Enigma Issue 5: Crop Circle Research for 1995 by Paul Vigay | Feb 1995

Reflections on 1994
1994 was quite a constructive year, for more than a couple of reasons. For a start it enabled me to assess the level of hoaxing going on, and also to gain some idea of the popular circles sites.

One of the biggest problems encountered in 1994 was that of disinformation. Not in the conspiratorial, cover-up sense but in a prankster, muddy-the-waters type way.

mny of my fellow resarchers seemed to be either arguing amongst themselves or too busy chasing hoaxers to notice what was really going on. Sometimes it is wise to take a step back to re-avaluate the situation and gain a clearer view before proceeding.

The Barge inn
many a strategic tip-off was placed in order to throw chaos on 1994 research. Hoaxers would turn up at The Barge (a popular meeting place in the heart of crop circle Wiltshire) and tease croppies about which formations they may, or may not, have created.

Listening to them was a complete waste of time - apart from seeing how their minds work - for they never gave proof of any of their handiwork, merely implying that they knew more than they were letting on.

It's a Hoax!
In due course, many croppies declared all, or most, formations to be hoaxes, not wanting to be caught out by hoaxers claims.
Luckily, I live not too distant from many circle locations, so I can monitor them quite closely throughout the summer months. Also, by careful surveillance I was able to monitor the actions and note the faces of many of the well known circle makers.

Mixed Opinions and Assessments
One of the first formations I visited in 1994 was a quintuplet in oil seed rape that appeared just south of the A4 near West Overton (west of Marlborough). I liked this one. There were slight electro-static anomalies detected and I discovered many stalks bent to over 110°. There were a few other formations to appear nearby, but my opinion is that they were hoaxes.

Year of the Scorpion
Soon after, a magnificent Scorpion design appeared opposite Silbury Hill. Although it initially looked impressive, my electronic readings tended to indicate a hoax.

Later in the year another, even more impressive, Scorpion was to be created - just outside Devizes. My verdict was also hoax.

As previously revealed in Enigma 3, a number of 'Galaxy' formations also appeared around the Avebury and Alton Barnes area. The first, along Avebury Avenue, intrigued me (see Enigma 3) but the second, near Alton Barnes East Field, impressed me with the precision of the lay, but ultimately I diagnosed it as a hoax.

...And Dragons
Personally, one of my favourite formations of the year was a very impressive formation, termed 'The Dragon', which appeared near Hackpen Hill.

A Challenge to Hoaxers
If anyone claims this is a hoax, I would certainly love to interview them and they can describe various aspects of the design with me. Not only did I detect anomalous levels of electro-static charge in it, I also detected very strong RF interference localised to the formation.

I can understand many sceptics being hesitant to believe reports of dowsing and meditations - although I believe them to be equally valid indicators - but it's difficult to argue with electronic equipment, especially when anyone can reproduce the effects when given the equipment.

Unfortunately, results to date are far from conclusive. However, I strongly believe that a number of anomalous results so far, do warrant further research, perhaps with more sensitive equipment.

False Claims
Of course, despite frequent monitoring of recorded circle sites, no hoaxers were caught red-handed. Indeed, it seems to me that more circles are claimed by the hoaxers, than actually created.

However, hoaxers are extraneous to my main research, mainly because even if not all circles are hoaxed, we still appear to be no closer to finding their true origin.

Project "Discovery"
To this end, my research project for 1995 is two pronged; firstly, I shall learn from mistakes made last year, that parking in obvious places attracts the attention of hoaxers and 'lay researchers' which all detract from the genuine phenomenon.

1995 shall be the year of incognito surveillance. Armed with optical night-sights I shall set out to conceal my whereabouts whilst taking part in night watches. In true, conspiratorial fashion, my location over the summer will be on a 'need to know' basis.

Hopefully, this will enable me to obtain a better set of results, which Enigma readers will be able to view in due course. I should hopefulle also be able to measure the true extent of hoaxing.

The second line of research will be more concentrated scientific measurement. Up until now, the search for the elusive litmus test has proved less than fruitful. Being realistic, I'm not sure if events of 1995 will give better results. However, I'm determined to get more results.

The Truth is Out There
Any results obtained will be carefully analysed and a full report will appear in the pages of Enigma during the Autumn of 1995.

Indeed, if anyone wants to try to reproduce my findings, I will describe a brief outline of the equipment I use. This was initially introduced in Enigma 1, but I shall now describe the circuit in more detail.

Worldwide Exclusive!
many people who have met me during the past few years, may have witnessed the results obtained from my 'little black box' or Gizmo. Well, to prove that you too can test crop formations, I will exclusively reveal to Enigma readers how the circuit works.

Circuit Description
With a minimum knowledge of electronics you should be able to construct your own Gizmo from fig.1 and check my findings. The basic circuit consists of a signal generator/timer and a counter. The counter merely counts up to ten, resets and then counts up to ten again. Each count illuminates a small light emitting diode (LED).

The counter is driven by the timer. This timer generates a fixed pulse every so many milli-seconds, which determines how fast the LEDs sequence from 1 through to 10.

Mysterious Triggers
The timer chosen has what is known as a trigger input. This allows an external signal to 'trip' the timer into starting its count. A bit like the stop/start button on a stop watch.

It is this trigger input which is connected to the aerial which in turn is used as the prove to touch the corn stalks with.

Normally, most living objects will have small levels of electricity flowing through them, forming a circuit with the Earth. It is these minute signals that trip the trigger input, making the LEDs flash when the prove is touched against stems, people, plants etc.

However, my findings indicate that in some formations, dare I say genuine ones, the trigger fails to trip at all, and the LEDs simply don't flash.

This seems to me, that the formation in question somehow has the properties of being electrically earthed.

What is causing this? If you have any interesting results from using my Gizmo, please contact me, as I would like to keep my ongoing database up to date.