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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Wed 9th May 2012 – ZK2V DXpedition by Chris Tran ZL1CT / GM3WOJ
The ZK2V QTH (Photo courtesy GM3WOJ / ZL1CT) At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on Wednesday 9th May 2012, well-known Scottish DXer Chris Tran ZL1CT / GM3WOJ described his single-operator DXpedition to the island of Niue (OC-040) in the South Pacific from 21st October to 20th December 2011. Using the callsign ZK2V Chris made 35,686 QSOs from this rare…
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Wed 25th April 2012 – DXCC, LOTW & 7Q7GM Malawi DXpedition by Rob GM3YTS
Rob Ferguson GM3YTS (photo courtesy QRZ.com) At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 25th April 2012 Rob Ferguson GM3YTS, dedicated DXer and well-known as the Chairman of the GMDX Group, talked about the ARRL DX Century Club award (DXCC) and ARRL Logbook of the World (LOTW), the on-line system for QSLing contacts. As a bonus, Rob also described his DXpedition to…
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Wed 11th April 2012 – Radioactivating East Africa in the 1960s / 70s by Andre GM3VLB
Andre’s first QSL card as 5Z5KL in Kenya At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 11th April 2012 Andre Saunders GM3VLB talked about “Radioactivating East Africa in the 1960s/70s”. Andre was accompanied by his wife, Veronica, who acted as projectionist. Report here. Andre says: “The alternative title to my talk might be “From Scottish Crystals to Tanzanian Gemstones”…
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Wed 28th March 2012 – Homebrew Microwave Construction by John Cooke GM8OTI
John GM8OTI and his homebrew 23cm & 13cm transverters and yagis At the meeting of the LRS on 28th March 2012 LRS Past-President Dr. John Cooke GM8OTI talked about “Homebrew Microwave Construction”. John is an avid SOTA operator and has designed and constructed all his lightweight portable equipment, progressively moving up in frequency band, now on 13cm. When first licensed…
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9th March 2012 Aurora Summary by GM4BYF
The double CME eruption of March 7th produced a complicated magnetic situation. Most likely both CMEs “ate” each other (hence weakening the strength of the magnetic field BZ). Only the latter part finally produced some aurora, but not as strong as it might have been. Finally the BZ turned south and around 12:00 UTC the…
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Wed 14th March 2012 – WWII Utility Radios by Colin GM4HWO & Peter GM4DTH
Colin GM4HWO & Peter GM4DTH after their presentation. At a most enjoyable meeting of the LRS on 14th March Colin Wright GM4HWO described the “Utility Radios” that were manufactured by a number of companies as affordable broadcast receivers for the home during World War II. Then Peter Dick GM4DTH showed film footage of broadcasting during the war and played a selection of recordings…
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22nd Feb 2012 – Modifying PC PSUs for Radio Use by Brian Flynn GM8BJF
GM8BJF measuring voltage on a modified PC PSU At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on 22nd February LRS member Dr. Brian Flynn GM8BJF described how to modify computer power supply units for use in Amateur Radio. The talk started off with a description of the operation of SMPS – Switch-Mode Power Supplies – and an explanation of the commonly used topologies (circuit…
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Wed 8th Feb 2012 – Aurora Explained by Dr. David Gavine
At the meeting of the Lothians Radio Society on Wednesday February 8th Dr. David Gavine talked on “Aurora Explained” – how it is caused by disturbances on the Sun, what it looks like & how it was “explained” in the past, with plenty of illustrations. Dr Gavine is retired from teaching astro-navigation and meteorology at Leith Nautical College (where Colin Wright…
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!
(Photo by GM3PSP) A Happy New Year to all our readers! We look forward to welcoming you to the meetings of the Lothians Radio Society in 2012. The LRS has an excellent programme of technical presentations on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at the Braid Hills Hotel – see This Year’s Programme.
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Wed 11th Jan 2012 – Video Evening – ‘The Spies Who Lost the Battle of Britain’
CHL – Chain Home Low radar installation The first meeting of the LRS in 2012 was the Video Evening on Wednesday 11th January. Peter Dick GM4DTH presented The Spies Who Lost the Battle of Britain, the story of British Radar and how the Germans nearly discovered it, a documentary about the Chain-Home radar system. This was followed by RDF…
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Wed 25th Jan 2012 – International Lighthouses Weekend 2011 by Geoff Crowley MM5AHO
Approaching Skerryvore Lighthouse Geoff Crowley MM5AHO described and showed video footage shot by his son Matt MM1EUI of their participation in the International Lighthouses & Lightships Weekend in August 2011. They sailed from Oban to Skerryvore and several other lighthouses. They did some exploration and research into the building of these Stevenson lighthouses. The presentation covered the construction of the Skerryvore and Dubh…
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RSGB EGM on 19th November 2011 – All Motions Carried
Photo courtesy RSGB At the RSGB EGM held on 19th November 2011 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham NEC, all the motions were carried: creation of an Interim Board and the appointment of individual members to it. A full report is on the RSGB EGM webpage. For preliminary information about the EGM, see also the following items…