Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
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.
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28 Oct 2026 – Blood Bikes Scotland by Phil Dodsworth & John Taylor GM3JRT
Blood Bikes Scotland (BBS) is a fully volunteer-run and donation-funded charity that provides a completely no cost courier service to 5 NHS Scotland Health Boards in Lothians, Borders, Fife, Central, and Tayside. BBS use both motorcycles and cars to move a variety of essential items 7 days a week, including: medicines and controlled drugs, tissue and blood samples, prescriptions, clerical and medical documents, medical equipments, and, occasionally, blood.
The alternative courier services cost the NHS precious funds and BBS has saved NHS Scotland over £450,000 in courier costs in the last 12 months.
Phil Dodsworth, a Trustee with BBS, will be giving a presentation all about BBS and how it functions. Our own Treasurer John GM4JRT also volunteers with BBS and will be on hand to answer any specific questions LRS members might have.
More information can be found on the Blood Bikes Scotland website: <https://bloodbikesscotland.
org/>28 Oct 2026 –
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
There are no posts in category “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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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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9 June 2016 – LRS Annual General Meeting
AGM attendees before the meeting The LRS Annual General Meeting was held on 8th June 2016 at the Braid Hills Hotel. There was a good turnout and we were pleased to welcome the new RSGB Deputy Regional Manager David Smith MM0HVU who made a short presentation about the RSGB, including notice that the RSGB plans to hold a Scottish Convention in…
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14 May 2016 – Congratulations to Jane Flynn on USA Graduation
Congratulations to Jane Flynn, daughter of LRS member Dr Brian Flynn GM8BJF, who graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale on 14th May 2016 with a Masters degree in Photography. In this family group are also L-R: twin brother Michael MM6MWF, mum Dr Jane Walmsley MM3MOM and sister Wendy.
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25 May 2016 – D/F Hunt – Peter Dick GM4DTH
Eventual winner Melvyn GM4HYR making his first decision on which direction to boldly go to find the Fox station GM3HAM/P. The LRS annual D/F Hunt was held on Wednesday 25th May 2016, organized by Peter Dick GM4DTH using the callsign GM3HAM/P transmitting on 1.875 MHz. There were only two receiving stations – Melvyn Bond GM4HYR and…
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11 May 2016 – Holiday HF – Andy Sinclair MM0FMF
At the meeting of the LRS on 11 May 2016 LRS President Andy Sinclair MM0FMF talked on “Holiday HF – or how to have your cake and eat it”. His informative presentation covered the practical aspects of preparing for and operating a successful DXpedition – researching and knowing the foreign regulations, obtaining a CEPT TR61/01…
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7-8 May 2016 Microwave Trophy
The GM3HAM/P contest group of the Lothians Radio Society operated in the RSGB Microwave Trophy contest on 7-8 May 2016 from our usual site on a hill above Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway. The operators were L-R: Mike GM4IGS, Pete GM4BYF and Alan GM3PSP. The wx was unpleasantly windy but dry on the…
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27 April 2016 – SDR – Software Defined Radio – Kenneth Barlee
Kenneth Barlee, assisted by Dale Atkinson, gave a most interesting talk with demonstrations of SDR – Software Defined Radio – at the meeting of the LRS on 27th April 2016. Kenny is a 2nd-year Ph.D student at Strathclyde University and is already a co-author of a text-book on SDR. Talk content: 1. Introduce SDR in general.…
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19 March 2016 – Expedition to Telegraph Hill – Brian GM8BJF & Briain GM8PKL
LRS members Brian Flynn GM8BJF and Briain Wilson GM8PKL made an expedition to Telegraph Hill near St Abbs in Scottish Borders on March 19th to check reception there of the GM8FFX/B 10GHz beacon at 126km near Aberdeen which Brian built and installed last year. They found the signal strength was excellent on this clear sea-path. They also found a very…
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6 April 2016 – LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale at St Fillan’s
The LRS Spring Surplus Equipment Sale was held on 6th April 2016 at St Fillan’s Church, Buckstone. There was an excellent turn-out of 33 for what proved to be an entertaining evening with lots of quality items for sale at very reasonable prices. (We never use the word ‘cheap’)! There was also the usual raffle for interesting “bottles”. Full report with many…
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23 March 2016 – Communication Quiz – Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL
At the meeting of the LRS on 23rd March, Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL ran the first quiz we have had for a long time, on the broad theme of communication. He achieved his aim to have an evening of fun with an opportunity to quench our thirst, as well as to show how much we knew, (or how…
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9 Mar 2016 – A Programmable Sequencer / Control Unit for 23cm QRO for £20 – Pete Bates GM4BYF
At very short notice, Pete Bates GM4BYF jumped in on Wednesday 9th March to replace the scheduled talk which had to be cancelled. Pete presented his talk “A Programmable Sequencer / Control Unit for £20”, originally scheduled for the next meeting on 23rd March. Synopsis: – Design specification for a QRO 23cm setup; the program; demonstration. Click for…
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24 Feb 2016 – 3cm Personal Beacons – Brian Flynn GM8BJF
Photo by Peter GM4DTH At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 24th February 2016 Brian Flynn GM8BJF talked on “3cm Personal Beacons” He wrote: “This talk looked the construction, installation and operation of the 3cm personal beacons at the QTHs of Chris Tran GM3WOJ near Tain and Graham Knight GM8FFX near Aberdeen. Both stations are quite famously well-sited and the beacons have been…
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10 Feb 2016 – Repeaters – Crawford Ross GM8HBY & Allister Watson GM7RYR
Crawford GM8HBY & Allister GM7RYR The meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 10th February 2016 included two talks about repeater facilities in the area. There was a talk on Central Scotland Repeaters by Crawford Ross GM8HBY, Chairman of the Central Scotland FM Group which administers most of the repeaters in the area. He described recent developments, the current…