2020-12-25 CHRISTMAS MESSAGE FROM LRS SECRETARY, ANDY MM0FMF:
The LRS committee would like to wish all members a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2021.
Let’s hope we can start seeing some vaccine rollout and an improvement in the situation such that we can start meeting each other face to face soon.
In the absence of meetings, there is the informal club net which takes place each Wednesday evening at 8.00pm on 144.350MHz USB.
Also, our president and webmaster, Alan GM3PSP continues to update the club’s website several times a week with news and events, both local and worldwide. Alan is always searching for items for inclusion on the website so if you have anything then please email him directly, contact details are on the website.
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2020-12-16 National Valve Museum
Mni tnx to Pete GM4BYF for finding this website.
Click for article – The Story of the Valve
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2020-12-11 Congratulations to Brian GM8BJF who has just become a grandfather. His daughter Jane in Ohio, USA has just given birth to Lenny William Frederick. Mother and baby both doing well. (And so is Grandpa)!
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2020-12-08 Hot News: Coaxial cable was invented this day in 1931.
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2020-12-02 GM3WOJ 3cm beacon (Invergordon) audio stream is back. (tnx Brian GM8BJF).
GM3WOJ beacon received at GM8PKL (Braid Hills).
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2020-11-26 German Spy Set from Edinburgh (MoC)
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2020-11-23 Huge New Sunspot, larger than Earth.
AR-2786 sunspot photo c/o Spaceweather.com
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2020-11-21 Radio used on Mt. Everest in 1953.
This photo of the radio equipment used on the Mt. Everest expedition in 1953 appeared in the obituary of the later-transgender writer Jan Morris.
Photo c/o The Times.
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2020-11-20 Arecibo dish now completely collapsed.
Photo c/o MIT Technology Review.
Further collapse on Dec 1st. Photo c/o The Telegraph
The gale-damage sustained by the 305m diameter dish in Puerto Rico (second largest in the world) has now led to its complete collapse after 57 years as the principal radio-telescope of SETI – Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence.
Click for U-Tube video. Tnx GM8BJF.
Click for Chinese 500m dish video. Tnx GM8OTI.
Click for video of final collapse. Tnx GM8OTI.
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2020-10 2000-2016 ARCHIVAL LRS PHOTOS UNEARTHED. A quantity of photos of LRS meetings, contests etc from 2000 to 2016 have been found and are now available.
The 2010 Stirling visit is one example:
2010-05-30 Visit to Stirling Club GM6NX QTH.
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2020-10 Book published on Restoration of Union Chain Bridge near Berwick. (LRS / MoC talk 25 Sept 2019)
Click for book cover and sales flyer.
(Go to bottom of report).
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2020-10-24 SAQ Grimeton UN Day on 17.2kHz from 14:30 UTC & YouTube
2020-10-21 James GM4WZP attacked by coos on Pentlands.
Photo courtesy Gentles Ltd / BBC News
2020-10-10 RSGB Convention FREE On-Line
This year the RSGB Convention will be held online on Sat 10th October and will be free, with a very interesting program of lectures live-streamed on the RSGB’s YouTube channel. For full information, go to: https://rsgb.org/main/about-us/rsgb-convention/
After the keynote address by Eric Swartz WA6HHQ of Elecraft, there will be two streams, “An intro to …” & “Learn more about …”. The following selection are talks likely to interest LRS members, from both streams.
09:00: Keynote: Behind the scenes at Elecraft, from the K2 to K4, Eric Swartz WA6HHQ.
10:00: QRO Magnetic Loop Antennas, Rael Paster M0RTP.
11:00: VHF Propagation & Weather, Jim Bacon G3YLA.
12:00: The Magic of Six Meters, Chris Deacon G4IFX
13:00: DSP: Underlying Concepts, William Eustace M0WJE
14:00: VHF/UHF Radios for Contesting & DXing, Alwyn Seeds G8DOH
15:00: Ionoscatter on 50 & 144MHz, Palle Preben-Hansen OZ1RH
16:00: Getting Started on Low Earth Orbit Satellites, Peter Goodhall 2M0SQL
The complete list is in RadCom Oct 2020 pp. 26-27.
If you missed it, the Convention can be viewed after the event on the RSGB website (link at top of this article) or on RSGB YouTube.
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2020-10-06 Scott VE7TIL BC receives X-Band signal from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
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2020-10 RadCom Oct p.73 article “Antenna Bag” by Norrie GM1CNH – congrats!
Photo courtesy RadCom.
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2020-09-20 Seawater Antenna (Tnx Briain GM8PKL).
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2020-09-17 Barnton Quarry Nuclear Bunker to open to public soon, after 9 years of refurbishment.
Photo courtesy EEN.P
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Chart courtesy Spaceweather.com
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2020-09-08 Historic photo of Harry Matthews, Museum of Communication, Edinburgh Evening News.
1983 photo when museum was at Edinburgh University. Photo courtesy Museum of Communication, Burntisland.
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2020-09-04-06 RSGB 2m Trophy Contest: LRS GM3HAM/P at Gatehouse of Fleet.
2020-09-03 On-Line Lecture by David Brown of the MOC on “Y Group” of Listening Stations in WWII:
Lecture will be live on-line at 7:00pm at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1XEY45J3Nc
and thereafter on YouTube.
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2020-08-23 10-Year-Old William M7WHB gets licence during virus lock-down.
(Tnx Brian GM8BJF – “i” newspaper).
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2020-08-05 Talk: The WWII British B2 Spy Radio & the Spies who served in France, Pt.1 by AA2YV.
(B2 photo by Andre GM3VLB-SK)
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2020-08-04 SAQ Grimeton VLF 17.2kHz report: Alexanderson Day 5/7/2020 with (long, 46m) videos.
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2020-07-24 RadCom Basics issue free to all.
2020-07-05 SAQ Grimeton Alexanderson Day transmission on 17.1kHz.
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2020-06-28 Time-Lapse Video of 10 years of the Sun’s History
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2020-06-25 – Photo of GB2RS “Studio” at GM4DTH:
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2020-06-24 GB3EDN beacon on 1296MHz heard in Sweden at 960km (GM8BJF).
2020-05-24 Report on 8JXX2 yagi for 2m portable use by Norrie GM1CNH.
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2020-05-20 Marconi wireless telegraph equipment to be recovered from the Titanic wreck of 1912.
Photo courtesy MSN News
Reproduction of Titanic receiver room at the Antique Wireless Museum in Bloomfield NY.
Equipment condition unlikely to be very good after 108 years!
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2020-05-16 How to see the ISS as it passes over Scotland during May.
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2020-05-15 RSGB 2019 Scottish Memorial Awards announced (RadCom June 2020 p.16):
Jock Kyle Memorial to David Anderson GM6BIG (Kilsyth) for GB3CSB microwave beacon cluster.
Jack Wylie Memorial to Gavin Taylor GM0GAV (Perth) for his DX and contest work.
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2020-05-09 CORONAVIRUS: how Amateur Radio is connecting people during lock-down. (BBC-News):
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2020-05-07 Terry Robinson GM3WUX featured in Glasgow Evening Times article.
Photo courtesy Glasgow Evening Times
Terry has been a very welcome guest operator at GM3HAM/P on 6m & 4m VHF NFD for several years.
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2020-04-29 GB3CSB microwave beacons back. Beacon-keeper David GM6BIG advises:
GB3CSB in Kilsyth back on about 17:00 today (27th) using a back up exciter put together over the weekend. No GPS lock, no JT4g, no time lock. Just carrier, CW Call & QRA. Carrier is around 50S in duration. The freqy is OCXO stabilised and the CW shift is exactly 400Hz. Be interesting to see how well it settles. Was within a few Hz when I left, but it could have used a longer warm up and burn in time. Plain (Plane ?) carrier, good for watching the doppler off the aircraft… Thanks to Mark GM4ISM for confirming all sounding good before I left site. Frequencies: 1296.985MHz, 2320.985MHz, 3400.985MHz, 5760.985MHz, 10.368.985GHz. Brian GM4DIJ reports hearing the 23cm, 13cm & 9cm beacons from his QTH on Corstorphine Hill.
