Ayr Amateur Radio Group and the Glenrothes & District Radio Club.
Now for club Activities taking place on specific days:-
On Sunday
Stirling and District Radio Society – Glasgow and Clyde RAYNET group – Dundee ARC – Kilmarnock & Loudoun Amateur Radio Club & the Mid-Lanarkshire Amateur Radio Society.
On Monday
Edinburgh & District Amateur Radio Club and the Paisley Amateur Radio Club.
On Tuesday
Kilmarnock & Loudoun Amateur Radio Club and the Paisley Amateur Radio Club.
On Wednesday
Mid-Lanarkshire Amateur Radio Society – Lothians Radio Society – Inverness & District Amateur Radio Society and the West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society.
On Thursday
Paisley Amateur Radio Club – Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club – Lomond Club and the Stirling Club.
On Friday
Mid Lanarkshire Amateur Radio Society – West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society and the Strathclyde Park Amateur Radio Club.
And on Saturday
Kilmarnock & Loudoun Amateur Radio Club.
Finally a reminder that the list of active club nets is listed on the WoSARS website at https://wosars.club/radio-nets/. If you want to have your net listed or to report any changes to existing nets please contact Tony Miles MM0TMZ on address rr1@rsgb.org.uk or (07702)-134188 For any other Scottish news please send details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk and note that the deadline is 10am. On Thursday.
Ayr Amateur Radio Group has daily nets on 7.035MHz ± QRM at 10.15am, QSY to 7.065MHz for SSB; on 145.450MHz at 10.30am; in CW on 144.295MHz at 7.30pm, moving to FM or SSB later. Sundays also see a CW net on 144.295MHz from 7pm and 145.450MHz FM at 7.30pm. Contact Derek, MM0OVD, on 0744 793 1941.
Dundee ARC has a net on Sundays via GB3AG from 7pm. Contact Martin, 2M0KAU, on 0776 370 8933.
On Monday Edinburgh and District Amateur Radio Club has its net on 433.525MHz FM from 8pm. Contact Norman, GM1CNH, on 0774 094 6192.
Glenrothes and District Radio Club has open nets on Monday to Saturday at 10am on 3.790MHz. Tuesday and Thursday see Morse classes from 7.20pm on 145.425MHz. Contact Tam on 0775 352 6498.
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Amateur Radio Club has a net on Sundays from 2pm around 3.720MHz SSB, moving to around 3.540MHz for a CW net after the SSB net ends. Tuesday sees a net on 145.475MHz FM from 7.30pm and on Saturday there’s an online meeting. Contact Len, GM0ONX, via email to klarcinfo@gmail.com.
Mid-Lanarkshire Amateur Radio Society has a net on Sundays from 10pm on 28.475MHz. On Wednesday it’s the DMR Scotland chat on TG23550 from 8pm and Friday sees a Zello net on the club channel, moving later to 2m FM. Details at mlars.co.uk.
West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society has a net on Wednesday from 8pm on 433.425MHz from 8pm. On Friday there’s a net on 145.425MHz from 8pm. Details at wosars.club.
On Wednesday Inverness and District Amateur Radio Society has its net from 8pm on 145.575MHz and GB7BI or GB7II slot 1 475—for details, email InvernessRadioSociety@gmail.com.
On Thursday Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club has a net from 7pm on GB3DG. Details at gm4riv.org.
On Saturday Edinburgh and District Amateur Radio Club has its net on 433.525MHz FM from 8pm. Contact Norman, GM1CNH, on 0774 094 6192.
NOTE: A comprehensive List of Club Nets can be found on the WoSARS Website wosars.club/radio-nets .
Some sad news that Maurice Boyce GM0RRK passed away with Covid-19 and his wife Rose is also ill. No funeral will be taking place but the hearse will stop by his house on Ledi Drive at 11.30am on May 22nd. I’m sure that we all wish his wife a full recovery and send our condolences to the family.
Please note that the RSGB has temporarily relaxed the rules for practical assessments as a prerequisite for amateur radio licence examinations. These assessments have been suspended for the foreseeable future during the COVID-19 crisis. Foundation candidates can now sit their exam entirely on line. At present arrangements for Intermediate and Full examinations are currently under review. For further information go to www.rsgb.org/exam-faq. Latest news on this is that there are over 600 candidates now waiting to sit their exam, so get your entry in now.
