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.
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.
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
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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Wed 11 Feb 2026 – LRS Quiz Night 2026
There was a turnout of 15 for the Quiz Night 2026, prepared and organized by Brian Howie GM4DIJ. There were 3 teams: 1. Endfed Halfwits: Andy MM7MOX, Chris MM0UHR, Pete GM7EEY. 2. BBBs: Pete GM4BYF, Malcolm GM3TAL, Alastair GM4JKT, 3. EMC2: David GM3YMX, Iain GM8LYQ, Colin GM4EAU, Ed GM4AIS The Endfed Halfwits won from BBBs…
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RSGB Old Timers’ Honour Roll 2026
The February 2026 issue of RSGB RadCom magazine lists all those who have been members of the RSGB for 50 years or more. These include the following members and friends of the Lothians Radio Society: 74 Lothians Radio Society GM3HAM (Not listed) 69 Vic Stewart GM3OWU 66 Bruce Taylor HB9ANY (GM3NZI) 65 Alan Masson …
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Thurs 12 Feb – 6-7 pm – EU Lecture – Frontiers of Wireless Communication by Prof Gerhard Fettweis
Thurs 12 Feb – 6-7 pm – EU Lecture – Frontiers of Wireless Communication by Prof Gerhard Fettweis – Large Events Space, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place. CLICK. Prof Gerhard Fettweis. Edinburgh Futures Institute (formerly ERI).
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NASA says ISS will return to Earth in 2030
NASA has announced that the International Space Station (ISS) will return to earth in 2030, set to de-orbit into the Pacific Ocean and ending an era when crews of humans from several countries at a time have been aboard and closing a saga of international unity. Since November 2000 there have always been several humans…
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2 Feb 2026 – GM4DIJ/B Personal Beacon in Edinburgh on 1296.7415 MHz now being heard widely.
Brian GM4DIJ is now running an attended low-power personal beacon callsign GM4DIJ/B on 1296.7415MHz in the 23cm band. It is located at his QTH in Clermiston and is beamed SE over Edinburgh. It is running 40mW with ERP about 2W. Power later increased to 140mW – QRO! It uses Q65-B 30sec and IDs in Morse…
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29 Jan 2026 – LRS Committee Meeting at QTH-GM4HWO.
The LRS Committee met at Colin GM4HWO’s QTH on 29th January 2026. Rear: Colin GM4HWO, John GM4JRT, James GM4WZP. Front: Andy GM4LLD, Colin GM4EAU, Peter GM4DTH. Absent: Pete GM4BYF; Camera: Alan GM3PSP. Many thanks to Colin for his liquid refreshments and pizzas after the meeting!
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ALMA (Atacama Large mm Array) – A Radio Observatory in Chile – Trials & Tribulations of working at greater than 100 GHz by Bill Dent GM8RBT.
Bill Dent is retired System Astronomer at the ALMA Observatory in Chile. Bill talked about the ALMA radio observatory in Chile. This is an array of 66 steerable microwave dishes, the largest and most powerful array in the world, operating together at frequencies of 30-1000GHz in the Atacama desert, one of the driest places on…
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20 Jan 2026 – Powerful X-Class Solar Flare causes Aurora in Scotland and Auroral Radio
Aurora from Dyke, Moray. Peter GM4DTH reports that an X1.9 flare and an associated CME were responsible for the events last night. The Kp index exceeded 8 and visual aurora was reports as far south as Cornwall with images used as a backdrop on the television weather forecast. The only features in the sky here…
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Wed 25 Feb 2026 – Digital Voice Modes – Allister Watson GM7RYR
Title: The Digital Shift: How DMR is Changing the Face of Amateur Radio A record attendance of 30 was squeezed into the Library room at the Braid Hills Hotel for this lecture by Allister Watson GM7RYR. While traditional FM remains a staple, lowest common denominator mode for radio amateurs, the digital voice modes…
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14 Jan 2026 – LRS Video Night 2026.
The Video Night 2026 was presented by Colin Murray GM4EAU in the BHH Gathering Room with an attendance of 19. 1. From Raw Crystal to Crystal Oscillator – Crystals Go to War in 1943. (45 min) The manufacture of quartz crystal electronic components and their use for the control of oscillators on precise frequencies. Natural…
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8 Jan – Strange Data Transmission on Medium Wave Band.
Brian Howie GM4DIJ reports: “I’ve come across a high-speed RTTY-sounding signal on the Medium Wave Band on 570kHz . I can hear it on various Kiwi SDRs from Ireland to Poland, so it’s not a birdie. I got a reply from ndblist: “It’s been on 570kHz since early 2022 and as far as I can determine…
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10 Dec 2025 – LRS Christmas Curry
We met for pre-dinner drinks at Jeremiah’s Taproom in Elm Row (in Leith Walk, near London Road). Melvyn GM4HYR & Veronica Saunders. James GM4WZP, Colin GM4HWO, Simon GMØSCA & Melvyn GM4HYR. Then we crossed the road to the Kahani Indian Restaurant in Antigua Street for our traditional LRS Christmas Curry which we…