Welcome to the Lothians Radio Society

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Prof. Rampen receiving the Joseph Bramah Medal.

Photo courtesy Artemis Ltd

At the next meeting of the LRS on Wednesday 27th March 2019 at 7:30 for 8:00pm at the Braid Hills Hotel, Prof Win Rampen, the Chair of Energy Storage at Edinburgh University and the former Managing Director of Artemis Intelligent Power Ltd, will talk about Energy Storage. He writes:

"For the past 100 years or so, the world has been misusing fossil fuels from the Carboniferous period about 300 million years ago by digging them up and burning them. We have been using them at a rate of 1 million years to 1 year, which is scary. What we should be doing is using the sun's energy in the year that it is provided to us, and we have a long way to go to achieve that.

So the talk will be about renewables in general but more specifically about solving the mismatch between the uncontrolled delivery of power and the equally uncontrolled user demand. I shall be talking about how we can integrate renewable energy into the grid to displace fossil fuels - which Is where energy storage comes in!"

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Archer Magic Lantern

At the meeting of the LRS on 13th March 2019 our good friend Winnie Stevenson from the Museum of Communication presented "Phantasmagoria, a traditional magic lantern show". 

 A most enjoyable evening! Many thanks to Winnie.

Click for Full report.

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Archived as News or Silent Keys in LRS Archive
1. RADIO NEWS ITEM

2019-04-06 GMDX Convention & Dinner program

2. SILENT KEYS (Click item for full SK). 

2019-03-14 - David Anderson GM4JJJ / ex-GM8HEY of Urquhart, Fife. Funeral Mon 25 March 13:15h at Dunfermline Crematorium, Masterton Rd, Dunfermline KY11 8QR and then to Pitbauchlie House Hotel, 47 Aberdour Rd, Dunfermline, KY11 4PB. Click for RSGB SK.

 

3. ITEMS FOR SALE  (Click item for details)

2019-02-10 - New List from Norrie GM1CNH

2019-01-26 - Items Reduced by Dave GM6KGZ

 

4. ITEMS WANTED

 

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5. NEW ON LRS WEBSITE

2019-02-21 Contest photos from 2004 & 2005

2019-02-06 Bruntsfield Radio item has been greatly expanded in LRS Archive section.     

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On 27th Feb 2019 Norrie Stewart GM1CNH gave an illustrated talk on Amateur Radio Operating in Colombia as HK3/MM0BMG. Having travelled to Colombia many times since 2010, in 2018 he decided to take radio gear with him. This is how he got on...

Self-taught in Amateur Radio while at school and first licenced in 1983 with a class B licence GM1CNH. In 1997 passed the 12 wpm Morse test and gained a class A licence MM0BMG. Worked in the aerospace and defence industry since 1986 on airborne fire control and surveillance radar systems for various fixed wing and rotary wing platforms.

Norrie with his portable vertical aerial, which he used mostly on 20m during his trip to Colombia.

Click for Full Report with all slides.

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At the meeting on 13th February 2019 LRS member James Gentles GM4WZP talked about "Munros on the Air". 

"Long before SOTA (Summits on the Air), Amateurs were out on the Scottish hills activating them. Whilst James Gentles GM4WZP wasn't first, his story is of the first Amateur to systematically activate every Munro in the 1980s, making at least one QSO from each of them, using repeaters if necessary.

As well as a nostalgic look back at the trials and tribulations of this radio marathon he reviewed the highs and lows of line-of-sight propagation and 'the little lifts' (both radio and otherwise) that made it possible to activate all 277 Munros.

With some statistics for the numerically-minded as well as a summary setting the achievement within the modern day concept of SOTA, the talk was a radio and photographic tour of Scotland". 

Full report now posted with 65 of James's beautiful slides. Click.

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LATEST: Brian Flynn GM8BJF reports that he has worked PY2GN near Sao Paolo in Brazil at GG56tv.

Feb 2019 - Brian Flynn GM8BJF reports that he is now QRV on the satellite and has worked / ragchewed with G8BKE and has heard GM3SBC and GM0ONN, noting that "on the whole, the satellite is not too busy". Alan GM3PSP has heard Brian via the BATC Goonhilly site, working OH1ZAA, GM0ONN & PA3FYM.

John Cooke GM8OTI is now also able to receive the geostationary satellite Es'hail-2, now called Quatar OSCAR-100, using simple equipment as demonstrated by Brian Flynn GM8BJF in his recent LRS talk on 23rd January - see below. 

GM8OTI's screenshot of what is believed to be test transmission of broadband digital TV signal.

Click for John's Reception Report with photos.

Click for John's Narrowband Report: with photos

Click for BATC Narrowband transponder now open

Click for BATC Goonhilly Narrowband WebSDR with live sound

Narrowband display showing several beacons and active stations, from BATC Goonhilly link above.

 

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LRS President Brian Flynn GM8BJF was the speaker at the meeting on 23 Jan 2019 when he gave two talks:

1. Modern Roll-Your-Own PCBs.

Brian stressed that the messy days of etching your own PCBs with ferric chloride were now history! He described how high quality PCBs can be bought from numerous suppliers in China, and the procedures to be used when ordering them. Click for Full Slide-Show.

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2. Receiving the Es'hail-2 Geostationary Satellite

Photo credit: Es'hailSat

In his second talk, Brian showed how to receive the recently-launched AMSAT Es'hail-2 geostationary satellite. He has been receiving the 10 GHz transponder output at his QTH in Peebles and has established that it can be done with quite simple gear. As it is planned to be operational for 20 years in its geostationary orbit it could have quite an influence on amateur radio and be readily accessible.

Rx set-up: 60cm Sat TV dish, PLL LNB & SDR dongle.

Click for Full Slide-Show.

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Photo - courtesy Mike MM0MLB.

After meeting first at the Booking Office on Waverley Bridge, the LRS 2018 Christmas Curry was held on 12th December at the new venue of the Gurkha Café & Restaurant in Cockburn St where we had a very enjoyable Nepalese meal. 

 

In the Booking Office bar beforehand, we were joined by Robin GM4YPL and his XYL.

L-R: Veronica Saunders, Andy MM0FMF, Robin GM4YPL & XYL, Andre GM3VLB

Click for full report with many more photos.

  1. 9th Jan 2019 - Video Evening - "The Dish on the Dish" - by Peter Dick GM4DTH - at the Edinburgh Cine & Video Soc.
  2. 28th Nov 2018 - RSGB Convention Lecture Videos - presented by Brian GM8BJF
  3. 14th Nov 2018 - R.V. Jones' Most Secret War - Prof. Joe McGeough
  4. 3rd Nov 2018 - GMRT - Scottish Microwave Round Table at MoC Burntisland