially and that club finances are once again in a very healthy position. He also noted the club had setup an online banking account which made the day to day financial running of the club very easy to manage.

Mark then thanked the outgoing committee members for all their hard work over the previous year and the following committee was then deemed elected for 2023. Chairman Raymond Cowman EI6HFB, Vice Chairman Joe Donnelly EI8DY, Secretary Mark Kilmartin EI4FNB, Treasurer Ralph Musto EI2KU, Public Relations Officer Seany Byrne EI2HZB, Club Officer 1 John McCarthy EI8JA, Club Officer 2 Pat Dwyer EI7IUB & Club Officer 3 Roger Greengrass EI8KN.









Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 28 Feb 2023 at 09:00



Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club Rally 2023
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will be in attendance at the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club rally at the Temple Gate Hotel, Ennis, Co. Clare, Eircode V95 H0XK, on Sunday 26th of February 2023 with doors opening to the public at 11 a.m. sharp. Drop by the SEARG stand and get your free EI2WRC pen, limited stock so come early because once they’re gone they’re gone! Also, EI2WRC mouse mats, azimuthal maps and club mugs will be available to purchase. The group will also have a special incentive in place on the day. Any new member that joins on the day will receive a complimentary mouse mat, azimuthal map or club mug and all new members that join on the day will be entered in to a draw and the winner will receive their membership fee back. This offer only applies to new members joining and not existing members who renew their membership on the day. The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group look forward to meeting many friends both old and new on the day. Everyone in EI2WRC wishes the Limerick and Clare Amateur Radio Club the very best of luck with the event and continued success with your club in the future. For more information about the Limerick Clare Amateur Radio Club rally please see here.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 16 Feb 2023 at 14:00

EI2WRC 2023 AGM
The 2023 AGM of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place at 8 p.m. sharp on Monday, February 27th, 2023. In the interests of public safety and to avoid a large physical meeting taking place and due to the ever-present Covid infection, the EI2WRC committee have decided to have the 2023 AGM on the Zoom platform. This will also be of benefit to our many members who live outside of the south east region. There will of course be a limited number of places available for non-members of the club to attend the online AGM. For anyone that is interested in attending you are asked to send an email to southeasternarg@gmail.com to express your interest in attending. Places are limited and people will be allocated a place upon a first come basis and anyone interested is asked to get in touch to the above email before Friday February 17th.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 02 Feb 2023 at 13:15



EI2WRC Twitter Page
The SEARG Twitter page has recently undergone a major overhaul and is once again back to its former glory with almost 3,000 followers. The Twitter page is now been managed and run by Siobhan Heaney from Co. Laois. Siobhan is an avid SWL and social media guru and in recent weeks she has been doing a live feed of the Tuesday night IRTS news bulletin read by EI2WRC members on her TikTok channel. Assisted with technical advice from Hugh EI2HI and Robbie EI2IP the live feed has reached out to licensed and non-licensed people all over the world with on average 200 people watching the live feed every Tuesday night. For anyone that is active on TikTok you can find Siobhan’s channel under the username ‘TheIrishOutdoorCook’ . A massive thanks to Siobhan for taking on the Twitter account and also the Tuesday night live TikTok feeds. For anyone wishing to follow EI2WRC on Twitter please see twitter.com/seargnews
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 02 Feb 2023 at 13:00



January Meeting Report
The January meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC took place on Monday the 30th of January 2023 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. It was an excellent start to what is going to be an even busier year that previous years for the EI2WRC club. At the meeting the club had the 1st of their new monthly "Tech Talks" which will involve club members giving presentations and talks on some of the topics they have a great knowlede of. The club would like to say a massive thanks to both Tom EI2ILB and Ralph EI2KU for both of their talks at the meeting. Tom gave a talk on the Nano VNA and Ralph's talk was on the Tiny SA.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 31 Jan 2023 at 11:30



January Meeting
The January meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 30th of January 2023 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. Although the Ozanam Centre has no Eircode it is located directly behind the St. Vincent De Paul shop on Henrietta Street which has an Eircode of X91 FEK1. So that would be a good starting point for anyone who might be interested in coming along and maybe not sure about the location. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 16 Jan 2023 at 06:30



Christmas Get Together

Many club members and friends enjoyed the annual Christmas get together on Friday the 9th of December 2022. The location this year was the Waterford Marina Hotel in Waterford city. Everyone in attendance enjoyed a very tasty 3 course dinner and a “few” social drinks and the festive fun carried on in to early hours! The club would like to thank Edwin EI2HEB for all his hard 
work and time gone in to arranging this year’s get together. Plans for the 2023 Christmas are already being discussed!







Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 10 Dec 2022 at 13:00



November Meeting Review
The November meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC took place on Monday the 28th of November 2022 at 8 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. This was the group’s first time meeting at this excellent location, and it will hopefully become our permanent location for club meetings in the future. EI2WRC would like to thank Frank Kennedy of the Ozanam Centre for making this facility available for us to use. A special word of thanks also to club member Pat Dwyer EI7IUB for sourcing this venue on behalf of the group. As always large number of members were in attendance at the meeting as well as some new faces.

Many different topics were discussed including the plans for our activations in 2023 which will include some new activations for the club. 2023 will be an even busier year for the year so some never done before activations in the pipeline, so watch this space! Club meetings will continue on Zoom each week and the next face to face meeting will be on January 30th, 2023. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend our meetings. The next club event will be our Christmas get together which will be on December 9th at the Waterford Marina Hotel at 7 p.m. Non club members are also very welcome to attend and there are a limited number of places still available. If anyone may be interested in attending you are asked to please contact EI2WRC’s event coordinator Edwin EI2HEB as soon as possible.

Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 29 Nov 2022 at 13:15



November Meeting
The November meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 28th of November 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at the New Community Men's Shed, Ozanam Centre, Coffee House Lane, Waterford. The group would like to thank Frank Kennedy of the Ozanam Centre for making this excellent facility available for us to use. A special word of thanks also to club member Pat Dwyer EI7IUB for sourcing this venue on behalf of the group. Although the Ozanam Centre has no Eircode it is located directly behind the St. Vincent De Paul shop on Henrietta Street which has an Eircode of X91 FEK1. So that would be a good starting point for anyone who might be interested in coming along and m
aybe not sure about the location. New members, or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.











Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 15 Nov 2022 at 13:00



Congratulations!
Everyone in EI2WRC would like to say a massive congratulations to two of our club members who recently done the HAREC exam and passed with flying colours. Brian Kelly who was EI1794 SWL is now EI2JKB, and Steve Kelly who was EI1880 SWL is now EI2JLB. Well done lads, enjoy the hobby and we hope that both of you will have many hours of great DX. We all look forward to having a chat with both of you soon on the radio.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 26 Oct 2022 at 20:45



Donations To EI2WRC
Everyone in EI2WRC would like to thank the following people for very kind donations which were received at our meeting last night. Firstly, thanks to Liam Grant EI8BLB for his kind donation of a new gas regulator for the club’s caravan. Thanks also to JJ O’ Flynn EI7HGB for his donation of a Solar MPPT Charger Controller which will be used as part of our new solar charging system. Thanks again to both Liam and JJ for both very kind donations.
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 25 Oct 2022 at 10:45



October Meeting Review
"A very big club with great comradery” is how IRTS President Larry McGriskin EI9CN described EI2WRC to the large crowd present at his attendance to the October meeting of the club on Monday the 24th of October. Larry also spoke about his own involvement previously with Dundalk and currently the Galway radio club. A very long chat then took place between members and Larry with many different topics being discussed. The club then made a small presentation to Larry to mark the occasion of his visit. On behalf of all in EI2WRC a massive thanks to Larry for travelling the very long distance to be there and the EI2WRC door is always open for a return visit.
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 25 October 2022 at 10:30



HAREC Exam
Best of luck to all the candidates on Saturday!


































Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 12 Oct 2022 at 09:30



October Meeting
The October meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 24th of October 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). As the last Monday of the month is a bank holiday the October meeting has been scheduled for the 24th. The club is delighted that IRTS President Larry McGriskin EI9CN will be in attendance at the meeting, and we look forward in welcoming Larry to the south east. New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 09 Oct 2022 at 16:30



Donation To Southern Ireland Repeater Group
At the September meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group the group were delighted to make a donation to John McCarthy EI8JA towards the upkeep and maintenance of the Southern Ireland Repeater Network. The network which is one, if not the best of its kind in the world is a credit to John EI8JA, Neil EI3JE and all the crew of the Southern Ireland Repeater Group. A massive amount of time and effort goes in to maintaining it. That time and effort is highly appreciated by all in EI2WRC. Pictured here (from l to r) are John McCarthy EI8JA of the Southern Ireland Repeater Group and Raymond Cowman EI6HFB Vice-Chairman EI2WRC.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 26 September 2022 at 23:30



Railways On The Air 2022
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC were active from The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway station Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford for the Railways On The Air event on Sunday the 25th of September 2022. This was the club’s 9th consecutive year to do this activation from Kilmeaden. The club arrived on site at 10 a.m. and the many EI2WRC members present proceeded to set up the station which consisted of a 40m dipole and the club’s Yaesu 857. The idea of trying a 40m dipole was a success as 40m was in excellent shape all day with brilliant inter EI and G which gave the operators multiple pile ups.

Throughout the day the station was as usual a great focal point for the club and the hobby in general with great interest from the general public. Thanks to all our great club members who showed up and helped out on the day. A special thanks to EI2WRC’s event coordinator Edwin Van Mierlo EI2HEB for towing the caravan from Carlow and back for the event. The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thank the manager Maria Kyte and all the staff of The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway for all their help and allowing us access to the station to do this event again this year. We are already looking forward to next year as it will be the 10th anniversary. For more information about the WSVR please see their website here
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 26 September 2022 at 11:00



HAREC Exam
The next HAREC examination will be held on Saturday, the 15th of October 2022 at both the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin, and the Clayton Silversprings Hotel, Cork at 11.30 a.m. Registration will begin from 11 a.m. Candidates will be contacted directly regarding venue preference and registration requirements, but if any candidates have not been contacted already or have any further queries regarding the exam, please contact irts.exams@gmail.com for more details. Please also note that the closing date for receipt of applications is the 30th of September 2022. No applications for the 15th of October examination can be accepted beyond this date.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 19 September 2022 at 10:00



HAREC Course "Foxtrot"
The National Short Wave Listeners Club (NSWLC) would like to announce a new HAREC online training course. Class Foxtrot will start on 3rd November 2022. Class Foxtrot will consist of 24 classes ending on May 4th 2023. The course is free but membership of the NSWLC is compulsory. There are no prerequisites for this course, other than a genuine desire to study for an amateur radio licence, and to take and pass the Irish HAREC exam.

The upcoming course is based on the new Irish exam syllabus, introduced earlier this year. The course uses the upcoming IRTS Study Guide, an almost 300-page learning resource. Members of Class Echo have significantly contributed to the new guide. As a result of their valuable feedback, Class Foxtrot contains 6 more sessions than its predecessor in order to better focus on the areas that are new to the current syllabus.

The course will be held via the Zoom platform and sessions must be attended live. Classes will be held each Thursday from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (local time). For more information about The National Short Wave Listeners Club (NSWLC) or to join please see www.swl.ie
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 15 September 2022 at 09:00



September Club Meeting
The September meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 26th of August 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 14 September 2022 at 10:20



Railways On The Air
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will be active from The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway station Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford for the Railways On The Air event on Sunday the 25th of September. WSVR is a community heritage project. The project has enabled the magic of rails golden age to be brought to life in Kilmeaden. A heritage narrow gauge railway runs along 17 kilometres of the abandoned Waterford to Dungarvan line. The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thank the manager Maria Kyte and all the staff of The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway for all their help and allowing us access to the station to do this event again this year. For more information about the WSVR please see www.wsvrailway.ie
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 14 September 2022 at 10:15



New Position
With our ever-increasing events calendar The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC are pleased to announce the appointment of Edwin Van Mierlo EI2HEB as the Events Coordinator of the group.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 02 September 2022 at 10:45



August Meeting
The August meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 29th of August 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 23 August 2022 at 21:45



July Meeting
The July meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 25th of July 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 18 July 2022 at 21:30



Inistioge Vintage Rally































Posted by EI2WRC Monday 18 July 2022 at 19:30







2022 IRTS UHF/VHF Field Day
EI2WRC were active on Saturday the 2nd of July for the IRTS UHF/VHF Field day QRV from Vinegar Hill, Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. Although band conditions were poor on the day a large amount of QSO's were logged. It proved to be a excellent opportunity to try out various radio and antenna's combinations. The club continues to meet every Monday night at 8 p.m. on the Zoom platform
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 04 July 2022 at 14:30



June Meeting
The June meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 27th of June 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 21 June 2022 at 22:30



Bunmahonn Activation


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by EI2WRC Friday 03 June 2022 at 13:30



May Meeting
The May meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 30th of May 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 20 May 2022 at 09:30



HAREC Exam
The IRTS examination board is pleased to announce that the next HAREC examination will be held in the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin 24 on Saturday the 9th of July 2022. There will be two examinations held on that date, a morning sitting commencing at 10am and an afternoon sitting commencing at 1.30pm. Each sitting will be two hours in duration and candidates are advised to arrive at least 30 minutes ahead of the exam commencing to allow time for sign-in. The fee for the examination is €50 and there is a concessionary rate of €25. Full details can be found on the IRTS Website. Closing date for receipt of applications is Sunday the 26th of June 2022. All details are subject to Covid regulations in force on the published date of the examination. For more details see here.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 24 April 2022 at 11:30



International Marconi Day 2022
Tramore was the location for the group to activate the EI2IMD callsign which was specially got for the Marconi Day 2022 activation. International Marconi Day 2022 took place on Saturday April 23rd and once again it proved to be a very successful activation with massive pile up’s on all bands that the call was used on. Early on Saturday morning three Australian stations were worked on 20m SSB and throughout the morning many other countries were worked using the club’s Yaesu FT857 and Wayne EI7HKB's homebrew 49:1 EFHW antenna. John EI3HQB also made some CW contacts using the club’s Elecraft K2. Many club members visited the station throughout the day with many members of the public also stopping while passing to ask what the funny wires in the sky were for! It was a very special day for club member Jamie EI1578 who logged his first contact on HF using the EI2IMD call under supervision from a EI2WRC member. Well done Jamie and we all know it will be the first of many. With band conditions dying in the late afternoon the station closed down and everyone headed for home. Even though it was a cold and windy day in Tramore a great day was had by all.






Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 2 April 2022 at 21:30



April Meeting
The April meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 25th of April 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 22 April 2022 at 22:00


IRTS 89th AGM Weekend
The group had the privilege of hosting the 89th IRTS AGM Weekend on Saturday and Sunday the 9th & 10th of April in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Carlow. The weekend kicked off on Friday night the 8th with a very informal dinner and a few drinks for anyone that had booked the special two night stay in the hotel. It was great to catch up with old friends and some new faces on the night and the fun continued on well in to the early hours for a few people. The Saturday workshop talks proved to be a great success with talks from Justin, EI3IAB explaining the use and inner workings of a digital ATV repeater. Roger, EI8KN gave an overview of practical VHF and UHF DX’ing, explaining various scatter modes. John, EI7IG reported on the development of the Southern Ireland Repeater Network and gave a historical perspective by means of an impressive slide show supporting his talk on the many hours spent putting together and upgrading this popular network of repeaters. The last presentation was given by John, EI2GN on emergency preparedness and the Amateur Radio Emergency Network (AREN), illuminating paths of how to be involved. An engaging talk, raising the interest of many who had not previously considered getting involved. All presentations were followed by lively question and answer sessions, showing that SEARG found a successful format of engagement, surely to be repeated.





