[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]
Re: (meteorobs) Velocity ( formerly what is it?)
KevTK@aoldot com asked:
>While listening to the WWV, how do you determine where you are in the count?
I can try to answer this one, Kevin, as I usually use the WWV radio (with an old
earphone!) when I'm observing. I do this mostly to keep from having to look at a
wrist watch, although some times (like when I'm camping, or forget my TimeCube,
or like now when it's busted), I do use my watch with the push-button light.
Anyway, as far as second-by-second accuracy, I mostly don't bother! Only when I
see a fireball (-3 mag or brighter, down to 0 or brighter near the horizon) do I
actually do what you suggested: count the number of "pyee-ang"s until the next
minute announcement. Then I note them on my tape recorder, for later reporting
to the FIDAC site. But even then, I don't bother to put the seconds part of the
time on my NAMN form, when reporting the night's observations to the IMO!
I have talked with some folks about ways of using a multitrack recorder to have
the WWV feed directly into a continuous tape, with the second track used by me
intermittently whenever a meteor occurs. But I haven't had the technical hutzpah
to actually use anything like this in observing yet.
Wiser heads can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've gotten the impression that
seconds accuracy is usually only important with multistation photography, etc.
Hope this helps!
Lew
References: