Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
LRS Barbecue POSTPONED from Wed 24th June. New date TBA ~ Aug/Sept.
27 May 2026 – D/F Hunt report now complete – see Recent Meetings.
Wed 10th June – 19:30h – LRS Pub Night at Wee Bennet’s Bar, Morningside Stn.
Wed 17th June – 20:00h – LRS AGM at Braid Hills Hotel.
LRS MEETINGS
LRS meetings are normally held on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month (except July and August) at 8:00pm at the Braid Hills Hotel, 134 Braid Road, EH10 6JD.
In July and August Pub Nights are held at 7:30pm at Wee Bennet’s Bar at Morningside Station, on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays. There are also occasional Wee Bennet’s evenings arranged during the main club season.
Most items are archived in Meeting Reports or Society Activities.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
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LRS Barbecue POSTPONED from Wed 24th June. New date TBA ~ Aug/Sept..
Wed 10 June – 19:30h – LRS Pub Night at Wee Bennet’s Bar, Morningside Stn.
Wed 17 June – 20:00h – LRS AGM, Braid Hills Hotel.
TUES 16 JUNE – 19:30h MOC Goudie Lecture – The Remarkable Mary Somerville – Queen of 19th Century Science – by Ian Archibald. See below – Rallies etc.
RALLIES AND OTHER EVENTS
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Sunday 25 Oct 2026 – Galashiels Rally
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Friday 14th August 2026 18:00 to 21:00 Cockenzie & Port Seton Junk Night, Port Seton Community Centre, South Seton Park Port Seton EH32 0BG
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Sat 31 Oct 2026 – GMRT-2026 at MOC Burntisland & Dinner at Kingswood Hotel
The 2026 Scottish Microwave Round Table (GMRT-2026) will be held as usual at the Museum of Communication in Burntisland, followed by dinner at the nearby Kingswood Hotel.
https://gmroundtable.org.uk/
Speakers to present microwave related talks are urgently needed – contact Colin gm4hwo@gmail.comDetails will be available nearer the date.
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9 May – 30 Sept – Weds & Sats – MOC Exhibition 2026
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Tuesday 16 June 2026 – MOC Goudie Lecture
MoC GOUDIE LECTURE – TUESDAY 16 JUNE 2026The next MOC Goudie Lecture will take place at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 16 June and is entitled The Remarkable Mary Somerville – Queen of 19th Century Science. It will be presented by local historian Ian Archibald and is timed to coincide with Burntisland Civic Week. Please see Events – Museum Of Communication for further information.To attend in person, please email enquiries@mocft.co.ukZoom access details will be sent to you about 10 days before the Lecture.Attendance in person costs £5. Those viewing the lectures online are encouraged to make a voluntary donation of £5 in support of MoC activities via our web page at Shop – Museum Of Communication. We are a charitable organisation that relies entirely on donations for financial survival.Please be aware that our lectures are not recorded. There is therefore no catch-up facility.
CONTEST CALENDAR
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Pete GM4BYF has confirmed that the Lothians Contest Group will participate in VHF NFD on 3 – 5 July 2026 and is looking for more members to come along for the weekend and help set up the station and operate. The group is also looking for help with transporting equipment to the site at Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway. Rough camping is available on site; public toilets, shops and an excellent pub / restaurant are nearby- There will be a team meal as usual on the Friday night in the Masonic Arms in Gatehouse.If you are interested, please contact Pete GM4BYF = gm4byf@blueyonder.co.uk
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The LRS operates GM3HAM/P from a great site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway.
5-6 July 2025 – VHF NFD – see report in About LRS – Contest / Portable.
(This photo by Andy MMØFMF / now GM4LLD, is in RSGB RadCom Sept 2025, p.80).
RSGB GB2RS NEWS
Every Sunday morning in the Edinburgh area at 09:30h from LRS member Peter Dick GM4DTH. 70.425MHz FM, 145.525MHz FM & 433.525MHz FM. Then call-in to Peter at 10:00h on 145.575MHz for local net. Several LRS members often there.
