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 BBC 198kHz Radio 4 long wave service – Mark Hughes GM4ISM. Note that this meeting will be held in the Buckstone Bar, next to the Braid Hills Hotel, if the current maintenance work on the Gathering Bar is not completed.
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.
LOCATION: if the current maintenance work in the Gathering Bar at the rear of the Braid Hills Hotel is not complete, this meeting will be held in the Buckstone Bar next to 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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31 Oct 2026 – Scottish Microwave Round Table GMRT 2026
The 2026 Scottish Microwave Round Table was held, appropriately, on Halloween this year. The event was sold out and the lecture room at the MOC/Burntisland was full. There were interesting talks – several from LRS members, including Andy (GM4LLD) on portable microwave operating (lugging dishes up some cold Scottish mountains), Peter (GM4BYF) and Brian (GM8BJF) on tricks and techniques on SM component soldering (with lively participation and experiences from the audience). Also Martin (GM8IEM) talked about his sequencer design for the IC9700, and Mark (GM4ISM) gave some ideas about modding commercial microwave gear for amateurs (aka ‘bodging’). There were some cool bits of identifiable (and unidentifiable) microwave goodies for sale, some fancy test gear for GHz visitors, and tasty food for lunch. A good day out and meet up with other microwavers from Scotland and south of the border.
The room was full! 
Andy introduced Brian GM8BJF talking about SM soldering tricks 
Mark/GM4ISM talked about bodging commercial microwave equipment for amateur use. 
Some interesting microwave bits for sale 
Fancy testgear available (not for sale) 
Speakers: Mark/GM8IEM, Peter/GM4BYF, Brian/GM8BJF, Martin/GM8IEM, and Andy/GM4LLD 
More pictures at https://gmroundtable.org.uk/gmrt-2026-photos/
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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Nov 2026 – Ian Lindsay GM8LYQ – 50 Years in RSGB
Congratulations to Ian Lindsay GM8LYQ who is celebrating his 50 years continuous membership of the RSGB – RadCom Nov 2026, p.10.
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4 Nov 2026 – GB3EDN spotted on 1296MHz – Beaconspot.uk (DXC spot
GB3EDN in Edinburgh on 1296MHz has been spotted on 2026-11-04. It was spotted on 1296.99MHz at 23:28 UTC by SM6EAN locator JO58SA distance 923km. Comment:- io85 <tr> jo58 519.
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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
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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4-5 May 2013 RSGB Microwave Trophy
L-R: Robin GM4YPL, Chris MM0ZCT, Andy MM0FMF, Pete GM4BYF, Alan GM3PSP, Brian GM8BJF, John GM8OTI. Seven members of the Lothians Radio Society took part in the RSGB Microwave Trophy Contest on 4th – 5th May from our usual site in the hills above Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway. Most arrived on the…
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D/F Hunt – Wed 8th May 2013
The brave souls who made it to the Fox station half-way up Caerketton Hill. The annual LRS Direction Finding Contest was held on Wednesday 8th May 2013 starting from the Braid Hills Hotel. Most of the participants found the Fox station, manned by Peter GM4DTH, but only after a strenuous climb to a grassy knoll half way up…
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24th April 2013 – Code Breakers – Video Evening
At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 24th April 2013 an American-made video of the work of Code Breakers was shown. It described how code breakers shaped major events in the 20th century, including America’s entry into WWI through the decoding of the Zimmermann telegram, the cracking of the German Enigma code at GC&CS Bletchley Park during WWII,…
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LRS Members at Norbreck Rally, Blackpool on 7th April 2013
On the Sunday, as well as attending the rally, John GM8OTI worked GM0USI on the Mull of Galloway on 10GHz from the Blackpool sea-front over a sea-path of 148km with only 35mW of SSB. A group of members of the Lothians Radio Society attended the Norbreck Rally in Blackpool on Sunday, 7th April 2013. Travelling…
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10th Apr 2013 – An Evening with Microwaves by GM8OTI & GM8BJF
The LRS had an Evening with Microwaves presented by Brian GM8BJF and John GM8OTI on 10th April 2013. They described how they designed, constructed and operate their microwave equipment. Brian Flynn GM8BJF described his 6cm transverter, AD synthesiser and some homebrew equipment constructed using PCBs (“it’s not all about waveguides, you know”)! John Cooke GM8OTI talked about simple and cheap homebrew…
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Wed 3rd April – Surplus Equipment Sale
There was an excellent turnout of 29 for the Lothians Radio Society Spring Junk Sale on Wednesday 3rd April 2013 at St Fillan’s Church. The sale included a number of Silent Key items – oscilloscopes, test equipment, computer monitors and many components and other smaller items. There were visitors from several other clubs. The raffle was won by Pete GM4BYF.…
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Wed 27th Mar 2013 – The Sinking of the Flying Enterprise – Angus Annan MM1CCR
Angus Annan MM1CCR talking to the Lothians Radio Society Angus Annan MM1CCR, former President of the RSGB, gave a great talk on the Sinking of the Flying Enterprise on 27th March 2013. Angus writes: An Amateur Radio Adventure in January 1952 – the story of my boyhood hero, Captain Kurt Carlsen, W2ZXM, and how, through Amateur Radio,…
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13th March 2013 – The Changing Face of Antarctic Communications by Mike GM0HCQ
Mike Gloistein GM0HCQ talked on “From Morse Code to the Worldwide Web – the Changing Face of Antarctic Communications” at the Lothians Radio Society meeting on Wednesday 13th March 2013. Mike joined the British Antarctic Survey as a Radio Officer in 1990 and has been ‘South’ every year since then. He was awarded the Polar Medal by Her Majesty…
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SILENT KEY – Pat Hawker G3VA
Radio amateurs around the world will be saddened to learn of the death of Pat Hawker MBE, G3VA, on 21 February 2013. He was 90 years old. Pat was first licensed in 1936 as 2BUH, becoming G3VA in 1938. He was a Secret Listener during WWII and a Technical Information Officer with the IBA after…
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27 Feb 2013 – VHF Tracking by Stan Frey GM8ZQY
A vehicle-mounted tracking display. At the meeting of the LRS on 27th Feb 2013 Stan Frey GM8ZQY talked about VHF Tracking. His comprehensive presentation covered tracking technologies and applications to both commercial (vehicle tracking), and non-commercial uses, starting with tracking bats!. Full Report.
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13 Feb 2013 – Wire Antennas for HF by GM3TAL
Malcolm’s Delta Loop wire antenna for 28MHz At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 13th February 2013 Malcolm Hamilton GM3TAL, who is a keen HF DXer and contester, presented some reasons for using wire antennas and described practical examples of antennas he has tried out in a variety of different locations. Constructional hints and tips were offered…
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Wed 23rd Jan – Kite Aerial Photography by James Gentles GM4WZP
Cromarty Harbour & Village Kite aerial photo © James Gentles At the meeting of the LRS held on 23rd January 2013 James Gentles GM4WZP give a most interesting presentation on Kite Aerial Photography (KAP) – the history, process and results of this niche form of photography – getting views from unusual angles. Click for Full Report.