Station A      Station B

 

 

If you cannot see the full index shown on the left edge of your screen, please go to my main page at

http://www.qsl.net/g0isw

 

Meteor scatter (MS) is the reflection of radio signals from the ionised trails from  Meteors (Iron Rocks) burning up in the upper atmosphere. This effect can be used by radio amateurs to make contacts at distances of up to around 2,200km. Meteors burn up in the atmosphere at a height of between 90-105km. The ionised meteorite trail will reflect VHF radio signals, which would otherwise travel straight into Space. 

Meteor Scatter radio contacts rely on multiple meteors to reflect small parts of each message over a period of time, usually around 20 minutes, but sometimes up to 1 hour. The mostly metallic (iron) meteors burn up in the atmosphere and leave an ionised trail of particles, which VHF radio signals can bounce off, for any time period from 100 milliseconds to over 2 minutes. The frequent time for reflections  is often around 250 milliseconds or just a quarter of a second!

You haven't time to speak normally, so you can use a series of audio tones to represent each letter of the alphabet and play this through your radio using a computer soundcard. You speed up the tones so that your short message instead of lasting perhaps 20 seconds, is transmitted in under 0.25 seconds, repeatedly over and over again.

Imagine a spy radio 'burst transmitter' sending a secret Morse Code message at hundreds of letters per minute very, very quickly to avoid detection and direction finding by the enemy! The techniques used for Meteor Scatter communication speeds are quite similar.

The receiving station listens and when a meteor is in just the right place he/she will hear your signal and then they slow your message down again to read it, using their computer soundcard and
WSJT software. You take it in turns to transmit and receive in set periods of every 30 seconds. Over 20 minutes, on average, the entire message is transferred in both directions to complete the contact. In this time maybe 4-6 meteors will occur.



Meteors may come at any time, but sometimes they come in showers, which can be predicted. During showers there are more meteors than usual and QSOs (contacts) are easier to make. Most work on 144 MHz is done during
Meteor Showers. A MS trail reflects 50MHz for longer time than 144MHz, so it is easier to work MS on 50MHz. Actually you do not need to wait for a MS shower at all to make QSOs, you can arrange skeds via the ON4KST 50/70/144/432 MHz online Chat.

Meteor Scatter signals sound like brief enhancements of the signal you are listening for. Out of the noise pops your QSO partner at 59+ for mostly less than a second, but then he fades fast away again. Sometimes bursts are many seconds long and you may be lucky to make a QSO in one burst. But as ever on VHF you have to be fast..

 

 

Radio Astronomy

If you are new to Meteor scatter and want to try to receive pings/reflections to test your equipment works, then I would recommend the following frequencies:

For many years I used to monitor the extremely powerful Band 1 VHF TV stations analogue carriers on 48.250 MHz CW to test my MS receiving capabilities, with a 250 KW transmitter in Spain, IN70 locator square, being particularly useful before it closed down and was replaced with UHF Digital TV transmitters in 2010.

 

In 2011 there remained a few Band 1 TV transmitters in Europe that could still be used to monitor Meteor Scatter activity. The TV station in Prague, JN79 locator square, on a carrier frequency of 49.740 MHz CW being very useful.

 

All analogue TV stations in the Czech Republic closed down on 30th June 2012. Portugal ceased on 4th May 2012. For a list of analogue TV closures by Country please follow this link for Digital Television Transitions 

It appears that time is rapidly running out for Band 1 TV video carriers audible via Meteor Scatter reflections here in Northern England and few options remain primarily in Ukraine, Russia and Iceland. The ideal distance for such transmitters is not less than 300 km and not further than 1500 km away from the receiving station, although a maximum working distance can extend as far as 2,300 km but with much weaker reflected signal strengths.

Radio Meteor Scatter detection sources for Northern England

Carrier Frequency or USB dial (MHz) Power Location Distance from IO84 Remarks Results Last heard
32.550 12 kW JP89 Norway 1842 km  

SkiYMET, Andenes Meteor Radar, Institute Atmospheric Physics, over ideal 1500 km distance & good power. At solar maximum frequencies between 30-35 MHz can be negatively impacted for MS working. N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW carrier (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)

 

Tested May 2012, nil heard  
32.550 12 kW JO64 Germany 1017 km  

Juliusruh Meteor Radar, Institute Atmospheric Physics, good distance & power. At solar maximum frequencies between 30-35 MHz can be negatively impacted for MS working. N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW carrier (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)

.

