Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
Wed 9 Sept 2026 – LRS President’s Address: “Secondary Batteries for Hams”. The new LRS year got off to a good start with Andy’s talk on batteries – report: see Recent Meetings.Wed 23 Sept 2026 – LRS Visit to MOC Burntisland 2026 Exhibition – When Screens were Small, but the Magic seemed Huge – 100 Years of Television. There will also be a lecture by Prof. Tom Stevenson – 100 Years of Television – some Technical Milestones, including the early days of TV in Orkney. 5:00pm Pre-Dinner at Sands Hotel, Burntisland.
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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Wed 23 Sept 2026 – LRS Visit to MOC Burntisland 2026 Exhibition – When Screens were Small, but the Magic seemed Huge – 100 Years of Television. There will also be a lecture by Prof. Tom Stevenson – 100 Years of Television – some Technical Milestones, including the early days of TV in Orkney.
RALLIES AND OTHER EVENTS
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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. The panel of speakers is now complete. The registration system is open for booking. We have sold 47 Event tickets – 3 tickets left – max room capacity = 50. Suggest you book asap to avoid disappointment. https://gmroundtable.org.uk/
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9 May – 30 Sept – Weds & Sats – MOC Exhibition 2026
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27 Sept 2026 MOC Goudie Lecture – 100 Years of Television.
The next MOC Goudie Lecture will take place at 7.30 pm on WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER and is entitled 100 Years of Television. It will be presented by Museum Chair Prof. Tom Stevenson. Please see Events – Museum Of Communication for further information.
Sunday 25 Oct 2026 – Galashiels Rally
CONTEST CALENDAR
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The LRS operates GM3HAM/P from a great site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway.
5-6 Sept 2026 – Brian GM4DIJ operated GM3HAM/P in RSGB 2m Trophy from IO74MU near Stranraer. See report in Radio News Items.
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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9 Sept 2026 – New LRS Projector.
The club’s new Epson projector was in action for the first time for the 2026 Presidential Address and impressed all present with its outstanding brightness and sharpness.
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7 Sept 2026 – Attempt to save Parton Kirk where James Clerk Maxwell is buried.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v9e080n78o https://donate.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/savepartonkirk/donation-amount Andy GM4LLD (ex-MM0FMF)
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5-6 Sept 2026 GM3HAM/P operated by Brian GM4DIJ in RSGB 2m Trophy.
Brian GM4DIJ single-handedly operated GM3HAM/P for the LRS from his favourite site at IO74MU near Stranraer in Dumfries & Galloway. Tx/Rx = IC9700+SSPA. Power 1000W. Ant 17 ele Tonna @5magl, 89m ASL QSOs 145. Points 54591. ODX HB9TTY JN46BX 1265 km. Position 6th overall in Claimed Scores. Most of my contacts were on Saturday, but much better conditions on Sunday. It was very windy on Sunday and I had noise from nearby wind turbines. The rain stayed away. The antenna was looking a bit scary towards the end, so I packed-in a little bit early. I got…
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5 Sept 2026 – Beetlejuice by Bill Dent (GM8RBT)
Click for deta
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26 Aug 2026 – Pub Night at Wee Bennet’s Bar with guest Dave VE3KG.
We had a great turn-out of about a dozen members and one guest at the Pub Night on 26th August 2026 at Wee Bennet’s Bar at Morningside Station. Also one canine – GM4JRT/K9. We were delighted to welcome Canadian guest, Dave Goodwin VE3KG from Smiths Falls, Ontario. As well as his Canadian call, Dave also holds the rather interesting UK call GM3AAA. He sat and passed all three levels of RAE exams and chose the re-issued UK call GM3AAA which was originally issued as the first UK call after WW2.
2. RECENT MEETINGS
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9 Sept 2026 – Secondary Batteries for Hams – Presidential Address by Andy Sinclair GM4LLD.
Andy Sinclair GM4LLD got the new LRS year off to a good… Read more
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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13 June 2026 Dell Monitor for sale by Andy GM4LLD.