2020-04-26 GB3CSB microwave beacons down. Beacon-keeper David GM6BIG advises that the GB3CSB beacon cluster at IO75xx59 in Kilsyth is currently out of service due to an equipment failure. He hopes to restore service soon. Frequencies: 1296.985MHz, 2320.985MHz, 3400.985MHz, 5760.985MHz, 10.368.985GHz.
2020-04-15 The second LRS “Viral Net” on Wednesday 15th April had a turnout of 12 club members and was again controlled by Colin GM4HWO. The participants were: Pete GM4BYF, Briain GM8PKL, John GM8OTI, Alan GM3PSP, Peter GM4DTH, Colin GM4HWO, Melvyn GM4HYR, Mike GM8KCS, Brian GM8BJF, Norrie GM1CNH, Brian GM4DIJ, and Robin GM4YPL. Brian GM8BJF in Peebles was only heard weakly by Pete GM4BYF and Brian GM4DIJ
2020-04-08 Report by Peter GM4DTH on the first LRS “Viral Net” on April 8th 2020 during the coronavirus period while normal meetings are cancelled:
There were 8 stations active with a 9th listening for us. The net opened at 20:00a on 144.350MHz SSB. The net coordinator was Colin GM4HWO (Liberton). Stations active were Pete GM4BYF (Fairmilehead), Robin GM4YPL (Linlithgow), Mike GM8KCS (Fairmilehead), Peter GM4DTH (Bruntsfield), Norman GM1CNH (Corstorphine), Brian GM4DIJ (Corstorphine) and Brian GM8BJF (Peebles). Mike GM4IGS (Troon) was listening but did not hear us. All stations with the exception of GM8BJF could hear each other at good strength and readability. Minor netting errors existed and RIT was used to tune out the errors. There was a mixture of vertical and horizontal polarisation used with power levels ranging from 20W to 400W. Pete at Fairmilehead was using the 400W and his beam to try and get a signal down to Brian GM8BJF in Peebles. Brian was using a low vertical dipole and could hear GM4BYF with difficulty. In Edinburgh GM4HWO, GM4BYF & GM4DTH could detect Brian but his readability was no better than R1
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2020-04-12 YouTube video on B2 Mk III Spy Set at NRC Bletchley Park (GB2RS).
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2020-04-04 GMDX Convention on 4 Apr 2020 Postponed due to coronavirus concern.
2020-04-03 “Forbidden Footage” revealed from Bletchley Park etc. (BBC News).
Also links to several other related items.
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2020-03-31 Social Distancing
MHz! ALSO: click for special instructions.
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2020-03-19 RSGB Bans Multi-Operator Entries in all HF & VHF Contests up to 30 June 2020.
2020-03-17 ALL LRS MEETINGS POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
2020-03-14 MOC Goudie Lecture “Writing in Iron” Cancelled due to coronavirus concern.
2020-03-11 GM3HAM QSL Manager, Pete GM4BYF is retiring from that position. It is planned to transfer that function to LoTW – Logbook of The World.
2020-03-10 New on LRS website: Andre Saunders GM3VLB and King Hussein JY1 – story by Colin GM4EAU.
2020-02-10 Powerful Space Radio Signal Repeating in a Pattern.
2020-02 Andy MM0FMF in RadCom SOTA article. (Feb 2020, pp.44-45).
Photo courtesy of RadCom There is also a photo of Paul Gacek W6PNG who spoke to LRS on 28 Mar 2018 (click).
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2020-01-31 George Heriot’s School Radio Club
2020-01-16 SAQ Grimeton 17.2kHz Xmas Eve Tx report.
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2020-01-14 WINDOWS-7 Support Ends Today.
2020-01-07 Mysterious Radio Signal from Nearby Galaxy (Only a half-billion light years from earth)!