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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5-7 July 2019 – RSGB VHF NFD at Gatehouse of Fleet
All the GM3HAM/P participants in RSGB VHF NFD 2019 at our usual site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway. The wx was great most of the time and everything worked. New block & tackle helped a lot raising 6m & 4m beams. We achieved good provisional scores on 6m, 4m, 2m & 23cm although…
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12 June 2019 – LRS AGM
The Annual General Meeting of the Lothians Radio Society was held at the Braid Hills Hotel on Wednesday 12th June 2019. The President, Brian Flynn GM8BJF presented his Annual Review, noting that it had been another successful year for the club and thanking the committee for their good work.. Hon. Treasurer Peter Dick GM4DTH presented…
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26 June 2019 – LRS Barbecue
The group at BBQ-2019 at “Bates Motel” The LRS BBQ was again held at the QTH of Pete Bates GM4BYF & XYL Kay GM6KAY, on Wed 26th June. (And the Wx forecast turned out to be correct – sunny)! The usual lavish spread of food was provided and the event was FREE this year thanks…
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23 May 2019 – Silent Key – Andre Saunders GM3VLB
André after MoC lecture on 11th May 2019. We were saddened to learn of the passing of LRS member, André Saunders GM3VLB of Kelso, on 23rd May 2019. Click for Southern Reporter obituary. Click for RSGB website Silent Key. Click for Full Silent Key on this website. André organized SCOTIA – Scottish…
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22 May 2019 – LRS Direction -Finding Contest (D/F Hunt)
Some of the starters. The annual LRS Direction-Finding Contest (D/F Hunt) took place on 22nd May 2019, starting from the Tardis on Braid Hills Road. The fox station GM3HAM/P was operated by Peter GM4DTH from a location on Wester Craiglockhart Hill. Results: 1st: Melvyn GM4HYR in 1h 2m (not again!); 2nd: Mike GM8KCS in 1h…
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16 May 2019: Congratulations to Andy MM0FMF for winning the RSGB Jock Kyle Trophy
Photo courtesy WoSARS Congratulations to LRS Past-President Andy Sinclair MM0FMF (L) for jointly winning the RSGB Jock Kyle Trophy with Jack Hood GM4COX (R) of the West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society. This trophy is awarded to the Scottish club, society or RSGB member thought to have done the most in Scotland in the field…
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5 May 2019 – UHF / Microwave Contest – Lauder Common
Norrie GM1CNH and Peter GM4DTH operated on 70cm in the RSGB UHF / Microwave contest on Sunday 5th May (only) from an elevated site on Lauder Common, a few miles west of Lauder in the Scottish Borders. Conditions were probably about average but activity was very low. QSOs were made with East Anglia and…
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8 May 2019 – ‘What I Brought Tonight’ – coordinated by James Gentles GM4WZP
On 8th May, James Gentles GM4WZP hosted a meeting titled: “WHAT I BROUGHT TONIGHT”, an evening where members and visitors brought along “the smallest radio-related object they have, with the biggest story” and made a short presentation about it. We were very pleased to have a visiting amateur from the USA – Tom Novey…
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24 April 2019 – ‘Writing in Iron’ – Magnetic Sound Recording – Terry Martini-Yates
At the meeting on 24th April 2019 Terry Martini-Yates of Ferrograph World, based in Rosyth, talked about “Writing in Iron” – magnetic sound recording – demonstrating several recorders and playing a number of historical recordings, including John Clarricoats G6CL during a visit to Edinburgh in 1961. Terry writes: “A potted history of the development of the…
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10th April 2019 – LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale – St Fillan’s Church, Buckstone
The LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale was held on 10th April 2019 at St. Fillan’s Church, Buckstone. This sale included the remainder of the many Silent Key items from John Buchanan GM8BYF-SK. After the sale there was a raffle for non-vacuum ‘bottles’ run by LRS treasurer, Peter Dick GM4DTH. Click for Full Report
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27th March 2019 – Energy Storage – Prof. Win Rampen
At the meeting of the LRS on 27th March 2019 Prof Win Rampen, the Chair of Energy Storage at Edinburgh University and the former MD of Artemis Intelligent Power Ltd, talked about Energy Storage. He wrote: “For the past 100 years or so, the world has been misusing fossil fuels from the Carboniferous period…
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13th March 2019 – Phantasmagoria – traditional magic lantern show – Winnie Stevenson, MoC.
Archer Magic Lantern At the meeting of the LRS on 13th March 2019 our good friend Winnie Stevenson from the Museum of Communication presented “Phantasmagoria, a traditional magic lantern show”. A most enjoyable evening! Many thanks to Winnie. Click for Full report.