Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
20-21 June 2026 – GM3HAM/P operated by Brian GM4DIJ in 50MHz Trophy Contest from near Stranraer – see below – Radio News Items.
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.
Wed 9 Sept 2026 – Presidential Address – Andy Sinclair GM4LLD.
Wed 23rd 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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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/
One more speaker to present a microwave-related talk is still needed – contact Colin gm4hwo@gmail.com.Details will be available nearer the date.
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9 May – 30 Sept – Weds & Sats – MOC Exhibition 2026
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Friday 17 July 2026 – MOC Goudie lecture – The Pavek Museum of Electronic Communication, Minneapolis USA.
Our next Goudie Lecture will take place at 7.30 pm on Friday 17 July and is entitled The Pavek Museum of Electronic Communication, Minneapolis USA. It will be presented by the Museum’s Curartor, Dr Luis F. E. Souza, who is visiting Scotland for a conference in Edinburgh. The lecture is taking place on a Friday, as this is the only day available in Dr Souza’s busy schedule. Please see Events – Museum Of Communication for further information.The Pavek Museum has a similar background to the MoC, being started by Joseph Pavek [1908-1989] who was only slightly older than our own founder, Harry Matthews.To attend in person, please email enquiries@mocft.co.uk or REPLY ALL to this e-mail. Zoom 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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20-21 June 2026 – GM3HAM/P operated by Brian GM4DIJ in 50MHz Contest.
I’m out /P from IO74MU for the 50MHz Trophy. Today and tomorrow. 3pm till I get hungry, and 9am to 3pm tomorrow.
Fairly minimalist effort 300W to a 5 ele
Listen for GM3HAM/P . No postcode bonuses, only countries and squares -
3-5 July 2026 – VHF NFD 2026 participation by LRS is CANCELLED. Sadly, the key players in the LRS contest group have decided this event will need to be cancelled. The main reasons are lack of resources and transport at this time. Participation in the Sept 2026 VHF event is being discussed.
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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
There are no RADIO NEWS ITEMS. Click on the heading to see the radio news archive.
2. RECENT MEETINGS
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17 June 2026 – LRS AGM 2026
John Taylor GM4JRT (Treasurer), Andy Sinclair GM4LLD (President), Dr. Iain Coates GM1MSS… 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
There are no current items for sale. Click on the heading to see any archived items.
Lothians Radio Society activities – latest reports
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11 March 2026 – GB3NGI Beacon back on 70cm & 23cm – Brian GM4DIJ.
GB3NGI on 70cm & 23cm in Co. Antrim are back in service. Beaconkeeper Gordon GI6ATZ is looking for spots on beaconspot. They are loud here in Edinburgh at IO74, but that’s not surprising. They were either not there or just a trace on Spectran in Edinburgh earlier in the year. Click for beacon website.
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4 March 2026 – IET Talk – The Voyager Interstellar Mission – by James GM4WZP & John GM8OTI
Wed 4th March – Napier University, Colinton Campus – Rivers Suite – IET Talk: The Voyager Interstellar Mission. Launched in 1977, the Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft continue to send back scientific data despite now being almost 1 light-day from Earth. How has this been done and what of the future? This talk was…
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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…