For those of our listeners who want to buff up before taking the foundation exam then Billy MacFarlane of the Stirling Club has produced an on-line training programme with 43 lessons and this is available to use free of charge at https://gm6dx.thinkific.com/
CLUB NEWS
Ayr Amateur Radio Group has daily nets on 7.035MHz ± QRM at 10.15am, QSY to 7.065MHz for SSB; 145.450MHz at 10.30am; CW on 144.295MHz at 7.30pm, QSY to FM or SSB later. Sundays also see a CW net on 144.295MHz from 7pm and 145.450MHz FM at 7.30pm. Contact Derek, MM0OVD, on 0744 793 1941.
Dundee ARC has a net on Sundays via GB3AG from 7pm. Contact Martin, 2M0KAU, on 0776 370 8933.
Glenrothes and District Radio Club has open nets on Monday to Saturday at 10am on 3.790MHz. Tuesday and Thursday see Morse classes from 7.20pm on 145.425MHz. Contact Tam on 0775 352 6498.
Kilmarnock and Loudoun Amateur Radio Club has a net on Sundays from 2pm around 3.720MHz SSB, moving to around 3.540MHz for a CW net after the SSB net ends. Tuesday sees a net on 145.475MHz FM from 7.30pm and on Saturday there’s an online meeting. Contact Len Paget, GM0ONX, via email to klarcinfo@gmail.com.
Mid-Lanarkshire Amateur Radio Society has a net on Sundays from 10pm on 28.475MHz. On Wednesday it’s the DMR Scotland chat on TG23550 from 8pm and Friday sees a Zello net on the club channel, moving later to 2m FM. Details at mlars.co.uk.
West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society has a net on Wednesday from 8pm on 433.425MHz from 8pm. On Friday there’s a net on 145.375MHz from 8pm. Details at wosars.club.
On Monday Edinburgh and District Amateur Radio Club has a net starting on 433.525MHz FM at 8pm. Contact Norman, GM1CNH, on 0774 094 6192.
On Wednesday Inverness and District Amateur Radio Society has it net from 8pm on 145.575MHz and GB7BI, or GB7II slot 1 475, For details, email InvernessRadioSociety@gmail.com.
On Wednesday Lothians Radio Society will be holding a net on 144.350MHz SSB at 8pm. All are welcome to join in. For further information please contact Andy by email to secretary@lothiansradiosociety.com.
On Thursday Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club has a net from 7pm on GB3DG. See gm4riv.org for other details.
NOTE: A comprehensive List of Club Nets can be found on the WoSARS Website wosars.club/radio-nets .
Ronan O’Rahilly, Radio Caroline founder who inspired UK pop and pirate radio, dies aged 79
Ronan O’Rahilly, the Irish founder of the notorious Radio Caroline that popularised pop music on British radio, has died aged 79.
His death was announced by the radio station that is still broadcasting, who said: “In a pastime populated by unusual people, Ronan was more unusual than all of them combined.” He had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2013.
O’Rahilly first became known as a player in the burgeoning “swinging London” scene of the 1960s, managing Alexis Korner (the blues-rocker who nurtured the career of the Rolling Stones) and Georgie Fame. Fame eventually had three UK No 1 singles, but O’Rahilly initially struggled to get his musicians noticed by BBC stations and the then-popular Radio Luxembourg, and so founded his own station, Radio Caroline, in 1964.
He circumvented licensing laws by acquiring a former Danish passenger ferry, anchoring it in the North Sea off Felixstowe, and broadcasting from there. With a much less diverse radio industry than today and the BBC only playing two hours of pop music a week, Radio Caroline quickly amassed a listenership of millions for its daytime pop-focused output.
Many DJs would become household names and enjoy successful post-Caroline careers, including Tony Blackburn, Johnnie Walker, Dave Lee Travis and Simon Dee. Walker paid tribute, calling him an “amazing man … who made the impossible possible and changed radio for ever”.
In 1967, an act of parliament outlawed offshore radio stations on the grounds that they were not paying royalties to artists, and that their broadcasts could interfere with emergency channels. A number of Radio Caroline’s DJs moved to the newly created Radio 1, which had been influenced by the success of the former and another offshore station, Radio London. Radio Caroline then moved to Dutch waters, and continued broadcasting at sea until 1991.