The IRTS Gala Dinner took place that Saturday night at 7.30 p.m. and close on 90 people
attended. MC for the evening Raymond Cowman EI6HFB welcomed everyone and then invited various people throughout the evening to say a few words and propose some toasts. EI2WRC were delighted to welcome both the IARU Region 1 president and also the RSGB president to the dinner. Various presentations were made on the night which included a small presentation by EI2WRC to Jim EI4HH and his XYl Veronica to thank both of them for all their hard work over the past few years. Another mentionable presentation on the night was to Megan EI5LA. Megan was presented with a custom print SEARG mug. The presentation was made to Megan by Jennifer Murnane O Connor TD, Jennifer is the Parliamentary Ambassador for Ireland to the global network of female politicians called Women Political Leaders (WPL). Jennifer congratulated Megan on her achievements on radio and invited Megan to a tour of Dáil Éireann when she is in Dublin, an invitation which a very shell-shocked Megan accepted. As per the previous evening the celebration continued well on in to the early hours of the morning.









Close on 300 people attended the SEARG radio rally the following morning. Traders from all corners of Ireland arrived in Carlow as early as 8 a.m. to get their stands set up for what was a great success. EI’s and SWL’s were treated to a wide variety of equipment and supplies. People who hadn’t seen each other for the last few years finally got a chance to see each other again. Most of Irelands main radio equipment suppliers were in attendance as well as a large number of individual traders and some great deals were available on the day. A monster raffle concluded the event with some great prizes on offer. The IRTS 89th AGM took place on Sunday afternoon which brought the weekend to a close. The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC would like to thank everyone who made 89th Annual AGM weekend such a success. Firstly, thanks to Heather, Willie, Brian and all the staff in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel for basically letting us take over their hotel! Thanks to Jim EI4HH, Dave EI4BZ and everyone in the IRTS for trusting us to pull the weekend off. The group hopes it achieved what it set out to do which was lift the bar even higher than they did back in 2015. Thanks to Higgins Furniture Hire for the tables for the rally on Sunday. Thanks to all the traders who turned up at 8 a.m. Sunday morning some traveling since 4 a.m. to make it to Carlow on time. Thanks to all those who sponsored prizes for our big raffle. Thanks to all the people who turned up on Sunday morning to support the club and the rally again some travelling long distances. Lastly a massive thanks to all our own EI2WRC members who done trojan work over the entire weekend. We look forward to welcoming you all back to the south east soon. Pictures from the weekend can be viewed here.



Posted by EI2WRC Friday 22 April 2022 at 21:30


IRTS AGM Weekend


Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 22 March 2022 at 19:30



March Meeting
The March meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 28th of March 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 21 March 2022 at 19:30



Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Everyone in the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group wishes all our friends in Ireland and around the world a very happy St. Patrick's Day. Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit!
 
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 17 March 2022 at 07:30


March Meeting
The March meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC will take place on Monday the 28th of March 2022 at 8.00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford (Eircode X91 H588). New members or anyone interested in learning more about amateur radio or the group are as always very welcome to attend.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 11 March 2022 at 09:30



EI2WRC 2022 AGM
The 2022 AGM of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group took place on Monday the 28th of February 2020 at 8 p.m. on the Zoom platform. Even though the meeting was held on Zoom many members were in attendance. Club Chairman Mark EI4FNB welcomed the members and thanked them for attending. He started the meeting by observing a minute’s silence for silent keys and for the people of Ukraine. He then asked club secretary John EI3HQB to read the minutes of the 2021 AGM. Once that had concluded Mark then went on to give a report on the year that 2021 had being for the club.

Mark listed the activities that the club had been involved in throughout 2021 and hoped that 2022 would be an even better year with activations. He was delighted to see that the club had planned to do some new activations this year and was also looking forward to the IRTS AGM which the club are hosting in Carlow in April. Club treasurer Sue EI1826 gave a report on the finances of the club noting that 2021 had been a successful year financially and that club finances are once again in a very healthy position. She also noted that 2021 was a record-breaking year for membership with 61 members 13 of which are SWL’s.


Mark then thanked the outgoing committee members for all their hard work over the previous year and the following committee was then deemed elected for 2022 Chairman Mark Kilmartin EI4FNB, Vice Chairman Ray Cowman EI6HFB, Secretary John Tubbritt EI3HQB, Treasurer Sue McCormick EI1826, Public Relations Officer Sean Byrne EI2HZB, Club Officer 1 Sam Wilson EI3IUB, Club Officer 2 David Stearn EI7FYB & Club Officer 3 Roger Greengrass EI8KN
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 01 March 2022 at 11:00


EI2WRC 2022 AGM
The 2022 Annual General Meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place at 8.00 p.m. sharp on Monday the 28th of February 2022 via the Zoom platform. The committee feels that because it’s a very important meeting and some people might not yet feel comfortable attending public get togethers that Zoom would be a better option than a physical meeting. It would also allow members and those interested in joining who live a distance away to attend. There will be a limited number of places available for non-members of the club to attend this meeting. Anyone interested in attending is asked to send an email requesting details of how you can access the meeting to southeasternarg@gmail.com before 6 p.m. Monday the 21st of February.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 20 February 2022 at 18:30


Activation Cancelled
Due to the bad weather EI2WRC's activation of Vinegar Hill, National Monument Ref: EI-01422 has been postponed until a later date. Stay safe everyone.
Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 19 February 2022 at 09:00


Vinegar Hill, National Monument Ref: EI-01422 Activation

 


Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 13 February 2022 at 11:30



EI2WRC 2022 AGM
The 2022 Annual General Meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place at 8.00 p.m. sharp on Monday the 28th of February 2022 via the Zoom platform. The committee feels that because it’s a very important meeting and some people might not yet feel comfortable attending public get togethers that Zoom would be a better option than a physical meeting. It would also allow members and those interested in joining who live a distance away to attend. There will be a limited number of places available for non-members of the club to attend this meeting. Anyone interested in attending is asked to send an email requesting details of how you can access the meeting to southeasternarg@gmail.com before 6 p.m. Monday the 21st of February.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 09 February 2022 at 21:30


Back with a bang!
Close on 50 members attended the February meeting of the group which was held at 8:00 p.m. at The Sweep Bar. This was the first time for the group to have a meeting at this location and it was decided to make the Sweep Bar our new location for future meetings. This was the 1st face to face meeting of the club since February 2020. EI2WRC chairman Mark EI4FNB welcomed the large crowd to the meeting and went on to note that was his first time to address a club meeting with people face to face since his election as chairman back in February 2020. He thanked the large number for showing up and hoped that going forward there was no more meetings or club events cancelled due to Covid.