Tested May 2012, nil heard  
36.200 12 kW? JO61 Germany 1110 km  

Collm Meteor Radar, near Leipzig, good distance & power.  N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW carrier (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)

.

   
39.025-39.175 10 W or 100 W versions UK Locations unknown ? km  

UK Meteor Burst Communications (MBC) 7 x 25 kHz channels. Full locations unknown, one company operates master station at Newbury, Berkshire. There are now 5 master stations.

May be Mobile Meteor Burst Stations (MMBS) and only transmit once per hour.

See reference document.

European harmonised Meteor burst frequency allocation is 39-39.2 MHz.

 

   
46.400 170 kW UK Locations unknown ? km  

UK Meteor Burst Communications (MBC)

.

Tested September 2012, nil heard  
46.500 8-160 kW IO72XK Wales 263 km  

NERC MST Weather Radar Facility. Below recommended minimum 300km distance. Pulsed signal not CW apparently.

.

Tested May & September 2012, nil heard  
46.950 ? kW UK Locations unknown, suggestions possibly Southern England & IO91 373 km

(if IO91)

 

UK Meteor Burst Communications (MBC) Possible MAIN frequency?

.

Tested September 2012, two extremely weak pings and missed Fireball over UK on 21.09.2012 completely! September 2012
46.975 ? kW UK Locations unknown ? km  

UK Meteor Burst Communications (MBC)

.

Tested September 2012, nil heard  
49.738844 USB 40 kW KN29 Ukraine 1970 km  

TV Carrier Lviv R1, until 2015, over ideal 1500 km distance

 

Heard via Sporadic-Es May 2013. Very distinctive wobbly carrier seen using SpectrumLab May 2013 on Wellbrook 1530+ Loop
49.739.66 150 kW JO70 Czech Republic 1285 km  

TV Carrier Prague R1, until June 2012, good distance and power

 

Closed down June 2012

49.749.83 17 kW KN68 Ukraine 2536 km  

TV Carrier Krivy Rig R1, until 2015, over maximum workable 2,300 km distance for me

 

Not workable too far away for me Not workable too far away for me
49.749.98 USB ? kW K033 Belarus 1934 km  

TV Carrier Minsk, Belarus R1, over ideal 1500 km distance

 

Signal on this frequency heard via Es on 30.04.2012. Testing in September 2012 has found a few daily Meteor pings. September 2012
49.750 CW

(49.749335 USB)

? kW KP50 Russia 2090 km  

TV Carrier St.Petersburg, Russia R1, over ideal 1500 km distance

 

Testing in September 2012 has found a few daily Meteor pings and strong via Sporadic-Es in May 2013. May 2013 on Wellbrook 1530+ Loop
49.760.4 100 kW JN99 Czech Republic 1590 km  

TV Carrier Ostrava R1, just over 1500 km distance, good power

 

Closed down early in November 2011. Thanks Martin G4FUI for the update
49.970

(49.96917 USB)

150 W JO20 Belgium 702 km  

BRAMS Meteor Beacon, Balise Dourbes, Belgium dedicated MS beacon, but low power, very good distance

 

Very few weak pings detected so far 2012
49.990 CW

49.98918 USB

50 W JO10 Belgium 607 km  

VVS OT1KZG Meteor Beacon, Ypres, Belgium dedicated MS beacon, but low power, very good distance

 

Some frequent, but weak pings detected. Stronger and more frequent than Balise Dourbes transmitter though 2012
53.500 12 kW JO64 Germany 1017 km

 

Juliusruh Meteor Radar, Institute Atmospheric Physics, good distance & power. N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW carrier (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)

 

Tested May 2012, nil heard  
 

53.500

 

4.5-90 kW JO54 Germany 889 km OSWIN VHF Radar, good distance and power varies. N.B. Has not been operating in Meteor Scatter mode since 2009 (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)

 
 

53.500

 

2.4-60 kW JQ78 Svalbard 2717 km SOUSY SSR VHF Radar, over maximum workable 2,300 km distance

Not workable too far away

Not workable too far away
 

53.500

 

1.8-36 kW JP88 Norway 1842 km ALWIN VHF Wind Radar, good distance and power varies. Pulsed signal, not continuous carrier wave. Can sometimes be used to measure Meteor activity when the site operator wishes, but not main priority.

Tested May 2012, nil heard

 
55.250.071 90 kW HP85 Iceland 1628 km  

RUV TV Carrier E3 Stykkisholmur until 2013, over ideal 1500 km distance, excellent power, not known if 24H or closes down at midnight.

