Cycle 24 already peaked?

Check out recent trends - it looks like the present cycle has already passed it's peak. Or is this just a blip?

6m Es

Well, the 6m sporadic-E season is in full swing again: yesterday loads of Europeans worked with QRP and the vertical and this afternoon being spotted in Spain with WSPR. Initially it's fun working around Europe, but as the season goes on the real excitement is further afield looking for US/Canadian and South American stations on 50MHz. It never fails to amaze me how far one can hear/work on 50MHz with the right conditions. Also, next month should see the return of UK-Japan openings on 6m possibly as a result of reflections/scattering from high altitude noctilucent mesospheric clouds; signals with this mode are usually very weak.

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.