Ray EI6HFB who is part of the IRTS AGM weekend organising team gave details of the event which is due to be held in Carlow in April. He said he looked forward to the weekend and hoped that everyone would have a great time attending Carlow over the weekend. Club secretary John EI3HQB gave a list of what activities the club hoped to do throughout 2022. He paid particular attention to the recently setup EIFF activations which he hoped the club would do many different activations from various locations around the south east. Chairman Mark then closed the official part of the meeting, but a great chat followed by everyone there in to the early hours of the morning. The clubs next event will be the group’s AGM which will be held on the 28th of February.
Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 08 February 2022 at 13:00




First Activation Of 2022

The club got 2022 out to a great start being active from EIFF-0136 Tramore Dunes and Backstrand SAC, WAI S60 located in Tramore Co. Waterford. The Echo India Flora Fauna EIFF was set up by Jer EI3HGB and Declan EI9HQ The EIFF program aims to draw attention to the importance of protected flora and fauna areas throughout Ireland. In the spirit of amateur radio, operators set up and operate their radio stations from designated nature parks and protected flora and fauna areas around Ireland. For more information on this project, you can check out the website here
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A great day was day by all operators and visitors to the station. A large number of QSO’s were logged on both SSB and CW. The clubs recently constructed Elecraft K2 transceiver was paired with a 49:1 EFHW and great results were got both on CW and SSB with multiple pile ups on both modes. The club hope to activate many more EIFF stations over the coming months. Massive thanks to all the visitors and operated who were at the event today and a special thanks to Jer & Declan for the massive work they have put in to get EIFF special event up and running.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 29 January 2022 at 18:30




We're Back


 

Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 27 January 2022 at 15:00


Meeting Cancelled
Following a SEARG Committee meeting held this evening it has been decided to cancel Monday night’s meeting due to be held at the Sweep Bar Kilmeaden at 8:00 p.m. Due to Covid and high numbers of new cases been confirmed in the past few days it would not be safe to have the meeting. Member’s safety and the safety of the public must be foremost in the interests of the club. Hopefully there will be brighter days ahead soon for all of us and we will all get to meet in person. Thanks to all of you for your understanding. Stay safe everyone
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 25 November 2021 at 19:30


November Club Meeting
The November meeting of The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will be held on Monday the 29th of November at 8:00 p.m. sharp at The Sweep Bar, Adamstown, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford Eircode X91 H588. As with all public gatherings the management of The Sweep Bar will only allow access to those who are fully vaccinated and produce their EU Digital Covid Certificate and valid photographic identity (e.g. Driving Licence, Passport) No cert and no ID no entry! There will be a lot to discuss on the night including plans for the year ahead with some exciting new activations in the pipeline, so we look forward to seeing many familiar faces in attendance. Any non-members who are interested in finding out more about the hobby or the group are also very welcome on the night.
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 03 November 2021 at 11:30


Donation Of Test Equipment To Club
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC would like to thank Graham White from Glenbrien, Co. Wexford for his very kind donation of a large amount of test gear to the club. It was a very kind gesture Graham and is very much appreciated by all in the club.
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 29 October 2021 at 20:00



JOTAJOTI 2021
The 2021 JOTAJOTI event took place over the weekend of the 15th, 16th and 17th of October and on the 16th the South Eastern Amateur Radio took the short trip out to Annestown to do the event with the Copper Coast Scout Group for the event. Over the course of the day the scouts were shown many different aspects of the hobby including Morse Code, DMR, HF operation and Digi modes. The scouts were also shown some basic electronic circuits. From the interest shown by the scouts the future of the hobby is in very safe hands. Massive thanks to all in the Copper Coast Scout Group everyone in EI2WRC hope you have as much fun learning about the hobby than we had in showing it to you. Roll on 2022! This event was probably the last radio event for the EI2WRC group for 2021. The group’s next event will be the Christmas get-together on the 3rd December in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel Carlow.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 16 October 2021 at 18:00




JotaJoti 2021

EI2WRC will be active with the Copper Coast Scout Group on Saturday the 16th of October for the JOTA/JOTI 2021 event. The club hope to have a few HF stations on air and also on DMR (TBC) along with other club members explaining other aspects of the hobby with workshops where the scouts can participate. The group will also be active on the Southern Ireland Repeater Network and all nodes connected to it. Special thanks to the SIRN group for allowing us to use the repeater network for this special event. If you hear the station on air, please take a few minutes to say hello to the scouts. Thank you! Please note due to restrictions this event will not be open to members of the public
 
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 13 October 2021 at 11:30



Railways On The Air 2021
The group returned once again to the Waterford & Suir Valley Railway in Kilmeadan, Co. Waterford for the annual Railways On The Air weekend. The club has been doing the event from WSVR for the past number of years. Over the weekend many QSO’s in both SSB and CW were logged. 40m SSB was particularly good on Saturday morning with club op’s running many pile ups. As in previous activation's the clubs Yaesu 857 and Wayne’s 49:1 EFHW were paired together, and both worked brilliantly on all bands used over the weekend. The club would like to thank Maria Kyte, Manager of the Waterford & Suir Valley Railways and all the staff for allowing us to do the ROTA activation from Kilmeadan Station. The clubs next event will be the JOTAJOTI activation with the Copper Coast Scout Group on the 16th October.
 
 
 
 
 
  

 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 26 August 2021 at 20:30



Best of luck everyone!!


Posted by EI2WRC Monday 06 August 2021 at 19:30



IRTS SSB Field Day Contest Weekend
Almost 50 members and friends of the group attended the 2021 IRTS SSB Field Day at some stage over the weekend of the 4th & 5th September. The event was hosted by Sean EI2HZB, YL Shirley and Junior Op Keith at Sean’s QTH in Carlow. Some club members arrived as early as Friday night and made plans for the contest station setup which was done the following morning. The club used Wayne’s 49:1 EFHW and Sean’s FT897 for the competition and SD Logger for the logging. As no onsite mains could be used the club used batteries and inverters for the event. Saturday afternoon was extremely busy with many club members calling in for a chat and a cuppa with some travelling long distances to get there.

The club were also delighted to welcome IRTS President Jim EI4HH and his friend David EI3IXB to the event on Saturday afternoon, both of whom used the club callsign EI2WRC/P during the contest. Even though it was a contest weekend the club placed more emphasis on the social side of things as this had been the first event where almost all social restrictions had been lifted. Another great weekend for the club. Sean, Shirley and Keith look forward to welcoming everyone back to Sean’s QTH in 2022 for the event.


The clubs next outing will be Railways on The Air from The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway in Kilmeaden on the 25th/26th September. For anyone that wishes to find out more about the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group and their activities you can drop them an email to southeasternarg@gmail.com or please feel free to go along to any their meetings. You can check their website www.searg.ie and you can also join them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 05 August 2021 at 22:30




International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend 2021
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group were active from the Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford over the weekend of the 21st & 22nd August 2021. The group activated Hook Lighthouse ILLW Ref IE0003 for the 24th International Lighthouse & Lightship weekend. The present structure at Hook Lighthouse is about 800 years old and is the oldest intact operational lighthouse in the world. More details about the lighthouse can be found at www.hookheritage.ie 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Band conditions over the weekend were excellent and many contacts were made all over Europe, America and as far east as Iran. The clubs Yaesu 857 was in operation for the event. The radio was paired with Waynes EI7HKB’s homebrew 49:1 EFHW (End fed half wave) which consists of 3 ferrite toroids and a length of wire approximately 134 feet. This home-brew antenna allows bands from 80m to 10m to be used. A simple antenna to make and it proved very successful over the weekend. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks to all the club members and friends of the club who stopped by at various times over the weekend. Thanks to everyone who brought food, desserts, and other treats. Thanks to Alex for making sure there was tea and coffee always available. Thanks to all the members who provided radios and radio gear to get the special event station on the air. A massive thanks as always to Wayne EI7HKB for feeding the troops all weekend. Another great weekend of radio and fun was had by all who attended. The clubs next outing will be up to Carlow on the 4th & 5th September for the IRTS SSB Field Day.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 23 August 2021 at 22:15



24th Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend

Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 05 August 2021 at 21:00



Donation To Club
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC would like to thank Johnny McCafferty EI2EK for his very kind donation to the club. It was a very kind gesture Johnny and is very much appreciated.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 12 July 2021 at 18:00

