Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
Wed 27 May 2026 – LRS 160m D/F Hunt – GM3HAM/P, operated by Peter GM4DTH.
Meet at the Tardis Police Box on Braid Hills Rd for registration by 7.20pm; the event starts sharp at 7.30pm.
Please note that the D/F Tx frequency is changed slightly to 1.873MHz.
For full instructions from Peter GM4DTH, see Upcoming Meetings below.
Sat 23 May 2026 – Historic Pre-War HMV-901 Mirror-Lid Television Set for sale.
Preliminary notice – more info soon.
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 27 May – 19:30h – Top Band D/F Hunt – Peter Dick GM4DTH.
The start point avoids the high noise level experienced in earlier years near the Braid Hills Hotel. Members (or visitors) wishing to take part are advised to be on Braid Hills Road at the sign for Braids Golf Course (junction with Braid Hills Ave / Braid Hills Approach / Braid Mount (NT-246698) no later than 7.20pm, although this is not essential – some entrants choose to start from elsewhere. There is usually room for those not equipped with receivers to join up with members who are equipped. The “Fox” will be located somewhere within the City boundary and participants should be equipped with a map and the necessary equipment to draw out bearings. The Fox will transmit using the callsign GM3HAM/P for 5 minutes-on / 5 minutes-off periods starting promptly at 7.30 pm. The frequency will be 1.873 MHz with an amplitude modulated tone being broadcast plus voice identification at the start and end of each period of transmitting. Operation will cease at about 9.30pm and an informal gathering will occur at a pub not too far from the Fox’s location, which will be announced at that time.
Participants are advised to be equipped with a mobile phone. A coordinator will be available at the start to provide the mobile number of the fox station (Peter GM4DTH) and to register who is participating. If a hunter is encountering difficulty in locating the Fox, they can request clues regarding the location of the Fox station (or the pub)! Each clue provided will incur a penalty of 20 minutes. Test signals similar to those of the Fox on 1.873 MHz can be provided if requested – contact Peter GM4DTH to arrange.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.
Wed 24 June – 20:00h – LRS Summer Barbecue at Bates Motel – QTH-GM4BYF.
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
There are no RADIO NEWS ITEMS. Click on the heading to see the radio news archive.
2. RECENT MEETINGS
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13 May 2026 John Cooke GM8OTI – EME on a Shoestring – Receiving & Decoding 70cm.
John GM8OTI described his efforts over the years to achieve reception of… Read more
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22 April 2026 – Microwave Energy Generation Advances Which Enabled the Development of WW2 Airborne Radar – Prof Peter Grant, University of Edinburgh.
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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10 May 2017 – Radio in WW-I – Malcolm Fergusson
Malcolm Fergusson, formerly of Edinburgh University Physics Department, talked about Radio in WW-I at the meeting on 10th May 2017. His talk was about the start of radio, who was involved, who did what, development of military radio, French Radio, RFC developments and expansion. Marconi’s basic spark transmitter Malcolm revealed that this mystery photo, shown in the meeting…
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24 April 2017 – Malcolm GM3TAL – Our Man in Havana
L-R: Hector; Amed CO2AME; Malcolm GM3TAL; Moises CM2YV On the last day of his recent trip to Cuba, Malcolm was delighted to meet Amed, CO2AME and to exchange QSL cards for a contact made in the Nov 2016 CQWW CW contest. ======================================== VHF NFD Trophies at 26 April LRS Meeting VHF NFD 2016 operators holding the trophies won…
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26 April 2017 – Enigma – the Unsung Heroes – Pete Bates GM4BYF
At the LRS meeting on 26th April 2017 Pete Bates GM4BYF gave a very well researched talk on ‘Enigma – the Unsung Heroes’. He outlined how the Enigma machine was used, the inputs and work required and the lesser known actions of some brave, dedicated people’. A German Enigma machine used for the encryption and decryption of messages during WWII.…
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9 April 2017 – LRS Receives RSGB VHF-NFD Trophies at Norbreck Rally in Blackpool
Len Paget GM0ONX, RSGB Director; Colin GM4HWO, Andy MM0FMF, Mike GM4IGS, Pete GM4BYF, Danny GM6CMQ, Brian GM8BJF, Norrie GM1CNH, Peter GM4DTH. (Photo by Dave GM6KGZ – tnx). At the Norbreck Rally in Blackpool on 9th April 2017, representatives of the Lothians Radio Society were presented with the two RSGB trophies won by the LRS in…
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5 April 2017 – Spring Surplus Equipment Sale at St Fillans
The LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale was held on Wednesday 5th April at St Fillan’s Church, Buckstone Drive. There was a good turn-out including members of other clubs from as far away as Glasgow. The sale included a large number of small items from GM0FAL-SK which were sold by Andre GM3VLB and XYL Veronica. Many thanks to them both…
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21 March 2017 – Aurora over Islay – Mike Senior GM3PAK
Many thanks to former LRS member Mike Senior GM3PAK, who lives with his XYL Marion GM1DCB on the isle of Islay, for this nice photo of the Aurora on 21 March 2017. Did anyone work anything via AU? Another aurora is forecast for the following evening but it will probably not be visual in Edinburgh…
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15 March 2017 – FUNcube Satellite Received using Raspberry-Pi – John Cooke GM8OTI
(Photo courtesy AMSAT-UK) Following John Cooke’s talk on amateur radio applications for the Raspberry Pi microcomputer at the March 8th meeting (see report below), John now reports that he has successfully received the FUNcube-1 satellite using a Raspberry Pi 3. He writes: ‘Just managed the next stage of my satellite project successfully. It uses the…
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8 March 2017 – Raspberry Pi – John Cooke GM8OTI
At the meeting of the LRS on 8th March 2017, John Cooke GM8OTI talked about the Raspberry Pi computer’s history and variants, and gave a couple of simple examples with demonstrations of its use in radio applications. Full report. After his talk, John was presented with Raspberry … …tarts by LRS Prez. Andy Sinclair
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22 Feb 2017 – 20 Years with the PO Engineering Dept in the Highlands – John Macdonald GM4XZN
At the meeting on 22nd February 2017 John Macdonald GM4XZN described his career – “1948-1968, 20 Years with the Post Office Engineering Dept in the Highlands” – with many photographs and amusing anecdotes. Click for Full Report with many photos. This talk was an update on the one that John gave on 10th November 2010 (click to link).
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9 Feb 2017 – VHF/UHF DX Book 2017 Replica Free Online
A 2017 replica edition of the VHF/UHF DX Book is now available free online. (Info from GM4BYF). Click for DETAILS. ‘The VHF/UHF DX Book’ was written in the early to mid-1990s by a team of experienced VHF/UHF DXers and equipment developers, in an effort to pass on our knowledge and stimulate further developments. But…
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30 Jan 2017 – Silent Key – Bob McFarlane, S.O.E. Agent
Bob McFarlane, one of the last surviving members of the S.O.E. – Special Operations Executive – in WWII, died at home in Kelso on 30th January 2017 aged 93. Bob had given two talks in recent years about his experiences – to the LRS on 24 February 2014 and at the MoC on 24 September 2014. (Click…
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8 Feb 2017 – James Clerk Maxwell – Prof. Tom Stevenson, MoC
At the meeting of the LRS on 8th February 2017 our good friend Prof. Tom Stevenson of the Museum of Communication in Burntisland presented a biography of James Clerk Maxwell and described some of his contributions to science which have had a huge impact on our modern way of life. Maxwell [1831 – 1879] was a member of the Clerk family…