Meteors scatter works not just during showers, but give enhanced paths throughout the day and night on a regular basis. We jsut missed the Geminids 4 days ago, but anyone in remote areas with a TNC can easily monitor for packets anytime, as long as they pick a frequency where there is known activity around 500 to 1200 miles away (and nothing local).
In the USA, 144.39 can give that opportunity if you live in a remote area, far from any APRS activity on 144.39 such that the frequency is clear. then you have an Excellent chance to capture some DX meteor packets whenever a lucky meteor goes by. Your porbabliities are high, because there are tens of thousands of APRS transmitters on 144.39 all over the country, and if you are lucky to be in a dead zone, then you have an ideal chance to capture some DX ones that might come in. Just set your TNC to monitor 144.39 (assuming it is quiet in your area). And see if you capture any DX in 24 hours. Of course, even if you have no local traffic on 144.39 some mobile might drive through your area, so you might capture him. But other wise, if you capture a callsign, you can check him out with http://aprs.fi/CALL-SS where CALL-SS is is callsign and SSID. If the packet came in from 500 to 1200 miles away, good chance it was via a meteor. If 144.39 is dead in your area, and you have an old TNC... why not? Bob, WB4APR _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