O’Rahilly used Radio Caroline to promote his own philosophy of “loving awareness”, which espoused peace and love over hate, and even set up a band, Loving Awareness, to further the cause.
He also continued his management career, including representing James Bond actor George Lazenby. Lazenby paid tribute to O’Rahilly on Instagram, saying “rest well, Ronan”.
Lazenby shared “bittersweet” reminiscences about how O’Rahilly convinced him not to take a contract for multiple Bond movies, with the franchise passing to Roger Moore. “He was very influential on me giving up the role of James Bond back in 1969,” Lazenby wrote. “Ronan convinced me Bond was all over … I’d be in danger of becoming part of the Establishment. Something he rebelled against. Easy Rider was supposed to be the way forward and I could do three or four of those type of movies for every Bond. I wanted to be a free spirit, make love, not war. Ronan wouldn’t let me sign the Bond contract – kept sending it back … Who knows what would have happened had Ronan not got a hold of my brain? But I don’t regret a day of my life.”
O’Rahilly also produced Lazenby’s film Universal Soldier, as well as the Alain Delon and Marianne Faithfull film The Girl on a Motorcycle. The Radio Caroline story became the basis for the 2009 Richard Curtis film The Boat That Rocked, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Please note that the RSGB has relaxed the rules for practical assessments as a prerequisite for amateur radio licence examinations. These assessments have been suspended for the
foreseeable future during the COVID-19 crisis. Foundation candidates can now sit their exam entirely on line. At present arrangements for Intermediate and Full examinations are currently under review. For further information go to www.rsgb.org/exam-faq
For those of our listeners who want to buff up before taking the foundation exam then Billy MacFarlane of the Stirling Club has produced an on-line training programme with 43 lessons
and this is available to use free of charge at https://gm6dx.thinkific.com/
CLUB NEWS
Glenrothes and District Radio Club has open nets on Monday to Saturday at 10am on 3.790MHz. Tuesday and Thursday see Morse classes from 7.20pm on 145.425MHz. Contact Tam on 0775 352 6498.
On Monday Edinburgh and District Amateur Radio Club has its net. Contact Norman, GM1CNH, on 0774 094 6192.
Lothians Radio Society will be holding a net on 144.350MHz SSB at 8pm on Wednesday. All are welcome to join in. For further information please contact Andy on secretary@lothiansradiosociety.com.
West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society has a net on Wednesday from 8pm on 433.425MHz from 8pm. On Friday there’s a net on 145.375MHz from 8pm—details at wosars.club.
As the Government advice is to refrain from social gatherings, we have only included the details of regular nets as well as those newly created in place of club meetings
Kilmarnock and Loudoun ARC have a daily get-together every morning for all Ayrshire amateurs on 145.450MHz and that channel is monitored all day. One of the club’s younger members has also offered to run errands for older members. Contact Len Paget, GM0ONX, Klarcinfo@gmail.com.
On Monday Edinburgh and District Amateur Radio club has a net. Contact Norman, GM1CNH, on 0774 094 6192.
On Wednesday Inverness and District Amateur Radio Society has its net from 8pm on 145.575MHz and GB7BI or GB7II slot 1 475. Contact Adrian, MM0DHY, via email to InvernessRadioSociety@gmail.com.
On Friday West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society has a net on 145.375MHz from 8pm. Details are at wosars.club.
As mentioned in the Main News, many clubs have notified us that they are suspending meetings due to the Covid-19 outbreak. As the government advice is to refrain from social gatherings, we have only included the details of regular nets as well as those newly created in place of club meetings. Several clubs have suggested keeping an ear on your local repeater to chat with anyone who is self-isolating or just wanting a chat.
Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club has cancelled all meetings for the foreseeable future. In place will be a net on GB3DG from 7.30pm every Thursday. See GM4RIV.org for further information.
Mid Lanarkshire Amateur Radio Society is closed until further notice. Updates will be posted on https://mlars.co.uk
West of Scotland Amateur Radio Society has suspended all meetings for the foreseeable future. A net will from 8pm on 145.375MHz in place of the normal Friday meeting. For details, see wosars.club
On Monday Edinburgh & District Amateur Radio club has its net. Contact Norman, GM1CNH, on 0774 094 6192.