Tankardstown Activation

The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group were active from the Old Copper Mine near Bunmahon Co. Waterford over the weekend of the 5th & 6th June 2021. Even though the location is normally used for the Geopark activation every year and there was no official Geopark event this year the club decided to put a station on the air so that members could have a well-deserved break and have some fun over the weekend after the lockdowns in the previous months. The crew arrived on Friday and set up the station. Over the weekend stations from around Europe were logged on SSB and CW.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Over the weekend we had lots of interest from people who were visiting the location. Some people even came back twice to see the station in operation. Visitors were amazed how the hobby works and could not believe that a small length of wire was able to transmit our voices to countries in Europe. Hopefully, the interest shown will lead to many more people taking up the hobby of amateur radio.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks to John Galloway Manager of the Geopark Centre Bunmahon for giving us access to the site. Thanks to Sue Mccormick for the wonderful dinner and dessert on Friday evening a wondaful stew that any 5-star hotel would be proud to claim as their own. Thanks to all the members who stopped by over the weekend and brought food, beer, desserts, and other treats. Thanks to Alex for making sure everyone had tea or coffee all weekend and getting everyone to sign the visitors’ book. Thanks to all the members who provided radios and radio gear to get the station on the air. Lastly and by no means least a massive thanks to SEARG’s very own MasterChef Wayne Lewis who kept the troops fed all weekend with both mouth-watering breakfasts and dinners. Wayne, on behalf of all who attended thank you so much. Even though there wasn’t much radio activity done over the weekend everyone there agreed that it was great to be able to see old friends again and have a chat and a catch up which everyone needed after the lockdowns over the past year or so. Many laughs were had over the weekend and that is far more important that having any radio turned on. A great weekend was had by all and the club can’t wait for our next activation
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 07 June 2021 at 11:00



IRTS Annual General Meeting 2022 Hotel Rooms
Hotel rooms can now be booked for the 89th Irish Radio Transmitters Society’s AGM weekend, which will take place on the 9th & 10th of April 2022 in the Woodford Dolmen Hotel, Kilkenny Road, Carlow. The event is being hosted by The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC. The events team at the hotel have very kindly honoured the room prices as they were in 2020. A special room rate is available for anyone attending the event over the weekend. A full price list, special price room code and booking details are all available on the Hotel section on https://irtsagm2022cw.blogspot.com
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 07 June 2021 at 10:45


EI2WRC To Host 2022 Irish Radio Transmitters Society’s Annual General Meeting Weekend
The 2022 Irish Radio Transmitters Society’s Annual General Meeting Weekend will be hosted by the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC. The date and venue to be announced at a later stage.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 09 May 2021 at 21:00


EI2IMD International Marconi Day 2021

 

Members of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC were QRV as EI2IMD on Saturday April 24th for International Marconi Day 2021. The station was to be active solely from Tramore, Co. Waterford, but due to the current travel situation, the organisers the Cornish Radio Amateur Club had allowed the EI2WRC members to run the special call from their own homes. Even though band conditions were poor and QSO’s were hard to complete a large amount were logged mainly on 20, 40 and 80m. John EI3HQB manged to work a few stations on CW also.

EI2WRC members who worked various slots throughout the day were Sue EI1826, John EI3HQB, Wayne EI7HKB, Sam EI3IUB, Alan EI3HDB and Seany EI2HZB. EI2WRC would like to thank the Cornish Radio Amateur Club for organising the International Marconi Day every year. The club is already looking forward to taking part in the 2022 event! 
 
   
 
 


 
 
   
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 25 April 2021 at 13:00



Silent Key Fr. Harry Houlihan EI3EN

 

It is indeed with great sadness that the club learnt this evening of the death of a great friend of the club, Father Harry Houlihan EI3EN. A native of Dingle, Co. Kerry. Harry passed away suddenly on 22nd January at his home in the Franciscan Friary, Multyfarnham, Co. Westmeath.

He had become a radio enthusiast while a missionary in South Africa where he spent almost forty years. On his return to Ireland, he lived in Cork and Waterford before finishing his days as a Franciscan Friar in Multyfarnham. When Harry resided in Waterford, he was a frequent visitor to EI2WRC club meetings and often told great tales of his days as a missionary in South Africa.

Before Harry left Waterford, he made an exceptionally large donation of radio equipment to the club. Our deepest sympathy goes to his brother Val, sister-in-law Julie and his extended family and friends.

Solas na bhflaitheas ort, agus go raibh an leaba is fearr ar neamh agat.
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by EI2WRC Saturday 03 April 2021 at 21:00

International Marconi Day 2021

 


 

Posted by EI2WRC Friday 02 April 2021 at 15:00


Caravan Repair Donation Fund
The EI2WRC treasurer and all the other committee members would like to thank all the members of the public and club members also who recently donated to the club caravan upkeep fund. Cash donations, offers of materials and offers of help were received from many members. The caravan is currently getting major renovation work carried out on it and all your kind donations will go a long way on the work being carried on it. Thanks again everyone.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 01 March 2021 at 21:00

SEARG 2021 AGM REPORT

The 2021 AGM of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group took place on Monday the 22nd of February 2021 at 8 p.m. Due to the current Covid pandemic and the restrictions in place this year’s AGM had to take place on the Zoom platform as seen in the picture on the right. Even though the meeting was held via the Zoom platform many members were in attendance.



Club Chairman Mark EI4FNB welcomed the members online and thanked them for attending. Mark then went on to give a report on the rather quite year that 2021 had being for the club. Mark listed the 59 activities that the club took part in throughout 2020. Even though most of the physical activation's had to be cancelled due to Covid the club took part in several different activities including various talks and courses on the Zoom platform. He also noted the disappointment felt by the club at having to cancel the IRTS 2020 AGM which the club was due to host in Carlow in April 2020. Mark thanked all the members for supporting the club in what had been a tough year and looked forward to 2021 being a much better year for everyone.

Club treasurer Sue SWL gave a report on the finances of the club for the 2020 year noting that 2020 had been a successful year financially and that club finances are in a healthy position. She mentioned the fact than anyone that had joined the club in 2020 got free membership for 2021 due to the club being inactive with the Covid restrictions. She also noted that membership was at a record high with close on 55 members at present.

Chairman Mark EI4FNB then thanked the committee members for all their hard work over the previous year and the committee for 2021 was then deemed elected. The committee for 2021 as seen in the picture (from l to r) are Club Officer Eoghan EI5HBB, Vice-Chairman Wayne EI7HKB, Club Officer Roger EI8KN, PRO Sean EI2HZB, Chairman Mark EI4FNB, Club Officer John EI7IG, Secretary John EI3HQB, Treasurer Sue SWL.









Posted by EI2WRC Monday 22 February 2021 at 22:30



Table Quiz Prize Draw Winner
Congratulations to John King EI2ICB on winning the prize at the recent fun table quiz night. John can either have a drive on mast or an earth grounding station box kindly sponsored by John & Sue of Airmast Ltd. Well done John
Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 03 February 2021 at 22:00

Donation Of First Aid Kit
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thank Ray EI6HFB for his recent kind donation of a First Aid kit to the club. The kit will be located in the club caravan for all EI2WRC activities. Thanks Ray, it is very much appreciated. Hopefully it won't have to be used!
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 18 January 2021 at 13:45

Club Donation
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thank Robbie EI2IP for his recent kind donation to the club. Thanks Robbie, it is very much appreciated.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 17 January 2021 at 09:45
 

EI2WRC Club Caravan Overhaul

EI2WRC's Treasurer Sue busy at work!
The new year has arrived and it was full steam ahead today at John’s (EI3HQB) workshop. Both himself and EI2WRC Treasurer Sue were busy getting the club caravan out of storage and ready for the 2021 season. The caravan does be stored on the farm where John’s workshop is located and massive thanks to the farm owners for allowing us to store the caravan there in safe and secure storage over the winter months. Although the caravan is in good condition there is a few jobs to be done on it before the 2021 fun begins.

