Scottish Charity number SC045038
-
LRS Messages of the Day:
Wed 9 Sept 2026 – LRS President’s Address: “Secondary Batteries for Hams”. The new LRS year got off to a good start with Andy’s talk on batteries – report: see Recent Meetings.Wed 23 Sept 2026 – LRS Visit to MOC Burntisland 2026 Exhibition – When Screens were Small, but the Magic seemed Huge – 100 Years of Television. There will also be a lecture by Prof. Tom Stevenson – 100 Years of Television – some Technical Milestones, including the early days of TV in Orkney. 5:00pm Pre-Dinner at Sands Hotel, Burntisland.
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
-
Wed 23 Sept 2026 – LRS Visit to MOC Burntisland 2026 Exhibition – When Screens were Small, but the Magic seemed Huge – 100 Years of Television. There will also be a lecture by Prof. Tom Stevenson – 100 Years of Television – some Technical Milestones, including the early days of TV in Orkney.
RALLIES AND OTHER EVENTS
-
Sat 31 Oct 2026 – GMRT-2026 at MOC Burntisland & Dinner at Kingswood Hotel
The 2026 Scottish Microwave Round Table (GMRT-2026) will be held as usual at the Museum of Communication in Burntisland, followed by dinner at the nearby Kingswood Hotel. The panel of speakers is now complete. The registration system is open for booking. We have sold 47 Event tickets – 3 tickets left – max room capacity = 50. Suggest you book asap to avoid disappointment. https://gmroundtable.org.uk/
-
9 May – 30 Sept – Weds & Sats – MOC Exhibition 2026
-
27 Sept 2026 MOC Goudie Lecture – 100 Years of Television.
The next MOC Goudie Lecture will take place at 7.30 pm on WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER and is entitled 100 Years of Television. It will be presented by Museum Chair Prof. Tom Stevenson. Please see Events – Museum Of Communication for further information.
Sunday 25 Oct 2026 – Galashiels Rally
CONTEST CALENDAR
-
The LRS operates GM3HAM/P from a great site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway.
5-6 Sept 2026 – Brian GM4DIJ operated GM3HAM/P in RSGB 2m Trophy from IO74MU near Stranraer. See report in Radio News Items.
5-6 July 2025 – VHF NFD – see report in About LRS – Contest / Portable.
(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
-
9 Sept 2026 – New LRS Projector.
The club’s new Epson projector was in action for the first time for the 2026 Presidential Address and impressed all present with its outstanding brightness and sharpness.
-
7 Sept 2026 – Attempt to save Parton Kirk where James Clerk Maxwell is buried.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v9e080n78o https://donate.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/savepartonkirk/donation-amount Andy GM4LLD (ex-MM0FMF)
-
5-6 Sept 2026 GM3HAM/P operated by Brian GM4DIJ in RSGB 2m Trophy.
Brian GM4DIJ single-handedly operated GM3HAM/P for the LRS from his favourite site at IO74MU near Stranraer in Dumfries & Galloway. Tx/Rx = IC9700+SSPA. Power 1000W. Ant 17 ele Tonna @5magl, 89m ASL QSOs 145. Points 54591. ODX HB9TTY JN46BX 1265 km. Position 6th overall in Claimed Scores. Most of my contacts were on Saturday, but much better conditions on Sunday. It was very windy on Sunday and I had noise from nearby wind turbines. The rain stayed away. The antenna was looking a bit scary towards the end, so I packed-in a little bit early. I got…
-
5 Sept 2026 – Beetlejuice by Bill Dent (GM8RBT)
Click for deta
-
26 Aug 2026 – Pub Night at Wee Bennet’s Bar with guest Dave VE3KG.
We had a great turn-out of about a dozen members and one guest at the Pub Night on 26th August 2026 at Wee Bennet’s Bar at Morningside Station. Also one canine – GM4JRT/K9. We were delighted to welcome Canadian guest, Dave Goodwin VE3KG from Smiths Falls, Ontario. As well as his Canadian call, Dave also holds the rather interesting UK call GM3AAA. He sat and passed all three levels of RAE exams and chose the re-issued UK call GM3AAA which was originally issued as the first UK call after WW2.
2. RECENT MEETINGS
-
9 Sept 2026 – Secondary Batteries for Hams – Presidential Address by Andy Sinclair GM4LLD.
Andy Sinclair GM4LLD got the new LRS year off to a good… Read more
3. SILENT KEYS
There are no current silent key notifications. Click on the heading to see the silent key archive.
4. ITEMS FOR SALE
-
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.