 

   
55.250 CW

55.24920 USB

60 kW IN50 Portugal 1640 km  

TV Carrier E3 Lousa, over ideal 1500 km distance, excellent power. Due to shutdown permanently on 26th April 2012, followed by a final week in TV test card mode. My last detected Meteor ping was at 0920z on Friday 4th May 2012.

 

Closed down 4th May 2012
59.257175 USB 7 kW KN18 Ukraine 1897 km  

TV Carrier Uzghorrod until 2015, over ideal 1500 km distance, power less than most TV stations

 

Heard via Sporadic-Es May 2013 May 2013 on Wellbrook 1530+ loop
59.297.8 150 kW JN78 Czech Republic 1341 km  

TV Carrier Ceske R2, until June 2012, good distance and power

 

Closed down
62.251.325 300 kW HP83 Iceland 1051 km  

RUV TV Carrier E4 Skalafell until 2013, good distance, excellent power, but may close down at midnight until 0800.

 

   
143.050 <767 kW JN27SI France (1000 km)

1250 km
 

 

GRAVES Military Space Radar system, believed excellent power, fairly good distance, but high frequency with far fewer reflections detectable compared to 50 MHz. Note distance is not to transmitter site itself but to area of Southern France 250 km further South where Ionosphere is illuminated by the Radar at 100 km altitude and reflections detected. However, in theory this is detection via Backscatter and ideally Forward scatter is much preferred for MS work.

 

 

Possible few weak reflections detected

 

 

2012

N.B. If monitoring any of the above CW carrier frequencies using SpectrumLab or similar software, you will most likely need to be in USB mode and therefore around 800 Hz lower in displayed frequency than quoted i.e. 55.250.0 MHz CW carrier = 55.249.2 MHz in USB on your radio display, then look for the signal at around the 800-1000 Hz point on the software screen.

 

 

An alternative high power transmitter exists, but is much more difficult to use.

 

GRAVES French Military Space Radar System

 

143.050 MHz CW - This is the carrier frequency of the French GRAVES space surveillance radar system and will provide pings from both meteors as well as satellites! Maidenhead Locator Square JN27SI near the City of Dijon and the border with Switzerland. (Red dot on map indicates transmitter location on former airfield)

 

 

There are 4 Phased Array antennas on 143.050 MHz CW situated on a disused Airfield. The four transmitted beam lobes are designed to overlap and cover a 180 degree arc of Sky, at an elevation of 25 degrees, in a Southerly direction towards the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Preliminary experimental results using only an indoor 144MHz 1/2 wave colinear on 143.050 MHz CW have produced what I think may be Meteor Scatter reflections or the ping could could be from a satellite! In the screen grab below there is a distinct vertical ping shown in a bright yellow colour just before 0625 UTC on 24th March 2012.

 

I am also experimenting in 2012 to see if some of the dedicated Institute for Atmospheric Physics (IAP) high power VHF transmitters for Meteor Scatter detection are audible here in the North of the UK. There are stations located in Andenes, Norway on 32.550 MHz  running 12 kW and another station in Juliusruh in Northern Germany on 32.550 and 53.5 MHz at 12kW.

 

 

 

Radio Astronomy

 

Here below are my first attempts at automatically uploading my latest captured Radio detected Meteor Scatter images. Inspiration entirely drawn from Andy G7IZU and his excellent web guide on how to do this. I am using DL4YHF SpectrumLab software to capture the images and AutoFTP Pro to send them to this website automatically every 10 minutes whilst the system is active. Technically I suppose this is Radio Astronomy. If there are no meteors then this image will be mostly blank.

 

G0ISW Live 2D Meteor Spectrogram

Latest 10 minutes

Meteor Pings captured in the above image (if detected) should also show up on the live Plotter image below, where they exceed -50 dB signal level as high green coloured peaks and should correspond with the 3D image below that. My audio input noise level runs at around -65 dB. An example Plotter image showing the green spike of a detected Meteor ping at -35 dB signal level, is shown below the live image.

G0ISW Live Meteor Plotter image

Last 10 minutes

 

Example Meteor Plotter image

 

 

G0ISW Live 3D Meteor Spectrogram

Last 10 minutes in 3D

 

 

And if there is something 'special' to see then, in theory, an Alert image should be shown below! This is still very much in test mode.

G0ISW Meteor captured 'Alert' >-50dB 2D Spectrogram

Alert image

 

My hourly data is recorded, for the numbers of meteors detected, and sent automatically to the Radio Meteor Observatory's Online (RMOB) website. The chart below displays this data with artificial colours Red for the highest number of counts and blue for the lowest number. In general terms the early mornings should display the highest numbers of random meteors, the exception being a meteor shower peak which can occur at other times of day.

 

 

 

Observations of many Radio Meteor Spectrograms by myself, and others, suggest that the captured images appear to fall into one of 15 categories, which are described and explained below. For consistency, all example captured images are at the highest FFT resolution my system will allow and are edited into a cropped size of 156 x 156 pixels (unless that will not allow the full trail to be seen).

 

Categorisation of Radio Meteor Doppler Spectrograms

"Spectrum is Green"

Small Dots

May be caused by a very small micro meteor, which probably did not penetrate very far into the atmosphere. The ionisation trail was very short duration (milliseconds).  This is the most common trace seen here. May be 'under dense' and not too bright in false colour, or 'over dense' and bright in false colour.

Frequency: Very common, in excess of 100+ seen in two weeks.  Several per hour.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Dot-like trace, no sign of Doppler shift, no persistent trail.

Horizontal trail

Probably a slightly larger meteor able to produce sufficient ionisation for its trail to persist for up to a few seconds or up to several minutes..

Frequency: Common, around 20+ seen in two weeks, a few per day.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Horizontal line trace for a few seconds or up to several minutes, little or no sign of Doppler shift.

Tadpole

Bright head with tail. Probably due to a medium sized meteor, exhibiting a 'Meteor Head Echo' caused by a ball of plasma surrounding the meteor and leaving behind an ionised trail lasting a few seconds.

Frequency: Fairly common, I have seen 10+ in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Single bright head with short horizontal line trace.  No sign of Doppler shift.

Vertical trail

Probably a rapidly decelerating meteor (the vertical pattern indicates significant Doppler shift), but it did not explode immediately. The object penetrated some way into the atmosphere before it was completely vaporised. No horizontal spread means that again the plasma trail lasted only a brief moment.

Frequency: Rare, only 2 seen in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Single vertical line trace, significant signs of Doppler shift. No evidence of a persistent trail.

'L'-shaped 

Brighter at the bottom and lasting several seconds. Probably a penetrating meteor which then exploded, the vertical part of the trace is the deceleration, the horizontal part the plasma fireball after it exploded and resulting in the extended trace.

Frequency: Rare, only 4 seen in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

A combination of vertical trace (beginning) followed by a single persistent horizontal trail.

'C' shaped

Curved line lasting several seconds. A meteor of sufficient size to leave an ionised trail at more than one level of the atmosphere before vaporisation.

Frequency: Fairly common, 7 seen in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

'C'-shaped trace, signs of Doppler shift and two trails.

'E' shaped or 'Epsilon'

Looks like a curved letter 'E' where the plasma trail reflections are caused by the rapidly expanding cone shape of the meteor trail. Similar to the previous example but more deeply penetrating.

Frequency: I have seen 5 of these in two weeks, always the letter E and not more!

See this link for a fuller explanation.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

A continuous 'E'-shaped curve

Complex - Curved

Long complex curves. Similar to the previous examples but even more deeply penetrating into the atmosphere.

Frequency: Fairly rare, I have seen 8 of these in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

A continuous series of curves, greater than a single 'E'.

Complex - Curved & Linear trails

Lasting several seconds. A mixture of curved and line shapes (this example looks like a Bow and Arrow). Possibly a large meteor which progressively vaporises, the distinct plasma layers may be due to differing winds in the atmosphere. 

Frequency: Fairly Rare, only 4 seen in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Complex multi-layered trace exhibiting both curved and line traces.

Complex - Multiple equal Linear trails

Lasting several seconds. Multiple separate horizontal line traces of similar length. Possibly a large meteor which progressively vaporises, the distinct plasma layers may be due to differing winds in the atmosphere.

Frequency: Fairly Rare, only 5 seen in two weeks.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Complex multi-layered trace exhibiting several line traces of similar length.

Fireball

Lasting many seconds or minutes. Huge explosion type image of presumably significant very large sized meteor.

Frequency: Rare, 4 seen in two weeks.

(I did visually see one c.1980 it was the most amazing space sight I have ever seen, brought my car and the one in front to a halt as we drivers watched the vivid green and purple flames from a huge Meteor for what seemed like a minute. Reported seen by others in local newspaper too, but reported different colours to my own observation) 

Distinguishing Characteristics:

A visually stunning Spectrogram image!

Aircraft

Not Meteors at all, but  reflected traces images caught from Aircraft passing between the transmitter site and Receiver site. Many minutes duration.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Aircraft traces always start at a higher frequency, with significant Doppler shift moving to a lower frequency over time. Often look like a mirrored letter 'S' (Direction of trace Top left to Bottom right) the middle of the S being on the Transmitter frequency axis.

Diagonal straight trail

Not believed to be a meteor, but some form of unknown anomaly.

Frequency: Rare, only 4 seen in two weeks.

 

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Single diagonal straight line trace starting at highest frequency and over time moving to lower frequency very steeply, exhibiting Doppler shift.

Not like an aircraft 'S' shape Doppler trail.

Radio noise anomaly

Not Meteors at all, but Radio noise anomalies. Many minutes duration.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Radio noise anomalies often start at a low frequency and rise over time (Doppler shifted signals in comparison always start high and move lower) Can be horizontal straight lines too. Often caused by lighting, computers, television, thermostats etc.

Sporadic Es

Not Meteors at all, but another form of Summer time radio propagation. Many minutes or hours duration.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Constant horizontal signal trace at high signal strength levels. In the Northern Hemisphere occurs mostly from late April until the end of August. Particularly strong in June.

Meteor Spectrogram Gallery

55.250 MHz

March - May 2012

USS Enterprise shaped!

United Kingdom shape!

Many thanks to ChrisH and his website for providing me with the inspiration to record and similarly categorise my Meteor Doppler Spectrograms and suggest their possible interpretation. I would welcome any help from other Radio Astronomers, with knowledge about how these shapes are formed, as I can find very little on the Internet to refer to, particularly pictures, and my descriptions may not be accurate.

Currently in 2013 I am using the Band 1 TV station at St.Petersburg, Russia on

49.749335 MHz USB

as my primary Meteor Spectrogram reception frequency, however results are poorer than before due to lower transmitter ERP and greater distance away, both of which have made the signals much weaker with fewer reflections detectable now.

 

 

 

 

I have only been experimenting with Radio Astronomy using SpectrumLab software since around 29th March 2012, all the example Doppler Spectrogram images above have been acquired by me since then, using a primary frequency of 55.250 MHz CW until 4th May 2012 and simple aerials, no beams. The FFT settings for SpectrumLab have been experimented with to try to obtain the highest resolution imagery I can get. I try to leave my system on to automatically capture the images, which I review for content later.

My settings shown as screen captures:

 

 

The most difficult task has been setting up the 'Conditional Actions' script for SpectrumLab to identify Meteor pings correctly and record the numbers, grab images every 10 minutes, record 'Special' events, measure background noise and signal levels, etc.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the British Columbia Meteor Network who provided on their website a script that worked for my setup with minimal alteration required and other direct assistance.

This is still a work in progress to perfect, but my current settings are shown below, for a single receiver, so that they may help others with this daunting task.

G0ISW 'Conditional Actions' script for SpectrumLab

; Exported "Conditional Actions" for Spectrum Lab

if( initialising ) then F=1:G=1:A=0:B=0:C=0:D=0:E=0:L=0:K=0:t1=0:t2=0:Z=0
if( G=1 ) then A=noise(300,1000):B=peak_a(880,920):q2=str("YYYYMMDDhh",now):L=str("hh",now):h1=str("mmss",now)
if( B>(A+15) ) then C=C+1:D=D+1:timer0.restart(5)
if( B>-50 ) then timer9.restart(90)
if( C>Z ) then Z=C
if( timer0.expired(1) ) then C=0:E=E+1:sp.print(E)
if( timer9.expired(1) ) then capture("F:/local disk/Spectrum/MS/alert.jpg",100):capture("F:/Local Disk/Spectrum/Alerts/"+str("YYYYMMDDhhmm",now)+"_50dB.jpg")
if( val(h1,"####")=5955 ) then t2=t2+1
if( t2=1 ) then fopen4("F:/Local disk/Spectrum/RMOB/RMOB-"+str("YYYYMM",now)+".dat",a):fp4(q2,",",L,",",E):fclose4:sp.print("Last hour=",E):C=0:E=0:Z=0:D=0
if( val(h1,"####")=0000 ) then t2=0

In the script above some of the numbers require explanation, as they may differ for your station. In line 2 after 'noise' are shown '300,800' these refer to listening to the noise level between 300-800 Hz and that noise level measured in dB will become value 'A'. The numbers could just as easily have been 0,2700 for a typical SSB signal width of 0-2700Hz or anything in between. 'D' is duration and 'E' the count of pings.

