(meteorobs) FM observing question - east or west transmitter?
GeoZay at aol.com
GeoZay at aol.com
Mon Jun 6 19:01:58 EDT 2005
>> I have had much less success with daytime showers ... there is lots more
radio noise in the daytime, and I find I get a much higher percentage of
overdense spikes which I suspect are reflections from aircraft rather than
meteors.<<
When I did simultaneous visual and radio work, aircraft that produced
reflections (and it seemed like every plane I seen, produced a reflection), were
easily recognized. I found aircraft reflections sounded very loud and scratchy
and often I can distinguish 2 or more radio stations at the same time. Radio
meteor reflections usually sound abruptly clean and clear, whether it was
loud or quiet. When the signal ends, it often was a clean and sudden cut off.
Whereas, aircraft goes on forever scratchy, until it gradually fades out. If I
can hear an audible difference, then perhaps this would mean the signals can
be discriminated somehow within a computer? Where I lived near San Diego, I
wasn't able to find any frequencies that wasn't being transmitted over. But
when I got into the mountains where I did my observing from, I found several
frequencies that were shielded from local radio stations. I think I used the FM
freq of 97.3...or it could have been 93.7? I can't remember now. :O) I'd
point my Yagi antenna at a 45 deg angle towards Phoenix, Arizona. When I get an
overdense signal, I'd often recognize it to be from an "Oldies but Goodies"
station...which was pleasant. I once did an experiment where I pointed the
antenna straight up. I did get some meteor reflections, but not as many as I
would have pointing towards the transmitter. To be sure, I only took note of the
meteors I seen visually as to whether or not they produced a simultaneous
radio signal. When the antenna was pointing in the "proper" direction and
angle, I routinely would hear a signal for about 1/5 of those that I had seen. The
rest of the signals heard were either from meteors too dim to be seen, too
far away, or not in my field of view.
GeoZay
More information about the Meteorobs
mailing list