(meteorobs) Need a question answered on radio meteors setup

[Paul Goelz]

>  Now, I still hear a couple on 83.24 MHz up here in Nova Scotia... 
> BUT   a friend thinks my radio's sensitivity is
>
>bad as I need also to use external speakers to boost the sound.
>
>
>  Now, there is an Icom R20 receiver for $800  very close to what I 
> need to use.
>
>
>I'm asking those with radio meteor experience if I should spend that 
>amount of money on a new receiver that will either:
>
>
>1)   Let me pick up a bit more meteors -- right now faint ones are 
>almost drowned out in my static.
>
>
>2) The radio will not do anything at all to increase my hearing meteors.

A more sensitive receiver will only help you if your local ambient 
noise floor does not predominate.  If the noise level drops 
noticeably when you disconnect the antenna, it is likely that the 
local noise predominates and a more sensitive receiver will buy you 
little to no added detection capability.

A better antenna will almost always help.  A directional antenna can 
provide improvement in two areas.  It can direct its sensitivity in a 
favorable direction while possibly rejecting local noise sources in 
other directions.  Have you tried a good old fashioned multi element 
analogue TV antenna?  Properly matched to your feedline and pointed 
in the right direction, it might do better than your dipole.

I have an Icom R20 and it probably would do OK but I prefer the TS480 
for its stability.  Not sure how much better the R20 might be than 
your R10.  On paper they are about the same sensitivity at 0.25uV 
each on SSB.

I am fortunate here in the metro Detroit area.  I can still detect 
meteors using a Kenwood TS480 ham transceiver and a 6M halo (non 
directional) antenna on NTSC TV2a and 2c.  Since the antenna is not 
directional, I do not know where the transmitter is.

Paul


Paul Goelz
Rochester Hills, MI
pgoelz at comcast.net
www.pgoelz.com