Also on line 2 after 'peak_a' is shown '880,920' this is asking the software to measure the peak signal between 880-920 Hz in dB which will become value 'B'. These numbers were chosen by me because when I tune to 55.249.2 MHz USB to monitor in SSB the actual TV carrier on 55.250 MHz CW the signal falls on my SpectrumLab display at 900 Hz exactly centre of the frequency range 880-920 Hz I chose. I only want to measure the signal strength of the detected TV carrier, heard via Meteor Scatter, so limited this range deliberately to avoid picking up anything else.

In line 3 if the measured meteor sound level B, is noise level A + 15 dB then that is a 'ping' for counting purposes. This '15' dB level above the measured background noise level was initially set at 20 dB, but I found some weaker signals were not counted; when set at 10 dB too much noise from night-time lighting was being counted, so for my setup 15 dB works. Also shown is the timer) duration set at 5 seconds so that ionization trails which ma have short breaks after the meteor are not counted as new meteors.

In Line 4 if the meteor ping (B) signal level is greater than -50dB then timer9 starts and 90 seconds later a screenshot is taken for an 'alert' image. I set 90 seconds to let the SpectrumLab screen scroll away from the edge so as to hopefully capture a better picture.

In lines 7 & 9 'F:/Local disk/Spectrum/...../' is most likely to be different for you as this is the computer path here for my external HDD and you should replace the path to reflect your own computer files, possibly something like C:/Spectrum/......

 

 

 

Now my equipment for detecting Radio Astronomy Meteor Scatter reflections is undergoing a review as at 2nd April 2012. Initially in March 2012 I used my Kenwood TS-2000 transceiver with a Sandpiper MV3+6 Vertical antenna, however the Meteor Scatter reflections at 100 km altitude are most likely to be at high angles of elevation back to Earth, so I switched to my horizontal Racal Military tactical dipole aerial to assess if this  improved the signal strengths.

 

 

 

Now my equipment for detecting Radio Astronomy Meteor Scatter reflections is undergoing a review as at 2nd April 2012. Up to now in March 2012 I have used my Kenwood TS-2000 transceiver with a Sandpiper MV3+6 Vertical antenna, however the Meteor Scatter reflections at 100 km altitude are most likely to be at high angles of elevation back to Earth, so I am going to switch to my horizontal Racal tactical dipole aerial to assess if this actually improves signal strength.

Also my Kenwood TS-2000 is limited to a maximum frequency of 60 MHz and with Band 1 TV closing down in Europe totally in the very near future I will need to explore what Band 2 VHF FM radio stations in the frequency range starting from 87.5 MHz can offer. I also have interest in frequencies between 60-87 MHz and want to leave my Meteor Scatter receiving system running 24H. I need my Kenwood TS-2000 for other amateur radio activity. 

I have decided to experiment using a FUNcube Dongle Pro, which in theory can be used from 51.5 MHz - 1700 MHz (Rated from 64 MHz - 1700 MHz) all mode including SSB to turn my laptop PC into a dedicated radio receiver. I will use with SDR-Radio.com software for frequency control and SpectrumLab to analyse Meteor Scatter results. This will also permit me to experiment with the GRAVES Space Radar on 143.050 MHz too.

 

 

First impression of the FUNcube Dongler Pro was that it requires considerable Radio and computer knowledge to setup properly. Took a little while to find the information online how to update the latest firmware (required for all features and software compatibility) and set it up for proper use. Tried initially SDR-Radio.com software as my preferred front end, as it is so very comprehensive, however I ran into a common problem of listening to a local Band II FM Broadcast Radio station on 92.5 MHz FM and the audio being very distorted.

Several hours later, by trial and error, I have tried the alternative HDSDR software front end and have little to no audio distortion when using 96000 Hz in and 96000 Hz out audio settings via the soundcard. Had intended to try again with SDR-Radio.com software on frequencies other than Broadcast FM which shouldn't cause overloading or exceed the audio bandwidth specification of the dongle.

I have ceased to use the FUNcube Dongle completely, preferring instead to use my other radios.

 

 

 

Amateur Radio Meteor Scatter

 

When transmitting signals within the Amateur Radio VHF bands you should prepare yourself to make the QSO in small bits of mostly a few seconds. There is a procedure for MS-QSOs agreed on in IARU Region 1. If we all follow it, the QSOs are much easier.