As seen in the picture Sue got to grips with the steam cleaner and in no time, it was looking again like a new caravan. The previous toilet closet will get a makeover once it's pulled out. All rot will be removed a new floor will go in. All joints externally will be checked and resealed where needed. John also intends lifting the suspension up by 2-3 inches as the original bushes have dropped with age. All in all, a good bit to be done before it is ready. Keep an eye on the EI2WRC Facebook page for progress as it happens. The club are incredibly grateful to John, Sue, Wayne, Alex and all the team who put in massive voluntary work every year to keep the caravan in great condition for our yearly events.
 
Posted by EI2WRC Friday 15 January 2021 at 21:30


EI2WRC Donation To Southern Ireland Repeater Group

The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group EI2WRC are delighted to continue to support the efforts and hard work of the Southern Ireland Repeater Group. The network which covers the majority of southern Ireland through RF and worldwide through various formats is a great benefit to all operators in the south east and beyond. Pictured to the left at the donation presentation for 2020 are Sue McCormick, Treasurer EI2WRC and John McCarthy of the Southern Ireland Repeater Group.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 30 December 2020 at 17:15


Morse Code Course Report
On the 29th August this year just over half a dozen members of SEARG decided to "Give it a go" and joined a Zoom group to learn/improve their abilities in the field of that original method of digital radio communication, namely CW.

The principles of the 'Farnswoth' method of learning were used, whereby the sending of dots & dashes of each letter is set within a practical speed range (10 - 12 wpm) but with large pauses between each letter to give time for recognition of the letter and to write it down. Learning a new language is never an easy task yet these members were determined to give it a try. Eight weekly Saturday morning sessions of one-hour duration were interspersed with regular mid-week homework of CW recordings and accompanying explanatory text emailed to each member of the group and then discussed at the following Saturday's meeting.

Such learning was augmented by members using their own favorite piece of software to practice with whenever they could. Gradually knowledge and experience grew to a point where some members even tried their hand in a CW contest. One of the course "students" managed to obtain a higher score that the course tutor. Much to the absolute delight of the 'student,' and embarrassment of the tutor! Personally, I find it very satisfying when people who one helps obtain/ improve their knowledge and or skill move on and exploit that new ability. Of course, CW isn't everyone's cup of tea and rightly so. But ask anyone who's been bitten by the CW bug and they'll be certain tell you, "It's the only way to go"

Keith EI5KJ (Course Tutor)
p.s. It would appear that some of the above group members are masochists, as they have requested a further four weeks of this torturous tuition. With people this determined to learn I'd say the lower portions of the amateur bands are going to become a little more crowded in the near future!

Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 28 October 2020 at 08:45

Railways On The Air 2020

EI2WRC were active from The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford on Saturday and Sunday 26th/27th September as part of The Railways On The Air Weekend 2020. This was the group’s 8th consecutive year to take part in the event from Kilmeaden. Club members arrived early on Saturday morning and proceeded to setup the station. The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway was the only active railway in EI/GI for the 2020 event.

The club caravan was on site all weekend and many contacts were made worldwide including many other ROTA stations active for the weekend. Band conditions over the weekend was excellent and more than 20 club members were in attendance at various times. The club also had a few EI’s from various part of the country call in to say hello also. As per usual there was great interest in the station from the public who were there.

For more information about the The Waterford & Suir Valley Railway please see www.wsvrailway.ie

EI2WRC would especially like to thank WSVR Manager, Maria Kyte and all the staff there for all their help and allowing us access to the train station for the event every year. Plans for 2021 are already in place!

Posted by EI2WRC Monday 28 September 2020 at 10:30
 


Irelands Biggest Radio Club
Well it’s official, not alone are SEARG Ireland’s most active club we are now recognised as Ireland’s biggest judging from this week’s IRTS weekly news on Sunday the 20th of September. An article in this news edition states “ Irelands biggest radio club, the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group” The article itself was written and sent in to the IRTS news by a person with no ties or involvement in the club. It is all thanks to a great bunch of members and their families who continue year after year to make the club what it is. Well done to all our members and hopefully we can continue to grow even larger and become more active.
Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 20 September 2020 at 14:00

Railways On The Air 2020
The group will be QRV from from Waterford & Suir Valley Railway, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford on Saturday/Sunday the 26/27th September as part of the Railways On The Air Weekend 2020. This actiavtion will of course depend on latet Goverment restrictions.The Waterford and Suir Valley Railway Company is a community heritage project. The project has enabled the magic of rails golden age to be brought to life in Kilmeaden. A heritage narrow gauge railway runs along 17 kilometers of the abandoned Waterford to Dungarvan line. For more information about the Waterford & Suir Valley Railway please see https://www.wsvrailway.ie/ and for more information on the Railways On The Air event please see https://rota.barac.org.uk/
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 14 September 2020 at 10:00

IRTS 2/70 Counties Contest Weekend 

 Over the weekend of the 13/14th September Ei2WRC/P were QRV from Kilmurrin Cove as part of the IRTS 2/70 Counties Contest on the Sunday. The main aim was to do the 2m contest on Sunday, but the club decided to go out on Saturday afternoon and stay over. This gave us a chance to see again how good Wayne’s latest 49/1 end fed antenna worked with 136 ft of wire. The set up commenced at about 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon. 

It was blowing a bit of a gale, so the fibreglass mast up was erected and guyed and a length of wire was cut which was connected to the 49/1 balun. SWR was almost perfect so the group preceded to work a few stations in the evening from the Caribbean to the Middle East eventually going QRT around 11 p.m. It was an early start at 6 a.m. on Sunday morning and even though weather conditions were miserable several stations were heard from Australia and New Zealand. Due to the fact a worldwide contest was on it was impossible to make contact with them. Israel was logged before breakfast, the usual “MasterChef Wayne” style. The beam was then then setup for the 2/70 IRTS Counties Contest. The beam was placed in a horizontal configuration which did not really suit the competition, but a great afternoon of fun was had. 

Thanks to all the club members who took part over the weekend and thanks to all the visitors including a newly licensed operator and a SWL who is extremely interested in getting on the air. The next club outing (pending restrictions) will be Railways On The Air from Waterford & Suir Valley Railway, Kilmeaden, Co. Waterford on Saturday/Sunday the 26/27th September. Special thanks to John EI3HQB for the above report and photographs.
Posted by EI2WRC Monday 14 August 2020 at 9:30

Lighthouses On The Air 2020

EI2WRC/P was QRV for the 23rd Annual International Lighthouse/Lightship weekend which was held on Saturday and Sunday August 22nd and 23rd from Hook Lighthouse ILLW Ref 003 in the Hook Peninsula Co. Wexford. Hook Lighthouse is the oldest operational lighthouse in the world. A great weekend was had by all who attended including a large amount of club members and other friends of the club. Radio conditions were good, and many contacts were made across Europe and even some DX into USA, Jamaica, and Australia. This was the club’s 1st major event of the year due to Covid and thanks to all to all the members and visitors to the event. Our next possible event if restrictions allow could be JOTA with a local scout group. Keep an eye on here and our Facebook page for more details.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Posted by EI2WRC Monday 24 August 2020 at 10:00

Zoom CW Course
EI2WRC members who were interested in learning or improving their CW met via Zoom on Wednesday 19th August to plan out the upcoming Zoom CW course. The course which will run for 6-8 weeks hopes to help those who take part with their CW skills. A report of the course will be posted here once completed.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 20 August 2020 at 11:00

23rd Annual International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend


The 23rd Annual International Lighthouse/Lightship weekend will be held on Saturday and Sunday August 22nd and 23rd and the decision has been reached that EI2WRC will take part in the event while adhering to the Covid -19 guidelines and restrictions. If past restrictions are imposed again due to the rising numbers, the decision will be looked at again.