RADIO NEWS, RECENT MEETINGS, SILENT KEYS and FOR SALE / WANTED
Click on image or “read more” to open full article.
Send items to Alan GM3PSP:
webmaster@lothiansradiosociety.com
Items usually archived as News or Silent Keys in LRS Archive after 1 month.
1. RADIO NEWS ITEMS
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RadCom June 2026 – LRS NARSA Rally Photo in RSGB RadCom
The LRS group photo taken at Pete GM4BYF’s table at the NARSA (Blackpool) Rally has been published in RSGB RadCom magazine, June 2026 issue, p.80.
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Sat 27 June 2026 – BBC to close Radio-4 198kHz Long-Wave Service.
The BBC will close its Radio-4 198kHz Long-Wave service from Droitwich, Burghead and Westerglen on Saturday 27th June 2026. It had operated since Sept 1934. The RSGB and the BBC Amateur Radio Group are planning to mark this event on the air. Click for info.
2. RECENT MEETINGS
3. SILENT KEYS
There are no current silent key notifications. Click on the heading to see the silent key archive.
4. ITEMS FOR SALE
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26 Apr 2026 – Bencher BY-1 Dual Paddle for Sale by Andy GM4LLD.
Bencher BY-1 dual paddle key. Chrome mechanics on black base. Used and slightly worn but in very good condition otherwise. Pictures available on request. Price £125 or offer. Andy Sinclair GM4LLD (formerly MM0FMF
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10 Mar 2026 – For Sale: Sigma 2010 Skip Master 25-30MHz am/fm/ssb, fibreglass home base antenna
John GM4JRT has for sale this aerial a Sigma 2010 skip master 25-30MHz am/fm/ssb , fibreglass home base antenna , works well without an ATU on 10 m and 11m band I have the aerial at my QTH , photo attached – collection from QTH GM4HWO @ Liberton Sigma 2010 skip master 25-30MHhz am/fm/ssb , fibreglass home base antenna, power handling 1000 watts, length 5.48 m/ 18 feet, Gain 9.9 dB, impedance 50 ohms, frequency 25-30MHz (with tuning), construction fibreglass, swr 1:1.3, Mounting bracket pole, the sigma euro-comm ½ wave skip master 2010 is a high performance base station antenna.…
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29 Jan 2026 – Items for Sale by Norman MM0BMG (Reduced Prices).
Norman has reduced the prices of many of the items on his list: GM1CNH Equipment Sale Updated: 29 January 2026 Item Description Price Alinco HF Mobile Whip Antenna 2.7 m mobile whip; antenna mounting bracket and spring; adjustable vehicle mounting bracket; heavy duty; boxed. NEW – £150 Anritsu MT8820A Radio Communication Analyser 30 MHz to 2.7 GHz, spectrum analyser, 2G/3G mobile phone tester, output power, modulation, RF signal generation, £300 Badger Boards HF Antenna wideband folded dipole antenna with balun N(f) connector; heavy duty centre spacer; termination resistor; 1.5 MHz to 30 MHz; supplied with 2 x 50 ft antenna…
Lothians Radio Society activities – latest reports
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Lecture – James Clerk Maxwell – Thursday 19 March 2015
Click for FULL-SIZE flier Although this lecture is free, seats must be reserved in advance by contacting Tom at: stevenson.roslin@talk21.com or 0131-440-3425
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11 March 2015 – Antenna Modelling – Brian Howie GM4DIJ
Brian Howie GM4DIJ talked about and demonstrated Antenna Modelling Software at the LRS meeting on 11th March 2015. Brian writes: “The design and building of antennas at one time required vast testing ranges with expensive equipment. Analysing and optimising antennas once took many hours of painstaking measurements, hand calculation (if you understood the maths) and…
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25 Feb 2015 – The Cloud – Andy Sinclair MM0FMF
The subject of the LRS meeting on 25th February was that mysterious place where we are told we shall be archiving all our digital “stuff” in the future. LRS President Andy Sinclair MM0FMF talked about The Cloud, what it is, why it’s used and whether it will rain all over your data. Not a simple…
