Aurora alert update 13:57 UT

UPDATE: This is an automatic update on the progress of the current auroral alert. The map was generated 30 minutes after the alert was issued. If it's blank the activity has subsided since the alert was issued. The latest real-time map is here: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. See the radio contacts that triggered the alert here: http://www.gooddx.net/auroralog.htm. This alert is issued in conjunction with The DX Robot (http://www.gooddx.net), and G7RAUs Live MUF (http://g7rau.demon.co.uk). ## This update was sent on Sun 19/05 at 13:57utc ##

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Aurora ALERT 19 May 13:27 UT #aurora #space

ALERT: Possible aurora in progress, based on amateur radio contact reports. Alerts issued in conjunction with The DX Robot (http://www.gooddx.net), and G7RAUs Live MUF (http://g7rau.demon.co.uk). Amateur VHF auroral contacts appear on the map as red lines, and the yellow arc shows the alert area. This map was generated at the start of the opening, an update will be sent in 30 minutes. View the latest map here: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. This alert was sent on Sun 19/05 at 13:27utc ##

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Radio aurora is being reported at high-latitudes 13:15 UT

Real-time AU map: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. See the most recent auroral radio contacts here: http://www.gooddx.net/auroralog.htm. Sent on Sun 19/05 at 13:15utc

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Aurora alert update 00:49 UT

UPDATE: This is an automatic update on the progress of the current auroral alert. The map was generated 30 minutes after the alert was issued. If it's blank the activity has subsided since the alert was issued. The latest real-time map is here: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. See the radio contacts that triggered the alert here: http://www.gooddx.net/auroralog.htm. This alert is issued in conjunction with The DX Robot (http://www.gooddx.net), and G7RAUs Live MUF (http://g7rau.demon.co.uk). ## This update was sent on Sun 19/05 at 00:49utc ##

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Aurora ALERT 19 May 00:19 UT #aurora #space

ALERT: Possible aurora in progress, based on amateur radio contact reports. Alerts issued in conjunction with The DX Robot (http://www.gooddx.net), and G7RAUs Live MUF (http://g7rau.demon.co.uk). Amateur VHF auroral contacts appear on the map as red lines, and the yellow arc shows the alert area. This map was generated at the start of the opening, an update will be sent in 30 minutes. View the latest map here: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. This alert was sent on Sun 19/05 at 00:19utc ##

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Radio aurora is being reported at high-latitudes 00:13 UT

Real-time AU map: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. See the most recent auroral radio contacts here: http://www.gooddx.net/auroralog.htm. Sent on Sun 19/05 at 00:13utc

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Aurora alert update 03:03 UT

UPDATE: This is an automatic update on the progress of the current auroral alert. The map was generated 30 minutes after the alert was issued. If it's blank the activity has subsided since the alert was issued. The latest real-time map is here: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. See the radio contacts that triggered the alert here: http://www.gooddx.net/auroralog.htm. This alert is issued in conjunction with The DX Robot (http://www.gooddx.net), and G7RAUs Live MUF (http://g7rau.demon.co.uk). ## This update was sent on Sat 18/05 at 03:03utc ##

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Aurora ALERT 18 May 02:33 UT #aurora #space

ALERT: Possible aurora in progress, based on amateur radio contact reports. Alerts issued in conjunction with The DX Robot (http://www.gooddx.net), and G7RAUs Live MUF (http://g7rau.demon.co.uk). Amateur VHF auroral contacts appear on the map as red lines, and the yellow arc shows the alert area. This map was generated at the start of the opening, an update will be sent in 30 minutes. View the latest map here: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. This alert was sent on Sat 18/05 at 02:33utc ##

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Radio aurora is being reported at high-latitudes 02:27 UT

Real-time AU map: http://www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/au_map_eu.html. See the most recent auroral radio contacts here: http://www.gooddx.net/auroralog.htm. Sent on Sat 18/05 at 02:27utc

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Strong sporadic-E openings over Europe today

Between 13 and 14h UT on May 17^th there was a very strong sporadic-E event over Europe.

The map above shows all the reported amateur radio contacts during that hour. Yellow lines indicate 50 MHz contacts, orange are 70 MHz and red are 144 MHz.

The event was strong enough to interfere with my meteor detection system:  

Andy.

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Andy Smith

Twitter @g7izu

 

An X1 solar flare has just erupted on the sun. Sent at 03:23utc.

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Solar flare alert

A big X3 solar flare has just occurred on the sun. Sent on Tue 14/05 at 03:02utc. This is an automatic message.

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An X2 solar flare has just occurred on the sun.

An X2 solar flare has just occurred on the sun. Sent on Mon 13/05 at 17:51utc. This is an automatic message.

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Solar flare alert

A big X1 solar flare has just occurred on the sun. Sent on Mon 13/05 at 04:12utc. This is an automatic message.

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Description of my meteor detection system

The relaunched G7IZU meteor detection system uses signals originating in Belgium. The Dourbes meteor beacon transmitter belongs to the Belgium Radio Meteor Stations (BRAMS) system, and is located near the town of Dourbes on the site of the “Centre de Geophysique du Globe”, latitude 50.0972 N, longitude 4.5847 E. This is 623km due east of my location in Tavistock, Devon, UK.

The beacon transmits a clean carrier wave signal on 49.970 MHz at 150W power, using a right-hand-circularly polarised 2-element crossed yagi pointed to the zenith. An 8m x 8m metallic grid is used as a reflector. The theoretical antenna response pattern is shown in the diagram below:

The maximum signal goes straight up from the antenna, with reducing power radiating at lower angles down to the horizon. The optimum elevation angle for signals to reach the midpoint between Dourbes and myself at 100km altitude is 20 degrees. According to the plot, the signal would be reduced by 12dB on the maximum at that angle.

The following picture illustrates how the Dourbes signal radiates at all angles, although only the signals reaching the ionosphere roughly half way between the transmitter and receiver, and reflecting correctly from the head or trail of a meteor, has a chance of being received.

I’m receiving Dourbes on a 5-element “OP-DES” (Opposing Phase Driven Element System) yagi. It’s a compact design, based on the 2.6m boom length 50 MHz OP-DES as supplied by InnovAntennas. I approached InnovAntennas and asked them if they could make a shorter 2m boom length model with a low SWR over a very wide bandwidth of 46 to 52 MHz. They rose to the challenge, and supplied exactly what I wanted! The antenna performs perfectly.



My receiver is a Yaesu FT-857, tuned 1kHz below the carrier on 49.969 MHz in upper-side-band mode. The audio output feeds the line-in of an audio card in my Windows 7 64 bit PC and the signals are analysed using DL4YHFs Spectrum Lab software. I’ve programmed Spectrum Lab to count signals hourly at several signal levels, and to calculate a three hour average which is used to determine whether high or very-high meteor activity level alerts are sent out via email, to the blog and Twitter.

The Spectrum Lab live spectrogram and activity plots can be seen here. You can subscribe to the email alert system here (the mail-list is hosted by Freelists.org).

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Andy Smith

www.tvcomm.co.uk/radio/live.html

Twitter @g7izu