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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19 Apr 2011 – MOC Goudie Lecture – Defending the Forth 1914-1945
LRS Members are invited to attend the Goudie Lecture “Defending the Forth 1914-45” by Geoffrey Stell, at the Museum of Communication, 131 High Street, Burntisland, KY3 9AA on Tuesday 19th April at 7:30 pm. Full details are available by clicking here. Admission charges are £3 for MOC members and £4 for non-members, and include light…
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10 Apr 2011 – Cockenzie Quaich Presented to LRS at Norbreck Rally
At least ten members of the Lothians Radio Society attended the Norbreck Rally in Blackpool on 10 April 2011. Thanks to persistent lobbying by Colin GM4HWO and Brian GM4DIJ the RSGB agreed that the Cockenzie Quaich would be presented to the LRS at this event for our success in winning Top Scottish Club in the…
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Summits On The Air – UHF Fun Day – 27 March 2011
On Sunday 27 March Summits On The Air (SOTA) enthusiasts organised an informal “UHF fun day” with the aim of getting activators on summits with 70cm and up stations. LRS members Andy MM0FMF (the GM Region Manager for SOTA), and John GM8OTI were up the summits Hart Fell (SOTA reference GM/SS-037), north of Moffat, and…
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Report – GM8OTI on 50 MHz UKAC
LRS Chairman John GM8OTI had a go at the RSGB 50 MHz UK Activity Contest on Tuesday evening, 22nd March. He says that his home QTH is not good (in south Edinburgh, RF noise all around, and the Pentland Hills to the south) but he got his 3-element homebrew yagi up at 12m on a…
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13 Apr 2011 – LRS Spring Junk Sale
The Lothians Spring Junk Sale was held on Wednesday, April 13th at St Fillans Church Hall. L-R: Norrie GM1CNH auctions as Colin GM4HWO, Jack GM1CQC and Andy MM0FMF watch. Many visitors from other clubs joined LRS members to pick up bargains, including a strong contingent from the Livingston club. A selection of photographs can be viewed…
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23 Mar 2011 – Operating VP8AQA from Antarctica
At the LRS meeting on 23rd March 2010 Dave Burke GM6SZJ talked about “Operating VP8AQA from Faraday Base, Antarctica” and showed many slides of his three years there. Dave was electrician / boatman at Faraday Base from 1981 till 1984 with the British Antarctic Survey. He also doubled up as relief radio operator (presumably when not working the DX…
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Japan Earthquake – Emergency HF Frequencies to Avoid
Lothians RAYNET has advised us of the following: HF frequencies are now known to be in use by Japanese amateurs as part of their emergency response: 7043 kHz SSB: controlled by JR3QHQ the Osaka branch manager of JARL He is gathering incident information on radio and forwarding this information onto the internet.7075 kHz SSB: Operated…
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Congratulations to Vic GM3OWU.
Congratulations to LRS member Vic Stewart GM3OWU who received his licence exactly 50 years ago and has remained active on the air ever since. Vic was presented with a birthday cake and bubbly libations at a recent meeting of the RAYNET Lothians Group of which he was the Controller for many years.
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Foundation Level Licence Examination at Livingston on 12th April 2011
The Livingston & District Amateur Radio Society LaDARS will be holding a foundation level licence examination at the Crofthead Farm Community Education Centre, Livingston on Tuesday 12th April 2011 at 7:30 pm. Candidates must register by TODAY, 29th March at the very latest. The examination fee is £38 (£36 for LaDARS members). For more information, go to: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/ms0liv/…
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9 Mar 2011 – Beginner’s Guide to 23cm & 70cm – Ray James GM4CXM
Ray James GM4CXM from Bearsden presented a very interesting and comprehensive talk, “A Beginner’s Guide to DXing & Contesting on 23cm & 70cm” on 9th March. Ray’s talk provided an overview of radio equipment, feeders, antennas and the use of modern web-based attributes in order to maximize your results. Propagation modes including aircraft reflection, meteor scatter…
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23 Feb 2011 – Circuit & System Technologies, by Dr Roger Hill, MBE
At the LRS meeting on 23rd February we welcomed back Dr Roger Hill MBE who talked about “Circuit & System Technologies”. Roger has also made a number of very interesting presentations on cutting-edge technologies in previous years. Dr Roger Hill, MBE A full report with photographs is posted in Meeting Reports.
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Items For Sale
Tonna VHF Antennas For Sale. All have been in storage for the last 10 years and are complete. 6m 5 ele Yagi2m 9 ele Yagi2m 13 ele Yagi I worked a lot of DX on them in a previous life but I have no room for them any more. Sensible offers please. Andy MM0FMF lrs_secretary@moosedata.com…