Meteor scatter z KN09, or how to try it

“What will the Perseids be like in a year 27 27 What will the Perseids be like in a year 27 27 OM0AAO”: What will the Perseids be like in a year. What will the Perseids be like in a year! It's a line from my first MS connection, which I did on Saturday with the nadran. Connection, which was preceded by six months of preparation.

First of all, I want to thank the EU VHF community (even if they probably won't read these lines) focused on ON4KST chat and especially to Matej OK1TEH for valuable advice and encouragement.

You can read the theory of MS operation in various radio amateur publications. This article can be an inspiration for those, who would one day like to see a similar line on their monitor….
It's always best to make things as easy as possible. The most viable MS path is through Joe K1JT's WSJT program. You can get to it on the Internet, e.g.. on Make More Miles on VHF, which is an excellent site about VKV. The second interesting side is http://www.vhfdx.de/, on which there are many links to pages related to VKV operation.

But not only the Internet is suitable as an aid to MS operation. A packet will serve almost as well and sometimes better, whether to haggle skeds or DX cluster. It is available from several places and on the Internet, e.g.. GB7BAA, or OH2AQ.

To begin with, it is better to focus on swarm meteorites, specifically for the period before the predicted maximum, possibly on it. A number of radio amateur sites regularly highlight their dates. Reflections are only possible under certain conditions (azimuth and swarm radiant elevation, movement speed and intensity). The program The Meteor Scatter Predictor from DL5BAC provides an excellent orientation about the possibilities of connection in a certain direction.

I started by receiving the August Perseids, because I didn't believe, that with 25W and 10 it is possible to make a connection with a decibel antenna. I recently watched a link between two stations on ON4KST, while one of them had only 25W and 7 element antenna! It took longer though, but in the end they completed it.

The following swarms I also only “he listened” and completed the source and output stage with KP920A. However, I didn't make it to the December Geminids. Sked with Claudio IV3DXW after max was unsuccessful, I received a single ping in thirty minutes. However, I did the HA75MS on the tropo.

It was also good for something… Stations giving call for 144.370 they are already used to listening on the frequency, where they retune. As soon as you decode the broadcast of the station you are interested in, tune in and start broadcasting. I only found out after a few HA75MS sessions…

If the station does not answer you by 15-20 minutes, it is not worth broadcasting further. Completing the MS procedure would take a very long time. If you catch a broadcast, which is not intended for you, stop broadcasting immediately.

A very important thing in the MS is the exact time (for a second). It can happen at the wrong time, that the stations will broadcast in the same period. Who has the ability to synchronize computer time with atomic normal via the Internet, let him definitely use it.

I called LZ1KWT for the third time. On two occasions I received a ping for another station. I called for the third time and completed the connection in about 15 minutes. Even though my head was already falling into the keyboard, it spurred me on to further activity. However, it was quite late and the stations mostly only gave a call without indicating the frequency, they made connections directly to 144.370, which led to mutual interference.

Of course I would like to make more connections for other swarms. There are many people interested in KN09, applications for sked are already starting to be collected. Also about additional squares (KN08, KN18 a KN19) I register an increased interest. How about trying meteor scatter?

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[1] Meteor scatter connection by reflection from meteor trails: Zoltán Gyetvay OM7AQ, Collection of Tatra lectures 1998
[2] WSJT program for communication using weak signals by K1JT: Ing. Zajac Pavol OM5CM, Collection of Tatra lectures 2001
[3] WSJT – new digital operation for VKV DX-men: Roman Kudláč OM3EI, On the radio 4/2001
[4] The ARRL Operational Manual