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

[David McCarter]

Hi Jay

Some of us are amateur radio operators, and a 100W to 1kW beacon
transmitter on the 6 meter (50-54MHz) band is a possibility.  It would
need to be coordinated and sited at someone's home location, and
running a 1kW continuous output would add up on the power bill, but it
is possible

Dave

On Sat, Jun 15, 2013 at 3:50 PM, Jay Salsburg <jsalsburg at bellsouth.net> wrote:
> No, the AN/FPS-85 is not good for meteor observation, it is classified
> technically as a “Very Large Fixed-Array RADAR.”. The reason it is not a
> good candidate for Meteor observation; It is Scanning – Tracking - Scanning
> – Tracking; several hundred times per second. This RADAR can track an object
> the size of a basketball at a distance of more than 22,000 nm.. The Buzz you
> reported is the energy being steered or formed to scan its field of view
> which is due South over the Gulf of Mexico, so using it for forward scatter
> would be ideally somewhere many miles offshore. The facility is only a few
> miles from shore. Meteor observation needs Static or Meta Static beacon-like
> energy. Even Analog Television transmissions are usable but still rather
> noisy. A 100 to 1000 watt 40 to 60 MHz beacon is approaching ideal if the
> receivers are at a proper distance.
>
>
>
> Jay Salsburg
>
> RADAR Scientist
>
>
>
> Some links for study…
>
>
>
> http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/track/overview.htm
>
> http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/systems/an-fps-85.htm
>
>
>
> Lat: 30.5733190 Lon: -86.2147700
>
>
>
>
>
> From: meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org
> [mailto:meteorobs-bounces at meteorobs.org] On Behalf Of Raydel Abreu (CM2ESP)
> Sent: Friday, June 14, 2013 11:34 AM
> To: Meteor science and meteor observing
> Subject: (meteorobs) Could this radar be used for meteor forward scatter???
>
>
>
> 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
>
> ________________________________
>
> No virus found in this message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 3199/6413 - Release Date: 06/15/13
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> meteorobs mailing list
> meteorobs at meteorobs.org
> http://lists.meteorobs.org/mailman/listinfo/meteorobs
>