Old QSL cards

Clearing the loft today I came across several QSL cards from my first year in Cambridge back in 1971 including this one from Bob G3WKW for a QSO across town using my 1 transistor 2m TX on CW and FM. I cannot recall the details or how I obtained the FM. Power was just a few milliwatts into a dipole in the downstairs room in a terraced house. Bob went on to work for Motorola before retiring in Hampshire a few years ago. We still keep in contact.

137.5kHz WSPR

Several stations on 137.5kHz WSPR tonight. G4WGT is testing a new rig, M0PPP is getting decent reports and me getting reports from just G3XIZ so far. Will leave WSPR running for a few hours and see what happens.

QRSS30 QRPp beaconing on 137kHz band

PA3FNY's reception of the QRSS30 beacon XBM (me)

My QRPp QRSS30 beacon sending "XBM" is active on 137.7679kHz (approx) from now until around 2300z. As before, any reports and screen shots would be much appreciated. ERP is still around 50uW. The last time it was on it was copied in Holland and again today, this time by Victor PA3FNY (see screen shot above) at a distance of 328km.

G3XIZ TXing on VLF today

G3XIZ is active this morning on 8.9766616kHz and clearly visible on the G3ZJO grabber in Northampton. His signal was a lot weaker than the last few times for some reason. I think the difference is at my end.

Bloody-nosed beetle larva in IO80ef square

About 1.5cm long, behaved like a woodlouse.

Walking part of the coastal path in Devon at Prawle Point I noticed this very strange creature in the footpath a few metres from the cliffs. It looked a bit like a fat slightly iridescent woodlouse about 1.5cm long with a very wrinkled outer shell. There is a video of the creature moving at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSDiJA1b1zM . It turns out the creature is the larva of the Bloody-Nosed beetle, which is quite common in the southern UK.

A beautiful QTH locator square

Bolberry Down - Devon UK - IO81CF

Ever wondered what one of the most beautiful QTH locator squares in the UK looks like? Try IO81CF in South Devon. This is a view along the rugged clifftops just below Bolberry Down which was the location of one of the first ever 6m contacts between the UK and the USA by G5BY back in the late 1940s. I was walking here earlier today when this photo was taken.

ZEVS DXing on 82Hz (yes 82Hz!)

Several stations are reporting reception of the Russian ZEVS station that operates daily around 82Hz (ELF) sending coded messages to Russian submerged submarines. G3ZJO has copied it as has Chris G3WCD. When I get back from Devon I must try too. I think I should be able to copy it. The attached image is the signal as seen by G3WCD this evening. The signal is FSK coded. Data rates at these low frequencies are very low.

USA 4m beacon

WE9XUP is a new 4m beacon operational on 70.005MHz from FM07tm square that will be running 24/7 until 1.9.11. 4m is not allocated as an amateur band in the USA, so this is just a special propagation beacon. It could be a very useful indicator of multi-hop Es or other modes that may fleetingly open up the transatlantic path on 70MHz. Transatlantic 4m QSOs have been made cross-band more than once. I am not sure if this beacon supports weak signal modes like JT65 or WSPR, but that would be very useful.

"Enough" - a book by John Naish

May I recommend this brilliant book reflecting on the sheer stupidity of our endless striving for better and more when we already have more than enough? We have evolved into a race chasing the impossible dream that ends up with us all stressed out, depleting our resources, unhappy and unfulfilled. The author argues we need to develop a cultural sense of "enoughness" and to be happy with what we HAVE rather than always striving for more and better.

I couldn't put this book down and all the way through was saying, "yes, spot on" again and again and again. Having read the book I doubt any of us will instantly change our ways, but just maybe we will reflect on our culture and modus operandi and think a bit more carefully about what is REALLY important in our lives.

The book is not a dull, environmentalist tome. Rather it is full of humour and light-heartedness. A truly excellent read for western man in the 21st century. I suspect this book will be seen in years to come as the book that woke us up and brought us to our senses in much the way that Rachael Carson's "Silent Spring" did back in the 1960s.

Robert Helliwell

The death of Emeritus Professor Robert Helliwell of Stamford University was announced today. Helliwell was the author of the book "Whistlers and Related Ionospheric Phenomena" back in 1965. This is a wonderful book on the subject of VLF atmospheric physics which is still available from Amazon.