Bob McFarlane, a 91-year-old veteran- and one of the few survivors of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E.) from WWII described his exploits in occupied Europe and Asia at a special joint meeting of the LRS, other radio clubs and members of the Museum of Communication, at the museum on 24th September 2014.

Photos by Winnie Stevenson of the MoC and Alan Masson GM3PSP of the LRS.

Bob McFarlane was introduced by LRS member Andre Saunders GM3VLB, a near-neighbour in Kelso. Andre, assisted by his XYL Veronica, also contributed a number of slides of S.O.E. equipment and brought several beautifully-built replicas for display.

The LRS Autumn 2014 Surplus Equipment Sale was held as usual at St Fillans Church with a turnout of 30 members of the LRS and several other local clubs. Plenty of jun... Surplus Equipment ... was available and the event ended with a bottle raffle run by LRS Treasurer Peter Dick GM4DTH.

 

Glen GM3HNE, Peter GM4DTH and  Malcolm GM3TAL examine some of the items for sale.

 

In prep - psp

At the LRS meeting on 29th October Bernie McIntosh GM4WZG talked about how the microcontroller, being a single chip with all the power of a computer, has become an indispensable component of virtually all commercial powered amateur radio equipment. He demonstrated a number of items of his own homebrew equipment and showed how anyone can use these ubiquitous devices in their own projects. 

 

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 its organization, its people and its equipment. Tower photos above by MM0MLB.

 

Nick Henwood G3RWF was licensed in 1963 while still at school. He started African DX-ing by getting the call sign 9L1NH only six months later while on Voluntary Service Overseas in Sierra Leone. In the last nine years  he has been on the air from Africa on 23 separate occasions – sometimes doing voluntary work and sometimes on holiday.  He has almost always been solo and carrying all his gear with him.  He has been 11 times to Uganda - principally as a volunteer university consultant and has now made more QSOs as 5X1NH than as G3RWF. His most recent trip was to Rwanda last March and he hopes to be back on the air from Lesotho as 7P8NH in three weeks time. At the meeting he talked about getting an antenna up, and working DX when you are on your own. In this report the slide photographs are used with Nick's kind permission.

 

Colin GM4HWO, Mike MM0MLB, Peter GM4DTH, Alan GM3PSP

Sixteen LRS members and friends enjoyed the 2014 Christmas Curry at our favourite Indian restaurant,

the Himalaya Tandoori in Bruntsfield Place, now under new management. 

 

Photographs by Alan GM3PSP, Veronica XYL-GM3VLB & Peter GM4DTH.

The first LRS meeting of 2015 was the annual Video Night, arranged and presented by Peter Dick GM4DTH. It was held on 21st January in the screening room of the Edinburgh Cine & Video Society in Fettes Row.

Peter has made a DVD of the three videos for loan to those who could not make it to the meeting or would like to view them again. Contact Peter direct if you are interested. 

Click on the titles below for more information about the content of the videos..

 
Aspidistra from the Secret Wireless War.
 
1. The main feature was:- The Secret Wireless War - Black Propaganda  (Grindlewald Productions, 2002)  - 57 mins. Produced by David and Debra Rixon, this film showed how broadcasting was used in WWII as a tool to weaken the Third Reich through the use of words.

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 spent a week activating various other lighthouses and exploring more West Scotland coastal hideaways including the isolated West Loch Tarbert on Jura. Geoff's talk also included his crew's entry into the notoriously difficult Scottish Islands Peaks Race earlier that year where over half the boats failed to complete the 3 day race which covers 3 islands, 3 mountains, and strenuous sailing between Oban and Troon.