Dell U2412M hi-res 1920 x 1200 LCD monitor Adjustable stand DisplayPort, DVI & VGA inputs 1920 x 1200 WUXGA resolution 4 port USB2 hub. Mains lead Very good condition, no screen blemishes. £35 Andy GM4LLD.
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28 June 2026 – Corsair CV450 modern PC PSU – for sale by Andy GM4LLD
Corsair CV450 modern PC PSU. Comes from my son’s PC as he has just updated with some new GPU that needs a bigger PSU. No box but clean and working. £20 Andy GM4LLD (ex-MM0FMF)
Lothians Radio Society activities – latest reports
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10 Apr 2024 – LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale
There was an excellent turnout of 30 including many visitors, for the spring surplus equipment sale. Many interesting items, including 6 crates from a Silent Key, sold in a meeting that lasted 2 hours. Click for report with many photos.
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27 March 2024 – “GB3EDN 1296MHz Beacon – History & Current Developments” by Brian Flynn GM8BJF
Dr Brian Flynn GM8BJF described the long history of the 1296MHz (23cm) beacon GB3EDN in Edinburgh and its various upgrades over the years, including its recent move from Kings Buildings to the QTH of Colin GM4HWO. Click for report. ====================================
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13 Mar 2024 – Running HF Stns Off-Grid – Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL
Malcolm GM3TAL talked about running HF stations when grid / mains electricity is not available. He has been taking part in contests from locations around Scotland and the UK for many years now and this talk described how he has operated using batteries, generators and solar panels. Click for Full Report. =======================================
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4 March 2024 – LRS in RSGB Tonight@8
VHF NFD Challenges & Fun Seen Through the Eyes of the Lothians Radio Society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLKVGWU3-r4 Andy Sinclair MM0FMF (LRS host) =====================================
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28 Feb 2024 – “47 Years and Counting – Story of Voyagers 1 & 2” – John Cooke GM8OTI & James Gentles GM4WZP
John Cooke GM8OTI & James Gentles GM4WZP talked about the two NASA deep space probes, Voyagers 1 & 2, which are still operating and communicating with Earth 47 years after launches in Sep- & Aug 1977. Click for FULL REPORT It has just been reported (8 March 2024) that Voyager I has just started sending back “incoherent” messages from…
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14 Feb 2024 – “Understanding Baluns” – Brian Flynn GM8BJF
Dr. Brian Flynn GM8BJF Brian described the concept of balanced-to-unbalanced transformers (“baluns”) and showed a number of examples. Click for full report. ====================================
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24 Jan 2024 – “SOTA & QRP Labs QCX Mini HF Tcvr” – Andy Sinclair MM0FMF
Andy talked about the QCX Mini tcvr from QRP Labs, its design & construction & use for SOTA operation (Summits On The Air). Click for Report. ==========================================
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10 Jan 2024 – LRS Video Night -“The Boat that Rocked”.
Wed 10 Jan 2024 – LRS Video Night ‘The Boat That Rocked’ was set in the 1960s offshore broadcasting era. There was a turnout of 13 at the Edinburgh Cine & Video Society for this enjoyable video, presented by Peter Dick GM4DTH. Click for report. ====================================
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13 Dec 2023 – Xmas Curry
Good turnout of 15 for the 2023 LRS Xmas Curry at the Gurkha Cafe in Cockburn St. Photos taken by the waiter! Click for all the photos. ======================================
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6 Dec 2023 LRS Members at IET Lecture
Thanks to Colin Murray’s inspiration, several members of the LRS enjoyed attending an Institution of Engineering & Technology event at Napier University. The lecture given by Dr Carol Marsh OBE provided an interesting insight into the current status of the Scottish Space Programme and was focused on satellite communication & phased antenna arrays. Lots of…
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22 Nov 2023 – Borders Amateurs & Bletchley Park Bruce McCartney GM4BDJ & John Struthers GM8CVN
There was an excellent turnout of 21 for this very interesting talk by Bruce McCartney GM4BDJ via Zoom from Langholm, with John Struthers GM8CVN present at the LRS meeting at the BHH. Click for report. =======================================