PLEASE NOTE: Meteor Scatter guidelines suggest that if possible, Northbound and Westbound transmissions should be made in the 1st period and Southbound and Eastbound transmissions should be made in the 2nd period.

This will avoid you causing QRM by transmitting when other local amateurs are listening! This guide is often ignored by stations who are unaware of it and results in havoc, with you trying to listen for weak signals at the same time that a nearby strong station is transmitting. (However for stations in central Europe it can be difficult to comply because different stations in the same Country may be working to the West and the East at the same time, so you should arrange a scheduled QSO on a frequency away from 50.230 MHz or 144.370 MHz in that case).

METEOR SCATTER REPORTING SYSTEM

The report consists of two numbers (often '26' as shown below)

First number (burst duration)  

Second number  (signal strength)

2 : up to 5 sec 

6 : up to S3

3 : 5-20 sec

7 : S4, S5

4 : 20-120 sec 

8 : S6, S7

5 : longer than 120 sec

9 : S8 and stronger

 

 

PRIMARY EUROPEAN METEOR SCATTER FREQUENCIES & WSJT MODES USED

50.230 MHz JT6M
50.235 MHz ISCAT-B
144.370 MHz FSK441

 

 

 

   Meteor Scatter 

Weekly Visual Meteor activity outlook

 MS Euro Live

 Meteorscatter.net

MS procedures

Radio Meteor observatories on-line

Meteor Scatter Flow Chart

 

Meteor Showers

Meteor Shower Calendar

 

WSJT software

 Meteorscatter

ON4KST 50/70/144/432 MHz Chat

WSJT E-Group

 Radio Meteor Gallery

WSJT / FSK441 guide

Radio Meteor Observation Bulletin

Leonids Meteor Storm calculator for your area

Live Aurora/Es/MS last 10 minutes

Meteor Scatter Sounds

Kenwood TS-2000 settings for WSJT

Radio reflection detection by G7IZU

 

 DXpeditions

OSWIN VHF 36kW 53.5 MHz Meteor Scatter radar site

SKYMET VHF Meteor Radar System

OH5IY MS activity

 Meteor activity from Britain 

Visual Meteor Shower list

Meteor Scatter Projections

Live UK Meteor Scatter observation histogram

 

 

   Meteor Scatter daily activity analysis 

OSWIN VHF radar - 1hr AOA

OSWIN VHF radar - 24 hrs AOA

 

Radio Meteor Observatories Online (www.rmob.org)

Scatter daily activity analysis  (Click on thumbnail below)

 

 Live meteor numbers by height and time (preliminary results, not validated)

 

NLO Meteor Detection Live 3D Spectrogram

 (click below)

Virgo Meteor Sky view applet

(click below)

 

   

I used to record radio detected Meteor Shower ping activity on 55.250 MHz over several years using the excellent and reliable data from Dave Swan, however I have had to stop due to the primary transmitter in Portugal closing down. The table below shows the recorded data and is useful for working out the best dates for MS propagation, albeit random meteors occur at any time.

Meteor Showers

Active Period

Approximate activity maximum

Visual ZHR

Peak Radio Hourly Rate (RHR) 55.250MHz

(2004)

(2005)

(2006)

(2007)

(2008)

(2009) (2010) (2011) (2012)

Quadrantids

Jan 01-Jan 05

Jan 04

120

328

328

322

503

472 522 403 363  

Delta Leonids

Feb 15-Mar 19

Feb 25

3

N/K 

N/K 

N/K 

216 157 253 353    

Virginids

Jan 25-Apr 15

Mar 24

5

N/K 

N/K 

N/K 

217 158 299 317    

Lyrids

Apr 16-Apr 25

Apr 22

18

N/K 

100

147

317 197 N/K 403    

eta-Aquarids

Apr 19-May 28

May 05

60

250

488

206

330 323 N/K N/K    

Unknown??

May 24-May 31 May 24/31 N/K N/K N/K 338 540 309 N/K 500    
Pegasids Jul 07-Jul 13 Jul 10 3 N/K  300 370 495 N/K N/K N/K    

