Meteor_Scatter

In meteor scatter lingo, this short duration, signal burst refracted from an ionized meteor trail is called a "ping". Listening to it will give you a better idea of what the FSK441 mode sounds like during a QSO. As random meteor reflections go, this one is relatively long and lasts about one second. Most of the time, signals lasting fractions of a second. Ping Sound Clip

So far, most of my 6 meter MS QSO's were completed in less than 15 minutes. Although a small percentage of my QSO's were not completed to final 73, I haven't had one yet where meteor refraction didn't allow some exchange of information. Sometimes, meteor trials will scatter signals in one direction allowing one station to copy fine, but nothing is heard by the other station. Meteor scatter can be hit-and-miss at times, but if it were like shooting fish in a barrel, it wouldn't be much of a challenge. : )

Something you might want to check before trying meteor scatter, or any weak signal mode that uses your PC, is your receivers noise level with your computer turned on and your rig set to maximum sensitivity ( RF-gain on max, pre-amp on etc ). If computer hash raises your RX noise level ( sometimes it can add several S-units! ), the detection of weak signals becomes limited and you will not be able to hear down to your receivers noise floor. The higher the generated noise is, the stronger the incoming signal has to be to overcome it.

"Birdies" can be another annoying problem - they sound like carriers and are generated by the receiver itself. You can tell it's a "birdie" by disconnect your antenna and listening to see if the signal remains. When working weak signal modes, stay clear of the "birdies" or any type of noise generated by the electronic devices in your home. Making sure the frequency is clear will allow you to realize the full potential of your receivers noise floor.

PS: My daughter bought one of those lamps that come on when you touch them and it generated S-6 noise levels on HF. It goes without saying that it was promptly returned. --AA2AE