(meteorobs) Could this radar be used for meteor forward scatter???

[Raydel Abreu (CM2ESP)]

Does anyone know if the AN/FPS-85 radar phased array at Eglin AFB used for
satellite tracking can be used for meteor forward scatter???

According to internet sources it is a phased array system, with 1 MegaWatt
combined power output (30MW EIRP). And it is frequency agile near 442 MHz.
Some reports says that a receiver tuned on the frequency vicinity it
produce a kind of buzzing sound.

Could it be used for meteor forward scatter??? It could be hard to identify
between satellites and meteors??? So far I had tried with a ham 6el yagi
for 70cm and got zero response on center frequency during an ISS pass. ISS
is a big target and I had hear it with NAVSPASUR but no joy with Eglin. It
should produce some kind of signal amplitude change, I guess??? Of course,
I used a long run of coax with no pre-amp, so perhaps, the signal was to
low to be detected...

If this radar can be used for meteor detection it could be great, because
it has a big power, quite close to my location and even pointing to my
direction!!!

Any thoughts will be very appreciated. So far I'm using TV Channel 9, but
the transmitter is quite close, yet some results are being obtained.

Best wishes,

Raydel
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