Holiday DX from Scotland: MM/KH6ML, Paisley ARC, Linburn Farm, and a Little POTA Adventure

Aloha from Scotland!

I’m Michael, KH6ML, from Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. In late May 2026, my wife Lisa and I traveled to Scotland, and of course I had to bring amateur radio into the trip. Some of you I had worked before, and others became new contacts from the road as I operated holiday DX as MM/KH6ML.

Most of my operating was from the Erskine area, near Dargavel Road and Linburn Farm, where Lisa and I stayed during part of the trip. It was a beautiful base for radio, exploring Scotland, and meeting the local amateur radio community.

Linburn Farm and True Radio Hospitality

A very special mahalo goes to Graham, 2M0IJU, and his wife Liz, who hosted us at Linburn Farm for the trip. They made us feel welcome, gave us a great place to stay, and offered the restored farmhouse at a very fair price.

If you are the mellow, easygoing type, they may even be open to renting out the restored farmhouse to you as well. For us, it was the perfect kind of place: quiet, friendly, full of character, and close enough to connect with the local amateur radio community.

The Gear That Made It Happen

The members of the club went above and beyond. They loaned me an Icom IC-7300, a car battery, and a Tactical Delta Loop antenna, also known as the TDL.

The Tactical Delta Loop is a portable HF antenna designed for transportability, quick setup, and a small footprint. For a visiting operator like me, it was exactly the kind of setup that made field operating possible without bringing a full station from Hawaiʻi.

That generosity turned the trip from “maybe I can get on the air” into a real Scotland radio adventure.

Connecting with Paisley Amateur Radio Club

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was connecting with the Paisley Amateur Radio Club.

The club meets at:

Paisley Amateur Radio Club
Ferguslie Sports Centre
106 Blackstoun Road
Paisley, PA3 1EX
Website: https://gm0pym.wixsite.com/paisleyarc

I was lucky enough to attend two club meetings during the trip, and I felt welcomed right away. It is always a privilege to visit another amateur radio club, especially when traveling so far from home. The callsigns, accents, stories, station talk, local knowledge, and shared love of radio all made it feel like I was among friends.

We also had a field day on the farm with the club, which was one of those radio memories that will stay with me. Good people, good radio, Scotland all around us, and the shared fun of seeing what we could work from the field.

POTA from Scotland

I also worked on some Parks on the Air activity while in Scotland. I did three POTA-related operations or attempts, but I was only able to get and give full credit for two of them.

That is part of portable radio. Sometimes the bands cooperate, sometimes time is short, sometimes logging details need extra cleanup afterward, and sometimes an activation becomes more of a story than a clean scorecard. I still consider it a success because the contacts were real, the learning was real, and the experience was outstanding.

The Scotland log eventually came together with a mix of voice, FT8, and VARA HF contacts. After some cleanup, the QRZ log accepted the contacts, including the VARA HF records that needed extra attention because of mode and band formatting.

Thank You to the Local Operators

A special mahalo to the operators and friends who helped make this trip memorable. I am listing calls and names only:

•  2M0IJU —  Graham

• 2M0NZB — Chris

• GM5RDX — Eric

• MM0XNC — Bob

• MM7OAI — Kris

• GM0NAE — Jim

• MM0PJQ — Pat

• MM1HMZ — Brian

• Craig - Working to earn his call! 

Your hospitality meant a lot to Lisa and me. From the loan of the IC-7300, the battery, and the Tactical Delta Loop, to the farm hospitality, club meetings, field day, local guidance, and good conversation, you helped turn a vacation into a true amateur radio experience.

From Scotland to Hawaiʻi, radio continues to prove that distance is only part of the story. The real magic is the people.

Muckle thanks. Mahalo nui loa. Thank you.

73,
Michael Miller, KH6ML / MM/KH6ML
Honolulu, Hawaiʻi

More Photos Later