Meteo-roids
Posted: January 27, 2008 9:57 pmFiled under: Linky, amateur radio, software, space
Late last week I got this email from WB5RMG :
-----Original Message----- From: Alan Sieg WB5RMG Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 10:39 PM To: N4OFA Subject: meteo-roids
Yo Mike ... I know you've expressed some interest in meteor scatter propagation... There is a guy here @ MSFC - KB5EZ, Rob Suggs that has done study. He is also doing work on micrometeor protection systems for ISS. You can check the meteor radar project info (and listen to live audio) http://spaceweather.com/glossary/nasameteorradar.html This is a pretty decent description of what’s happening, and how we can know about it. Check the example meteor burst audio. I would think that this would be really handy during expected showers to know if/when it was actually doing it. Be sure and listen to the live streaming audio… I’m anxious to hear this during a live shower.!. Hope you had a good contest weekend. I did… /;^) – <- WB5RMG is Alan Sieg * http://wb5rmg.somenet.net ->
Well Thanks Alan for this link. Yes, I still am fascinated by the idea of bouncing my little signal off a meteor trail and working long distances on two meters. I have some audio tapes from the Leonids a few years ago when I worked a few stations. I am perhaps the worst meteor scatter operator ever, since I talk kinda’ slow. Sure is fun to try, and with the new software for rocks there are a lot trying and working each evening even without a major shower. I am looking up on the shelf and I have my old tape recorder that allowed me to send about 2000 wpm with the motor speeded up. Now it is obsolete and they are using the software with incredible speeds and accuracy.
Might have told you this story before: During the first big Leonids shower I did not have a amp hooked up here at the house but did have my antenna up on the roof with rotor, so I was planning on just listening. Wow, it was like a bunch of bees when a meteor showed up with strong signals from many.
Out of that mass of signal there was one that I kept hearing, K1WHS FN43, over and over in a strong burn. It was about 9pm on 17 of November 1998, I only had 10 watts from my old Yaseu FT 726r …… I was sitting on the bed and suddenly, impulsively I grabbed the mike and replied to his call K1WHS N4OFA EM86 > N4OFA K1WHS QSL > 73 N4OFA ……………. Was I ever excited and now I have his card here, he was running 1.5 KW to a massive eme array. His antennas are pictured on the card, he is the owner of Directive Systems, a very nice guy to deal with. I am using his loopers for the microwave bands 903, 1296 2304 and 3456. The next year was the meteor shower of our lifetime, again the Leonids. I went up on Roan Mountain with AF4HX, Larry, and operated. That was some spectacular sight, unbelievable sky crisscrossed with whizzing white meteor trails. The night was perfect with sky so dark the Big Dipper seemed to be sitting on your shoulder. Both of us continually yelled out in wonder as a big ball flew across the sky, such a thrill. The radio became a secondary interest for me, I let Larry operate and I found myself mesmerized by the black sky filled with so many meteors.
I have another tape of what has to be the slowest meteor scatter contact on record as I chased one guy all evening trying to spit out my call fast enough and his call and grid …….. finally got a blue whizzer and we almost had a conversation ……. great memories.
So there, I will definitely want to listen in the evening to the live stream and will want to see what I can hear on those frequencies as well, the 706 can copy there and I am sure a 6 meter antenna will work quite well. You are right this could be a valuable tool to see what kind of activity you have locally.
Here is a link that is full of great information, hosted by one of the foremost pioneers in meteor scatter, W8WN. Some of these links may be old.
http://www.nitehawk.com/rasmit/hscw_url.html
Make skeds for meteor scatter contacts http://www.pingjockey.net/cgi-bin/pingtal
Meteor scatter software (this stuff works!) http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/
Always something to get us fired up about, this is a GREAT HOBBY!
Alan if it is ok with you I would like to share this email with some from the club, perhaps they will get a interest in learning and trying meteor scatter.
73, Mike “proud sponsor of slowest meteor scatter contacts“
February 10th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
I see where Ken has also posted this on the http://www.jcara.org website. Hope you get some inquiries.
I went over to Rob’s observatory one afternoon last week, and he gave me the tour. Their big project now is mapping meteor impact sites on the lunar surface. Nice big telescope, with good hi-rez TV camera - digital video storage and software to interpret the results. They have a remote controlled duplicate site just over in Georgia, to get that “second opinion”. I’ll try to get back here with some links for that.
Thanks /;^)
February 11th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Alan, This morning is active for the sounds from meteors, lots of little pings and even some nice skimmers. I am enjoying your link …. say, That’s a nice one, a good long burn …. YEA! Mornings, coffee and the sound of meteors.
Mike