Southern delta-Aquarids

Jul 12-Aug 19

Jul 28

20

275

250

419

500 N/K N/K 396    

Perseids

Jul 17-Aug 24

Aug 12/13

110

448

330

346

369 333 527 362    

a-Aurigids

Aug 25-Sep 08

Aug 26

N/K 

N/K 

N/K

N/K

492 N/K N/K N/K    

Delta-Aurigids

Sep 05-Oct 10

Sep 9

5

N/K 

N/K

275

298 N/K N/K N/K    

Piscids

Sep 01-Sep 30

Sep 20

3

N/K 

N/K

319 

301 288 396 356    

Orionids

Oct 02-Nov 07

Oct 14

20

N/K 

303

428

350 315 471 364    

Leonids

Nov 14-Nov 21

Nov 19

100+

700

in 2002

N/K

261

300 281 344 319    

Puppid-Velids

Dec 01-Dec 15

Dec 07

10

150 

306

279

304 N/K N/K N/K    

Geminids

Dec 07-Dec 17

Dec 14

120

325

521

434

486 435 469 473    

Ursids

Dec 17-Dec 26

Dec 22

10

162 

234

237

243 N/K N/K N/K    

 

 

UK Radio Meteor analysis shows that the best times for working random Meteor Scatter is between 0000-1300hrs with few meteors outside these times, obviously Meteor Shower peak times do differ from this general rule. I have found operating FSK441 for random Meteor Scatter during the afternoon and early evening has not been as good, but DX can be worked with perseverance. Full Meteor Shower list can be found here. An excellent website dedicated to the study of live Meteor reflections is that of G7IZU.

Below - Dave Swan's (G1BLO) radio meteor reflections at 55.250 MHz and live observation histogram at 62.1927 MHz as received in the UK, a very good indicator of meteor activity. The Geminids meteor shower peak on 14th December 2003 can be clearly seen at 0400hrs UTC on the December 2003 chart shown below.

 

EUROPEAN METEOR SCATTER FREQUENCIES

I have found that the following WSJT modes and frequencies are in common use and would appear not to conflict with other band users 

 

Frequency

Digital MS mode

 Remarks

50 MHz (6M)

50.230 MHz

JT6M

 Europe JT6M calling frequency

50.235 MHz

ICSAT-B

 Newer WSJT mode

     

50.270 MHz

FSK441

 MS calling frequency

50.260-50.280 MHz

FSK441

 

50.320-50.380 MHz

FSK441

 2013 UK band plan MS

70 MHz (4M)

70.250 MHz

FSK441?

 2013 UK band plan MS

144 MHz (2M)

144.370 MHz

FSK441

 MS calling frequency

144.340-144.399 MHz

FSK441

 

432 MHz (70CM)

432.370 MHz

FSK441

 MS calling frequency

432.360-432.400 MHz

FSK441

 

When calling CQ with FSK441A (WSJT) on 144.370 MHz most amateurs have adopted the method of sending 'CQ385' which indicates they are calling split by transmitting on 144.370MHz BUT listening on 144.385 MHz for replies, this avoids congestion. When the original station hears your reply on 144.385MHz they then QSY to 144.385 MHz and both stations complete the QSO on .385. They do not work split after the CQ is answered.

    

Shown below is a still image of my FSK441 QSO (using WSJT software) with ES6RQ on 21.12.2003 on 144.360 MHz a distance of 1116 miles and my best DX via Meteor Scatter so far. The burst captured below shows the signal I received from my friend 'Ants' in Estonia. I was only using 50 watts with my FT-847 and a 9 element Tonna Yagi at 150m asl to reply and you can see my MS signal report received in Estonia of 27.

A map of Stations I have worked on 144MHz Meteor Scatter from IO84 is shown below. The maximum practical range for MS QSOs is considered to be around 2200km, with my best distance so far being 1796km. I have managed to work stations via MS in Iceland, France, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia, Norway, England, Holland, Denmark & Spain.

 WEAK SIGNAL (WSJT SOFTWARE) DATA COMMUNICATIONS MODES BY BAND 

BAND/PROPAGATION PATH

WSJT MODE

REMARKS

50 MHz (6M) Meteor Scatter JT6M

JT6M used extensively on 50.230 MHz

50 MHz (6M) Meteor Scatter ISCAT-B

ISCAT-B used extensively on 50.235 MHz

Steady signal Tropo - any band

JT44

 

EME - any band

JT65

 

Sporadic E (Es) - Any band

JT9-1

Used extensively on 50.293 MHz

F-Layer Prop (6M and 4M only)

JT9-1  

 

144 MHz (2M) Meteor Scatter FSK441A  

Used extensively on/around 144.370 MHz

Aircraft Scatter ISCAT-A Particularly good at 10 GHz

 

 

 


 

50 MHz (6 metres)

70 MHz (4 metres)

144 MHz (2 metres)

432 MHz (70 Centimetres)

G0ISW Ham Radio Station

Send formatted VHF DX Cluster spot

 

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