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11 Feb 2015 – Using a VDA on a Scottish Beach – Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL
Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL talked about “Using a Vertical Dipole Array on a Scottish Beach” at the LRS meeting on Feb 11th. The vertical dipole array (VDA) has become the de facto antenna of choice for many DXpeditions to remote oceanic islands. The reasons why these antennas work well were discussed along with a brief review…
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28 Jan 2015 – Maritime Mobile off the West Coast – Geoff Crowley MM5AHO
Our good friend Geoff Crowley MM5AHO braved snowy roads on January 28th to talk about his Maritime Mobile adventures off the west coast of Scotland in 2014. Geoff, along with Mike Eccles, GM3PPE, and Matt Crowley MM1EUI, actually activated Little Cumbrae Lighthouse after having tried for 2 years in a row. Geoff and Matt then…
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21 Jan 2015 – LRS Video Night at ECVS
Aspidistra (from The Secret Wireless War) The first LRS meeting of 2015 was the annual Video Night, arranged and presented by Peter Dick GM4DTH. It was held on 21st January at the Edinburgh Cine & Video Society. 1. The main feature was:- The Secret Wireless War – Black Propaganda (Grindlewald Productions, 2002). 2. A9…
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New Video Section on Website – contributions invited
One of the exciting videos now available! A new section has been added to the LRS Archive area of this website providing links to YouTube videos of Lothians Radio Society activities and other Amateur Radio topics. We already have quite a number in both categories and will be adding more – there are lots of…
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10th Dec 2014 – LRS Christmas Curry – Himalaya Restaurant
Colin GM4HWO, Mike MM0MLB, Peter GM4DTH, Alan GM3PSP Sixteen LRS members and friends attended the LRS Christmas Curry on Wednesday 10th December 2014 at the Himalaya Tandoori Restaurant. Full photo report. Mike GM8KCS, Peter GM4DTH, Andre GM3VLB, Pete GM4BYF, Veronica XYL-VLB.
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26th Nov 2014 – From Dipoles to Hexbeams in African Locations – Nick Henwood G3RWF
At the LRS meeting on 26th November 2014 Nick Henwood G3RWF talked about “From Dipoles to Hexbeams in African Locations”. He started African DX-ing by getting the call sign 9L1NH in 1963 while on VSO in Sierra Leone. In the last nine years he has been on the air from Africa on 23 occasions. He…
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Visit by Eddie DU1EV – Past President of Philippines ARA – 6th Nov 2014
Thanks to communications from George GM4COK / DU1GM in the Philippines, we entertained Eddie Valdez DU1EV, Past-President of the Philippines Amateur Radio Association and his XYL Karen DW1SMK to an informal dinner in the Toby Carvery in Corstorphine on Nov 6th. Several members of the LRS and Lothians RAYNET were present. Eddie told us about…
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12th Nov 2014 – The Post Office Tower – Mike Burgess MM0MLB
At the meeting of the LRS on 12th November Mike Burgess MM0MLB presented “The Post Office Tower – the first 20 years”, covering the time he spent there at the beginning of his career. This was a retrospective on a key part of London’s local, national and international telephone network with a look at…
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Tom Simpson GM3BCD, MBE – Silent Key – 25th Oct 2014
We are sad to report that Tom Simpson GM3BCD, MBE, secretary of the LRS in 1961-62, became a silent key on 25th October 2014. Tom was a Technical Subjects teacher at George Watson’s College and along with John Hughes GM3LCP-SK, ran the school Radio Club in the 1950s-70s. A talented equipment constructor, he built…