Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
Sat 31 Oct 2026 – GMRT-2026 at MOC Burntisland & Dinner at Kingswood Hotel
Wed 11 Nov 2026 – 7:30PM – LRS Open Meeting – Need to book your place – The end of the 198kHz Radio 4 long wave service – Mark Hughes GM4ISM
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 11 Nov 2026 – 7:30pm – Open Meeting – The End of the 198kHz Radio-4 Long Wave Service by Mark Hughes GM4ISM.
There is an intention that every year we have an open evening with a keynote speaker, to which guests of the society are very welcome to attend. Because these are likely to be attended by more people than usual, they will be held in a larger room, and at an earlier time. Members and guests will need to register their interest in attending so that all attendees can be accommodated.
This year the event is: The story of the Radio 4 Long Wave service on 200 and 198kHz by Mark Hughes GM4ISM
Mark Hughes GM4ISM will tell the story of the last 35 years of evolution of the BBC Long Wave service and a glimpse at the engineering challenges that kept him (in the technical specialist team) busy as they pushed elderly transmitters way beyond their design life. The inevitable was warded off for a long time to a point that with changes in technology and the ‘political’ and contractual environment, we ended up with the services ceasing this year.
Mark Hughes GM4ISM was a keen young radio ham (licensed at 14), and a career in Electrical Engineering seemed to fit. After graduating in Electrical Engineering at Warwick University he was recruited by BBC transmission. He worked extensively with antennas and transmitters, ending as team manager of the Forfar and Shetland teams before moving to a technical specialist team which started with four members and ended up with over thirty by the time he retired.
11 November 2026 in the Gathering Bar at the Braid Hills Hotel.
Note that the open event starts 30 minutes earlier than our usual talks: 19:00 for 19:30 start.
Please reserve your place through this link:
https://www.lothiansradiosocie
ty.com/open-event-registration/ Please remember to add your email address on the form so that you receive an acknowledgment which is effectively your ticket for the event.
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. GMRT-2026 is now FULLY-BOOKED – all 50 places sold. WAITING LIST – Contact Colin GM4HWO. https://gmroundtable.org.uk/
CONTEST CALENDAR
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The LRS operates GM3HAM/P from a great site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway.
(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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25 Oct 2026 – Galashiels Rally
LRS members visited the Gala Rally, enjoying the Storm Boelo winds on the way down. LRS attendees included Jack GM1CQC, Iain GM1MSS, Pete GM4BYF, Colin GM4EAU, Colin GM4HWO and Brian GM8BJF. Among the people present was our good friend Chris Tran GM3WOJ from Tain. Photos by Colin GM4HWO: Entrance to the rally in the Volunteer Hall, Galashiels. The rally hall. The rally hall. Captain Birdseye. Bring & Buy Stall. Pete GM4BYF’s table. Chris GM3WOJ (all the way from Tain). Jack GM1CQC. LRS Secretary Iain GM1MSS & Colin GM4EAU. Brian…
2. RECENT MEETINGS
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28 Oct 2026 – Blood Bikes Scotland by Phil Dodsworth
Blood Bikes Scotland (BBS) is a fully volunteer-run and donation-funded charity that… 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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12 Apr 2023 – LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale
12 April 2023 – Spring Surplus Eqpt Sale & Raffle St Fillan’s Church. Click for report with photos. Great turn-out of 40. The all-important raffle! ====================================
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22 March 2023 – Brian Flynn GM8BJF – “Nano-VNAs 2 – OPeration & Practice.-
22 March 2023: Brian Flynn GM8BJF – “NanoVNAs – Part 2: Operation and Practice” There was an attendance of 22 for the second half of Brian’s talk on Nano-VNAs on 22 March 2023. Click for report w / audio 2. ========================================== In Part 1 – “In Theory” Brian talked about the theory of Vector Network Analyzers…
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22 March 2023 – Brian Flynn GM8BJF – “Nano-VNAs 2 – OPeration & Practice.-
22 March 2023: Brian Flynn GM8BJF – “NanoVNAs – Part 2: Operation and Practice” There was an attendance of 22 for the second half of Brian’s talk on Nano-VNAs on 22 March 2023. Click for report w / audio 2. ========================================== In Part 1 – “In Theory” Brian talked about the theory of Vector Network Analyzers…
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8 March 2023 – Brian Flynn GM8BJF – Nano-VNAs (1) In Theory
8 Mar 2023 – Brian Flynn GM8BJF – Nano-VNAs (1) – in Theory. In Part 1 – “In Theory” Brian talked about the theory of Vector Network Analyzers to an audience of 21 at the meeting on 8th March. Click for Report w / audio. ==========================================
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22 Feb 2023 – André Saunders GM3VLB Awards 2022
22 Feb 2023 – André Saunders GM3VLB SOTA Scottish Islands Awards 2022. The award has run for its first year and the winners are now announced: 1st place is Dr Colwyn Jones, MM0YCJ of Edinburgh with 15 GM/SI summits in 2022. Colwyn was presented with his trophy by Veronica Saunders, XYL-GM3VLB-SK, at the LRS meeting on…
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22 Feb 2023 – Peter Dick GM4DTH – “Receiving MF D/F Beacons”
22 Feb 2023 – Receiving MF D/F Beacons – Peter Dick GM4DTH Peter Dick GM4DTH At the LRS meeting on 22nd Feb 2023 Peter Dick GM4DTH talked about receiving MF D/F non-directional beacons from his QTH in Edinburgh and played many recordings of their CW IDs. There was an excellent attendance of 23. Click…
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8 Feb 2023 – Dr Roger Hill – “Plasmas – their Generation & Application”
Dr Roger Hill. Plasmas – their generation & application – Mercury arc, Neon lamp, Radio wave propagation, Laser design and manufacture. There was an excellent attendance of 18 for this very interesting talk. Click for report.. ===========================================
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25 Jan 2023 – Peter Scott – “Pre-War Television”
25 Jan – Pre-War TV – Peter Scott Peter gave a most interesting talk about the pre-war days of television in the UK and Germany with many photographs of early TV cameras & receivers. Great turnout of 22. Peter’s comprehensive slide-show is available on this website – click. ============================================
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11 Jan 2023 – LRS Video Night – ‘A US Selection’
Peter Dick GM4DTH The theme was the Cold War, including early space-based communications: 01 – Communism 10:41 02 – The Big Bounce 15:23 03 – Atlas in Orbit 5:37 04 – Kennedy on Telstar 1:19 05 – A Day in History – Telstar. 3.18 06 – On Guard! – SAGE 12:14 07 – Plane Talk…
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3 Jan 2023 – LRS New Year Pub Night – Wee Bennets Bar
“Wee” Bennets Bar, Maxwell St, Morningside Tues 3 Jan 2023 – LRS New Year Pub Night Colin GM4HWO, Colin GM4EAU, Peter GM4DTH, Mike GM8KCS. Photo tnx HWO. ===========================================
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14 Dec 2022 – Christmas Curry – Gurkha Cafe
14 Dec 2022 – LRS Christmas Curry Peter, Colin, Alan & Colin at the Gurkha There was a small (but distinguished) group of 8 who defied the arctic wx to come to the Booking Office for pre-drinks and the Gurkha Cafe for the LRS Christmas Curry on 14th December. “A merry time was had by…
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1 Dec 2022 – Committee Meeting
Colin GM4HWO, Andy MM0FMF, Colin GM4EAU, Pete GM4BYF, James GM4WZP, Peter GM4DTH, Alan GM3PSP. The meeting was held at Colin’s QTH. After 2 hours of hard work we were rewarded with a very nice pizza supper – tnx Colin! ==========================================