The
Irish Radio Transmitters Society is the national body representing radio amateurs in Ireland and they produce several newsletters for members throughout the year. While the newsletter isn't in the same league as say Radcom or QST, it is in many ways more relevant locally as it relates to Irish issues.
The IRTS have now put up an archive of old newsletters from 1988 to 2000 on their website.
Just go to their website...
http://www.irts.ie/ ... and look for the Publications Library.
Members of the IRTS also have access to all the IRTS newsletters from 2001 to the most current one as well. Taken together, the newsletters represent almost 30 years of the history of amateur radio in Ireland from the late 1980's.
The quality of the IRTS newsletter has changed greatly over the years. Before the late 80's, it was little more than some copies of typed text. With the advent of proper desk top publishing software, it improved hugely in the 90's before colour was finally introduced in mid 2008.
As of the end of 2016, some 27% of IRTS members opt for the PDF version which is available from the IRTS website. This does of course mean that fewer physical copies must be printed and posted out which results in a saving for the Society.
For me, I just prefer the digital version as it means I don't have a physical copy that I need to store or dispose of. I can also zoom in on diagrams and photos on the PDF document allowing me to see things in more detail, something which is of course impossible in the printed version.
I just upload the PDF version to my own private online Google Drive account where they are all available for easy access. This is a screenshot from that site...
Looking at the annual financial statements for the IRTS, roughly half of the Society's annual expenditure is spent on the publishing and posting of the newsletters to members. In an age of high speed broadband and smart phones, perhaps more IRTS members should consider opting for the electronic PDF version?
It seems to me an obvious way to help the IRTS to reduce its costs and help maintain the current membership fee.
