Seeing Meteors - The Electronic Way

One of the things that really got me hooked on meteor watching was the ability to actually 'see' them electronically.

I live on the outskirts of a big town in a fairly industrial area and the skies suffer light pollution making the visual spotting of meteors difficult so being able to see them on the computer screen in real time is a real bonus.

Spectrum Analysers
A spectrum analyser is a device that takes a signal as it's input and displays the level of that signal across a range of the audio spectrum. Some analysers works in software and displays the result to the monitor but, of course, require a signal from the radio as input.

It is possible to connect the audio output from a receiver directly to the input of the computer using the 'Line In' connection on the soundboard or, if you really have to, the microphone input.

This is not the best way to connect the two together and many special interfaces exist which isolate and match the devices. However, for many people a simple piece of wire, easily obtainable, will suffice to make a start.

Once the signal arrives inside the computer the spectrum analyser can capture it, analyse it and then display it.

There are various spectrum analysers available, many of which are free of charge. I use one made by DL4YHF since this was the first one I ever encountered. It is extremely good and regularly updated software although it is a little complex to use.

Using a spectrum analyser it is possible to sit on a particular frequency, say one in Band 1, and watch as the meteors ionise a path between you and the transmitting station. As you watch, the meteors appear as tiny 'blips' on the display, each producing the characteristic 'ping'.

It may take a little time to set up, but for me it was well worth it and I still take time to sit and listen when the Earth is passing through one of the major clouds.

So, that is something to try once you are able and I think that wraps up the section in this series on meteor scatter so next week we will begin a look at something different.