Extra facilities for Irish radio amateurs

The 70 MHz band of 70.125 to 70.450 MHz has been
released generally to amateur radio experimenters in Ireland.

This means that any licensed experimenter may now use the band without the need to make an individual application as was the position previously.

The upper power limit is 50 watts PEP and 25 watts PEP for mobile operation. This change has been made in Part IV of the licence documentation in ComReg Document No 02/77R6 of the 17th of July 2008.

ComReg, Ireland's regulator, has also made provision for the release of to licensed experimenters of spot frequencies in the segment 5.0 to 5.5 MHz on the basis of an individual application. The upper power limit is 200 watts PEP.

The frequencies which the Irish Radio Transmitters Society (IRTS) agreed with the military authorities and with ComReg are four 3 kHz channels centered on 5280, 5290, 5400 and 5405 kHz. These are the same as four of the channels at present available in the UK.

When permissions are issued, operators should bear in mind that three time sequenced propagation beacons operate on 5290 kHz in the UK.

The application form for a licence extension to cover operation on the 5 MHz frequencies is ComReg Document No 02/07R2 and is available on the ComReg website under Latest Publications and through a link to ComReg 'Publications in 2008' on the IRTS homepage at www.irts.ie.

These facilities are the result of a long period of negotiation by IRTS with ComReg and in relation to the frequencies at
5 MHz with the military authorities also.

ComReg has also published an application Form for an Automatic Station, that is, a Repeater or a Beacon in ComReg Document No 08/58 and revised Radio
Experimenter Guidelines in ComReg Document No 02/05R6.
These documents are also available through the link to
ComReg 'Publications in 2008' on the IRTS homepage at
www.irts.ie.