[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: (meteorobs) radio observations during enhanced meteor activity



Sirko wrote:  
>>> Here the questions arises, what you can do to escape saturation.<<<

Sirko,

(Disclaimer: I'm not an expert.  :-)   )

I think this is an interesting problem. Radio saturation due to passage
through a dense meteor stream is not all that common. The Perseids will
cause consistent signal and maybe a few other shower peaks but perhaps
"saturation" itself could be a qualification of radio meteor reception.
"Saturation" might warrant intricate definition, too.

My 1300 hour UT on November 17 as recorded on two separate radios at 89.5
and 91.9 MHz had plenty of variation in the audio signals received and I
made notes per meteor and then when the reception returned to white noise
baseline or maintained an indistinct meteor induced "choppiness" or when
simultaneous multiple transmitters were being received. It wasn't just one
hour of constant signal, rather there was all sorts of variation. At my
location in the southwest US, with my antennas pointing northeast and east,
there are many possible 91.9 and 89.5 MHz transmitters in all directions
and they can to a certain degree be audibly distinguishable by station
program format even during "saturation". You can also get individual
meteors punctuating the saturation.  And if you are using two separate
radios then a whole stereoscopic field of reception happens where you can
hear one meteor pass through two antennas directionally. There are myriad
variables that could translate into quantification or at least give a
"picture" of the meteor streams.

It is an intricate topic but whereas a radio meteor observer may not be
able to count individual reflections during passage through a dense
cometary debris belt, that the reception "saturates" might be a distinction
all its own.

Best regards,
Tom Ashcraft
Santa Fe, New Mexico
 

  





Follow-Ups: