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 GM4HWO was one of his students!) then maths at Jewel & Esk College. He is a Past-President of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh, former Director of the Aurora Section of the British Astronomical Association, and an amateur astronomer.

Full report and photographs by Peter Dick GM4DTH in Meeting Reports.

(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.

             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 Artach lighthouses, radio operations while anchored alongside various lights on Scotland's west coast, yachting and some wildlife seen on the 300 mile journey. Full report in Meeting Reports.

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 to Radar - A Record of the work of TRE,  a related government film now declassified. A report with stills is posted in Meeting Reports.

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 (most recent first):

RSGB Held on 19th November - Full Details

RSGB EGM Information

RSGB EGM Letter 3 from President M0OBW

RSGB EGM Letter 2 from President M0OBW

RSGB EGM Letter 1 from President M0OBW

RSGB EGM Discussion Group

RSGB - a Stark Choice - EGM on 19th November