-
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
-
Wed 28 Mar 2018 – Wilderness Radio – Paul Gacek W6PNG
Paul at Dante’s View, Black Mountains, CA. We were delighted to welcome Paul Gacek W6PNG and his XYL from Laguna Beach, CA as the speaker at our meeting on 28th March 2018. Paul is a SOTA friend of Andy MM0FMF to whom our thanks for arranging this talk. Originally from London, and now splitting his time…
-
Wed 14th March 2018 – Microwave Antenna Testing – John McCormick, Leonardo
(Photo of a similar installation) John McCormick from Leonardo Airborne & Space Systems gave a talk about the Compact Antenna Test Range (CATR) at Crewe Toll, Edinburgh, at the meeting on 14th March. CATR is a dual-reflector test facility enclosed in a 24m x 14m x 8m anechoic chamber. It makes measurements of antenna performance…
-
Wed 28th February 2018 – Digital Voice Modes – Allister Watson GM7RYR
Allister Watson GM7RYR, who is beacon-keeper for GB7EE, talked about Digital Voice Modes at the meeting on 28th Feb 2018 at the Braid Hills Hotel. This talk looked at the different digital modes used on the VHF / UHF bands: D-Star, Fusion (C4FM) and DMR, the developments of the Local, National and International Networks and compared…
-
Wed 14 February 2018 – Battery Types & Behaviours – Stan Frey GM8ZQY
Stan Frey GM8ZQY gave a comprehensive talk on “Battery Types and Behaviours” at the meeting on 14th February – a review of the currently available battery types with an emphasis on lithium ion rechargeables. And he was thinking about the behaviours of the users as well as the batteries themselves! Full Report. Stan brought many examples…
-
Wed 24 Jan 2018 – 3D Printing – Neil Gillies (ex-GM6BZF)
At the meeting on 24th January 2018, Neil Gillies, ex-GM6BZF, talked about and demonstrated 3D Printing, the state-of-the-art way of producing plastic parts. He gave an in-depth talk on how to get started – types of machine available, the software required for various parts of the process, materials, what can and can’t be done with…
-
Wed 10 Jan 2018 – Video NIght – The Role of Radio in Aviation – Peter Dick GM4DTH
The annual Video Night, presented as always by Peter Dick GM4DTH who is the current President of the Edinburgh Cine & Video Society, was held on Wednesday 10th January 2018 in the ECVS screening room. The theme was ‘The Role of Radio in Aviation’. 1. Air Ministry Official Film – The Imperial Airway – The…
-
6 Dec 2017 – Christmas Curry at the Himalaya Tandoori
The annual LRS Christmas Curry was held on Wednesday 6th December at the Himalaya Tandoori Restaurant at Bruntsfield, with 14 diners, including a very welcome DX visitor – Eric Worley W0RLY, a United Airlines pilot between flights, who had spotted our dinner notice on this website. (On left above with Alan GM3PSP and Pete GM4BYF). Click…
-
22 Nov 2017 – Optimization of Antenna Height over Terrain – Brian Howie GM4DIJ
LRS member Brian Howie GM4DIJ gave an introduction to antenna modelling at the LRS meeting on 11 March 2015. This time he talked more specifically about “Optimization of Antenna Height Over Real Terrain in the Low VHF Bands” at the meeting on 22nd November 2017. Brian writes: “It is common intuition that the higher…
-
8 Nov 2017 – ‘Pirates – Offshore Radio 1964-1974 – ding-ding’ – James Gentles GM4WZP
James Gentles GM4WZP gave a great talk on ‘Pirates – Offshore Radio from 1964 to 1974, ding-ding!’ at the meeting on 8th November 2017. He covered the history of the pirate radio stations located in ships around the British Isles, including the best-known, Radio Caroline which used its famous “ding-ding” jingle. They all disappeared after the BBC introduced…
-
25 Oct 2017 – Having fun on a shoestring – Tom Wylie GM4FDM
Well-known Scottish DXer Tom Wylie GM4FDM from Paisley returned to the Lothians on 25th October 2017 to talk on Having fun on a shoestring. He described how careful advance planning is essential for any DXpedition and how quite simple antennas can be very effective while saving on weight and complexity. Report Tom GM4FDM with Ronald PA3EWP in…
-
Wed 18 Oct 2017 – LRS Autumn Surplus Equipment Sale – St Fillans Church
The LRS Autumn Surplus Equipment Sale was held on 18 Oct at St Fillan’s Church with a good turnout and almost everything sold. Full Report. Norrie GM1CNH was a happy raffle winner!
-
Sat 4 Nov 2017 – GMRT – Microwave Round Table at Museum of Communication
The GMRT speakers: Mark Hughes GM4ISM, Geoff Pike GI0GDP, Martin Hall GM8IEM (Session Chair), Andy Sinclair MM0FMF, David Anderson GM6BIG. The 2017 Scottish Microwave Round Table was held on 4th November at the Museum of Communication in Burntisland followed by a dinner and musical entertainment at the Kingswood Hotel. Programme: A 10GHz Home Station (Mark GM4ISM)…