Scottish Charity number SC045038
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LRS Messages of the Day:
Wed 9 Sept 2026 – LRS President’s Address: “Secondary Batteries for Hams”. The new LRS year got off to a good start with Andy’s talk on batteries – report: see Recent Meetings.Wed 23 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. 5:00pm Pre-Dinner at Sands Hotel, Burntisland.
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 23 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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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. The registration system is open for booking. We have sold 47 Event tickets – 3 tickets left – max room capacity = 50. Suggest you book asap to avoid disappointment. https://gmroundtable.org.uk/
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9 May – 30 Sept – Weds & Sats – MOC Exhibition 2026
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27 Sept 2026 MOC Goudie Lecture – 100 Years of Television.
The next MOC Goudie Lecture will take place at 7.30 pm on WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER and is entitled 100 Years of Television. It will be presented by Museum Chair Prof. Tom Stevenson. Please see Events – Museum Of Communication for further information.
Sunday 25 Oct 2026 – Galashiels Rally
CONTEST CALENDAR
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The LRS operates GM3HAM/P from a great site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway.
5-6 Sept 2026 – Brian GM4DIJ operated GM3HAM/P in RSGB 2m Trophy from IO74MU near Stranraer. See report in Radio News Items.
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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22-23 Aug 2026 – LRS Members at Montrose Air Station Open Weekend
Mike GM8KCS, Michael MM3MDB, Melvyn GM4HYR, Colin GM4HWO. WW2 Singer. Melvyn GM4HYR Sopwith Camel – WWI
2. RECENT MEETINGS
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9 Sept 2026 – Secondary Batteries for Hams – Presidential Address by Andy Sinclair GM4LLD.
Andy Sinclair GM4LLD got the new LRS year off to a good… 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 2015 – Antenna Modelling – Brian Howie GM4DIJ
Brian Howie GM4DIJ talked about and demonstrated Antenna Modelling Software at the LRS meeting on 11th March 2015. Brian writes: “The design and building of antennas at one time required vast testing ranges with expensive equipment. Analysing and optimising antennas once took many hours of painstaking measurements, hand calculation (if you understood the maths) and…
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25 Feb 2015 – The Cloud – Andy Sinclair MM0FMF
The subject of the LRS meeting on 25th February was that mysterious place where we are told we shall be archiving all our digital “stuff” in the future. LRS President Andy Sinclair MM0FMF talked about The Cloud, what it is, why it’s used and whether it will rain all over your data. Not a simple…
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11 Feb 2015 – Using a VDA on a Scottish Beach – Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL
Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL talked about “Using a Vertical Dipole Array on a Scottish Beach” at the LRS meeting on Feb 11th. The vertical dipole array (VDA) has become the de facto antenna of choice for many DXpeditions to remote oceanic islands. The reasons why these antennas work well were discussed along with a brief review…
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28 Jan 2015 – Maritime Mobile off the West Coast – Geoff Crowley MM5AHO
Our good friend Geoff Crowley MM5AHO braved snowy roads on January 28th to talk about his Maritime Mobile adventures off the west coast of Scotland in 2014. Geoff, along with Mike Eccles, GM3PPE, and Matt Crowley MM1EUI, actually activated Little Cumbrae Lighthouse after having tried for 2 years in a row. Geoff and Matt then…
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21 Jan 2015 – LRS Video Night at ECVS
Aspidistra (from The Secret Wireless War) The first LRS meeting of 2015 was the annual Video Night, arranged and presented by Peter Dick GM4DTH. It was held on 21st January at the Edinburgh Cine & Video Society. 1. The main feature was:- The Secret Wireless War – Black Propaganda (Grindlewald Productions, 2002). 2. A9…
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New Video Section on Website – contributions invited
One of the exciting videos now available! A new section has been added to the LRS Archive area of this website providing links to YouTube videos of Lothians Radio Society activities and other Amateur Radio topics. We already have quite a number in both categories and will be adding more – there are lots of…
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10th Dec 2014 – LRS Christmas Curry – Himalaya Restaurant
Colin GM4HWO, Mike MM0MLB, Peter GM4DTH, Alan GM3PSP Sixteen LRS members and friends attended the LRS Christmas Curry on Wednesday 10th December 2014 at the Himalaya Tandoori Restaurant. Full photo report. Mike GM8KCS, Peter GM4DTH, Andre GM3VLB, Pete GM4BYF, Veronica XYL-VLB.
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26th Nov 2014 – From Dipoles to Hexbeams in African Locations – Nick Henwood G3RWF
At the LRS meeting on 26th November 2014 Nick Henwood G3RWF talked about “From Dipoles to Hexbeams in African Locations”. He started African DX-ing by getting the call sign 9L1NH in 1963 while on VSO in Sierra Leone. In the last nine years he has been on the air from Africa on 23 occasions. He…
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Visit by Eddie DU1EV – Past President of Philippines ARA – 6th Nov 2014
Thanks to communications from George GM4COK / DU1GM in the Philippines, we entertained Eddie Valdez DU1EV, Past-President of the Philippines Amateur Radio Association and his XYL Karen DW1SMK to an informal dinner in the Toby Carvery in Corstorphine on Nov 6th. Several members of the LRS and Lothians RAYNET were present. Eddie told us about…
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12th Nov 2014 – The Post Office Tower – Mike Burgess MM0MLB
At the meeting of the LRS on 12th November Mike Burgess MM0MLB presented “The Post Office Tower – the first 20 years”, covering the time he spent there at the beginning of his career. This was a retrospective on a key part of London’s local, national and international telephone network with a look at…
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Tom Simpson GM3BCD, MBE – Silent Key – 25th Oct 2014
We are sad to report that Tom Simpson GM3BCD, MBE, secretary of the LRS in 1961-62, became a silent key on 25th October 2014. Tom was a Technical Subjects teacher at George Watson’s College and along with John Hughes GM3LCP-SK, ran the school Radio Club in the 1950s-70s. A talented equipment constructor, he built…
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18 Oct 2014 – JOTA – Jamboree On The Air from Bonaly Camp
John GM8OTI and Alan GM3PSP operated GB0BSS in JOTA – Jamboree On The Air – from Bonaly Scout Camp for the third year running. Scouts from the 103rd Braid (Greenbank) and 114th Braid (Fairmilehead) troops participated. The Scouts were encouraged to speak into the microphone, giving their own information – name, age, troop – and asking questions of the Scouts…