Meteor Reflection Observations with RTL-SDR

YouTube user ek6rsc has posted a video showing one week of meteor scatter observation at 59.25MHz using the rtl-sdr and the HROFFT software. More information about meteor scatter observations can be found at the page of The International Project For Radio Meteor Observation. The rtl-sdr is handy as a cheap monitoring tool for purposes such as this. From Wikipedia meteor scatter is described as follows.

 Meteor burst communications (MBC), also referred to as meteor scatter communications, is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish brief communications paths between radio stations up to 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mi) apart.

The results of observations 1 week Meteor reflection 59.25Mhz

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

7 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Haik Saroyan

and even there the signals north Caucasus region and from Ukraine

K0LGI

In a recent posting of May 08 on RTL-SDR.com, I noticed Marcus within your http://www.sbrac.org/files/meteor_forward_scatter.pdf describing the use and the demise of analog TV transmitters carriers for meteor detection, this statement “ North American, NTSC video signals are rapidly disappearing from the landscape, being replaced rapidly with ATCS digital-video signals that have no convenient narrowband spectral feature that can be used in the same way as the NTSC video carrier can be “

I would reconsider that there is in fact, very useful attributes to the new digital TV transmission format called the pilot carrier present in all DTV transmissions. It has and is being used extensively by meteor observers across the United States including some boarder areas of Canada and Mexico where the changeover is also occurring to the newer digital transmission format.

As an example of the present use of in particular, the low band channels 2-6 DTV transmitters, take a look at Stan Nelson’s website where we both participate in supplying almost real time meteor observations by the use of DTV pilot carrier illumination of meteor return activity in the SW and Midwest part of the US.

The Roswell Meteor website is : http://www.roswellmeteor.com/default.htm

Denny – K0LGI

Marcus D. Leech

Might also want to check out this paper I wrote last year on the same subject:

http://www.sbrac.org/files/meteor_forward_scatter.pdf

Vitaly Mechinsky

Marcus, does “VHF Meteor detection receiver” software is free? Could I get it? Its looke fine!

EK6RSC

And most importantly it is necessary to keep the RTL-SDR in temperature-controlled state , the temperature is changing the frequency of the LO + – 40Hz R820T!
But everything is working fine!!!
You can see pictures 1-5 May HROFFT Pic. this link
HROFFT PICTURES

Vitaly Mechinsky

Saroyan, could you tell me the direction of your antenna?

Haik Saroyan

I’m watching the north west of the north me the strongest signal Pyatikorsg TV 59.239