Club members will be arriving at Hook Lighthouse at around 11 a.m. (local) on Saturday the 22nd and proceed to set up the station for the event. The club caravan will be on site for the weekend after it’s recent tidy up by John EI3HQB, Wayne EI7HKB and Alex SWL and a massive thanks to all 3 for the great work carried out on the caravan.

Only 2 people shall be allowed to enter the caravan at any given time and social distancing will be in operation outside of the caravan. As this is the 1st major event of the year for the club all members and visitors are very welcome to come along. There is adequate camping space for those who wish to camp. Club members hope to be on site till around 3.30 on Sunday the 23rd so try come along at some stage to say hello.

Due to Goverment guidelines and restrictions set in place if anyone going to the event needs to use the toilet or cafe they need a ground pass available free of charge from https://hookheritage.ie/ticketing/grounds-access-pass/


This event will of course depend on Government guidelines and the dreaded weather. A final decision will be made closer to the event. See the club’s Facebook page for updates

For more info on the International Lighthouse & Lightship weekend please see www.illw.net

Hook Lighthouse is located on the South East coast of Ireland in Co. Wexford. The present structure is about 800 years old and is the oldest intact operational Lighthouse in the world. Hook Lighthouse offers guided tours of the lighthouse tower all year round and is one of the top things to do Wexford and Waterford. For more info please see www.hookheritage.ie
 
Club Donations
The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group would like to thank Pat EI9HX and Robert EI5KH for their recent kind donations to the club. Thanks also to JJ EI7HGB and John EI3ICB for their donations which the club passed on to the St. Vincent De Paul on the lad’s behalf.
Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 02 July 2020 at 15:45

Rescheduling of HAREC Exams
Following the postponement of the exam scheduled for May due to Covid-19, exams have now been arranged at venues in Dublin, Cork and Galway. Dates for the next exams are as follows 

  • Dublin: Saturday 25th July at 2:00 p.m. in the Maldron Hotel, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Latest date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 15th July 
  • Cork: Saturday 8th August at 2:00 p.m. in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ditchley House, Little Island, Cork. Latest date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 29th July 
  • Galway: Saturday 15th August at 2:00 p.m. in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Headford Road, Galway. Latest date for receipt of applications is Wednesday 5th August 

  •  See https://www.irts.ie/exam for full details of these exams
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 23 June 2020 at 17:00

    23rd Annual International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend
    The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will be active as EI2WRC/P over the weekend of the 22nd & 23rd of August from Hook Lighthouse (ILLW No. IE003) as part of the 23rd Annual International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend. For more information on the Annual International Lighthouse/ Lightship Weekend please see www.illw.net. The club’s participation in this year’s event will of course depend on Covid-19 restrictions and Government guidelines and more details whether the club will take place or not will be published nearer to the event. Hook Lighthouse is located on the South East coast of Ireland in Co. Wexford. The present structure is about 800 years old and is the oldest intact operational lighthouse in the world. Hook Lighthouse offers guided tours of the lighthouse tower all year around and is counted as one of the top tourist sites to visit in the Wexford and Waterford areas. For more info on the Hook Lighthouse please see www.hookheritage.ie
    Posted by EI2WRC Wednesday 10 June 2020 at 19:00

    HAREC Exam Update
    The amateur station licence exam which was due to be held in May was postponed due to the public health situation. Following recent announcements on the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions it is now planned to hold exams in July or August. As soon as arrangements have been finalised, full details will be posted on the IRTS web site at www.irts.ie/exam and in news bulletins
    Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 07 June 2020 at 22:00

    Suspension Of Club Meetings
    Considering the implications of the Covid-19 virus and the general age group of the club all meetings of the club will remain suspended until further notice.
    Posted by EI2WRC Thursday 21 May 2020 at 16:00

    VHF Lockdown Competition Success
    Congratulations to EI2WRC club officer Roger EI8KN on his recent success in the VHF Lockdown EI/GI 2m FM and FT8 Radio Contest which took place on May 4th. Roger topped the FT8 High Power section with 10 QSO’s and 7 Grids giving him a total of 18823 points. For full details of the competition please see here.
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 19 May 2020 at 15:00

    Zoom Club Meetings
    Due to the current situation with the Covid-19 pandemic members of the group having been using the Zoom video conferencing app to have their meetings. Over the past few weeks members have enjoyed talks from John EI7IG on DMR radio, David EI6GVB on the Icom RS-BA1 software, Sean EI2HZB on Ham Radio Deluxe, Edwin EI2HEB on the Folding@home project and a fun table quiz hosted by Wayne EI7HKB. Thanks to the members for taking the time to prepare and present the material for the club nights on Zoom. These Zoom meetings will continue to keep club members connected and provide a fun way to pass an hour or two on a Monday evening. Everyone at EI2WRC hopes that all our friends and their families in Ireland and around the world stay safe during these uncertain times.
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 28 April 2020 at 21:45

    Help With The Covid-19 Fight

    My Dear Radio Friends,

    I am writing to ask you to donate some CPU cycles of your computers to the research of the SARS-Cov-2 (Covid-19) virus. We all have computers can participate in this research, and they may find a cure or vaccine faster. A distributed computer project has started (years ago) by the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. More details and links below.

    How to get started:
    1) go to https://foldingathome.org/start-folding/
    2) download and install the executable
    3) you are all set, you are now contributing to the cause

    Optional settings:
    You can choose a unique username to identify yourself https://foldingathome.org/…/sta…/how-do-i-choose-a-username/
    You can generate a pass key to ensure nobody else is using your username https://foldingathome.org/support/faq/points/passkey/
    You can choose to participate in a team. An "Irish Radio Amateurs Team" has been setup.
    Team number 263127 https://foldingathome.org/…/statistics…/can-joincreate-team/

    You can choose to participate to "Any Disease" research, or a particular one, such as Covid-19. The application-process will run in a low priority on your computer and will not interfere with your normal work. You can use the slider to choose between "light", "medium" and "full". To be honest I have this set to "full" all the time and I have not yet found any negative effect while working on my computer system.
    So please help fight this with your CPU.
    And if you like to participate in the "Irish Radio Amateurs" team, use team number 263127.
    Happy folding!
    Thanks for listening!
    Let me know if you have any further questions.

    73 DE EI2HEB
    Edwin.

    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 21 April 2020 at 13:00



    IRTS Weekly News Time Update
    From Tuesday the 14th of April 2020 the weekly IRTS news bulletin on Tuesday evenings broadcast by the club will be brought forward from 9:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time. We look forward to your continued support of the service each week at the new time of 8:00 p.m.
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 24 March 2020 at 15:20

    St. Patrick's Day Award Station Report
    Both John EI3HQB and Sue SWL used the club call EI2WRC/P on Tuesday 17th March for the St. Patrick's Day Award special event. Due to the current situation they operated from their home QTH in Tramore, Co. Waterford. They started at 11:00 a.m and continued for most of the day. Even tough band conditions were poor a large amount of QSO's were logged throughout the day. The club would like to thank John and sue for putting the station on the air for the event.
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 24 March 2020 at 15:00

    St. Patrick's Day Award Station
    Both John EI3HQB and Sue SWL will be running the club call EI2WRC/P on Tuesday 17th March for the St. Patrick's Day Award special event. Due to the current situation they will operate from their home QTH and will post frequencies when they are about to go on air. The plan is to start at 11:00 a.m. and break for lunch and then resume in the afternoon. Bands operating will depend on conditions so keep an eye on the SEARG Facebook page for updates.
    Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 15 March 2020 at 19:30

    Suspension Of Club Meetings
    Considering the implications of the Covid-19 virus and the general age group of the club all meetings of the club will cease until further notice.
    Posted by EI2WRC Friday 13 March 2020 at 14:30

    March Meeting
    The March meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place on Monday the 30th of March 2020 in the Roanmore Social and Sports Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford at 8.00 p.m. sharp. At this meeting John EI7IG will be giving a presentation on the Southern Ireland Repeater Network. All members are please asked to attend and new members or anyone interested in learning more about the group or amateur radio are as always very welcome to attend also.
    Posted by EI2WRC Monday 09 March 2020 at 11:30


    2020 AGM Report

     
    The 2020 AGM of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group took place on Monday the 24th of February 2020 at 8pm in the Roanmore Centre, Cleaboy Rd, Waterford. Club Chairman John EI3HQB welcomed the large crowd for attending. John then went on to give a report on the highly successful year that 2019 had being for the club. John listed the 26 activations that the club took part in throughout 2019 including the regular Geopark Weekend, Lighthouse on the air and the Railways on the Air weekend. He also noted some of the new activation's that the club took part in.




     
       
    John thanked all the members for supporting events throughout the year and looked forward to 2020 been even busier with all the usual events and some new events already being planned including the club hosting the 88th annual IRTS Weekend in April. Club treasurer Ray EI6HFB gave a report on the finances of the club for the 2019 year noting that 2019 had been a highly successful year financially and that club finances are in a healthy position. Ray also noted that membership was at an all-time high with over 50 members at present.







    Chairman John EI3HQB then thanked the outgoing committee members for all their hard work over the previous two years and the following committee was then deemed elected for 2020 from all those present Chairman Mark Kilmartin EI4FNB, Vice Chairman Wayne Lewis EI7HKB, Secretary John Tubbritt EI3HQB ,Treasurer Sue McCormick SWL, Public Relations Officer Sean Byrne EI2HZB, Club Officer 1 John Ronan EI7IG, Club Officer 2 Eoghan Kinane EI5HBB & Club Officer 3 Roger Greengrass EI8KN

















    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 25 February 2020 at 08:15
     

    International Marconi Day 2020

    The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will be QRV as EI2WRC/P from Tramore on Saturday April 25th as an official International Marconi Day station for International Marconi Day. Guglielmo Marconi often stayed in Tramore as a child and then later as an adult while having breaks while working on his radio experiments on the west coast of Ireland. Marconi's mother was a sister of a Mrs. Cookman who resided at Bayview, The Cove, Tramore. Massive thanks to John EI3HQB for his work in researching and registering the club for the eventbr>




















     Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 11 February 2020 at 22:20
     


    Annual General Meeting 2020

    The 2020 Annual General Meeting of The South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place at 8.00 p.m. sharp on Monday the 24th of February 2020 in the Roanmore Social & Sports Club, Cleaboy Road, Waterford. All members are asked to please attend, and as always new members are very welcome also.
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 11 February 2020 at 18:30


    January Meeting Report

    Close on 30 club members attended the January meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group which was held on Monday the 27th of January in the Roanmore Social and Sports Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford at 8:00 p.m. Special guests on the night were IRTS President Jim Holohan EI4HH and Vice-President Pat O'Connor EI9HX. Club Chairman John EI3HQB opened the meeting and welcomed both Jim and Pat to the club meeting. Jim then went on to address the members with a few words about the everyday running of the society. He thanked the club members for the massive amount of stuff they do each year to help the society and the hobby in Ireland.


     
    He paid particular attention to the club’s hosting of the IRTS AGM in Kilkenny in 2015 saying it was probably the best run IRTS AGM event he had ever attended. Following on from Jim, Pat EI9HX said a few words and said he was both amazed and delighted to see such a large attendance at a club meeting. Pat also spoke about ways to try and encourage more people into the hobby. John EI3HQB then gave a report on the club’s events for 2019. The 2020 events schedule was then discussed by Sean EI2HZB. The formal side of the meeting was then finished off by Ray EI6HFB with an update of how things are going for the AGM weekend in April.





    Following the formal side of the meeting there was a questions and answers session with many topics and ideas being talked about. The club then made a small presentation to both Jim and Pat and the meeting concluded. Everyone at EI2WRC would like to thank both Jim EI4HH and Pat EI9HX for taking the time to come down and visit us for the meeting. We hope you enjoyed your visit and we look forward to welcoming you both back soon again. The next club meeting will be our AGM on February 24th at 8:00 p.m.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 28 January 2020 at 11:30





    January Meeting 2020
    The January meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place on Monday the 27th of January in the Roanmore Social and Sports Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford at 8:00 p.m. sharp. A club committee meeting will be held before the main meeting at 7:00 p.m. IRTS President Jim Holohan EI4HH and Vice-President Pat O'Connor EI9HX will be in attendance at our main meeting. All club members are asked to attend, and new members are as always very welcome also.
    Posted by EI2WRC Monday 06 January 2020 at 10:30




    Christmas Party 2019
    Club members enjoyed a great night at the annual SEARG Christmas party which was held on Saturday the 14th of December. The venue this year was the Woodford Dolmen Hotel Carlow which will be the venue of the IRTS 88th Annual Weekend in 2020. Club members enjoyed a lovely meal a few drinks and the whole crowd enjoyed the entertainment of the SEARG "Turkey, Chef and Santa" aka club members Edwin, Alex and Wayne. A great round off to a great year at the club. Massive thanks to Wayne EI7HKB for arranging the 2019 party.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 15 December 2019 at 13:30


     
     
     
    2020 Events Calendar
    Our 2020 Events Calendar is now available to view and download from here
    Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 08 December 2019 at 18:15


    December & January Meetings
    There will be no December meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group. Our next meeting will be on Monday the 27th January 2020 in the Roanmore Social and Sports Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford at 8.00 p.m. sharp. IRTS President Jim Holohan EI4HH and Vice-President Pat O’Connor EI9HX will be in attendance. All members are please asked to attend. As always new members are very welcome to attend also.
    Posted by EI2WRC Monday 02 December 2019 at 15:00


     
     
    November Club Meeting
    Club members enjoyed a fun table quiz night at the November meeting on Monday the 26th November. Quiz master Roger EI8KN put the members present through their paces with a fun and interesting quiz. The questions proved to be tough at times and others were a bit easier! The club would like to thank Roger for his hard work in arranging and running the quiz.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Posted by EI2WRC Tuesday 27 November 2019 at 09:45



     
     
    November Club Meeting
    The November meeting of the South Eastern Amateur Radio Group will take place on Monday the 25th of November 2019 in the Roanmore Social and Sports Centre, Cleaboy Road, Waterford at 8.00 p.m. sharp. At this meeting, Roger EI8KN will be presenting a prize quiz. So you may wish to brush up on all things amateur radio! As this will be the last club meeting for 2019 all members are please asked to attend. As always new members are very welcome to attend also.
    Posted by EI2WRC Friday 13 November 2019 at 10:45


    Soldering Class Video


    A short video of the Soldering Workshop prepared and presented by Keith EI5KJ which took place in the Ballybeg Community Centre Waterford 26/10/2019.
    Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 27 October 2019 at 13:30


    Soldering Class
    The club held a very successful soldering workshop on Saturday the 26yh of October in the Ballybeg Community Centre. The workshop was broken up into a number of sections firstly equipment and method of use, and then into building on to a board firstly an AM radio and procedure and soldering components into place with special attention to dissipating the head from the soldering iron via heat sink to protect the components.

    The class then went on to building an amplifier for the radio which involved an IC chip and again the method of fitting an IC holder to the circuit board and then soldering the various components from the IC pins to various areas in the board.

    Finally, one of the built boards was tested and sounding excellent. Well done to all who attended and supported the day and we look forward to the next event. A special word of thanks to Keith EI5KJ for all his hard work in preparing and doing the workshop.

    Posted by EI2WRC Sunday 27 October 2019 at 13:30