HamSCI – The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation is preparing for a series of upcoming meteor scatter (MS) experiments. Operating will take place during the Geminids meteor showers on December 12-13th for 48 hours from 0000 to 2400 UTC, The December activity follows a successful August operating event during the Perseids meteor show which generated over 70 logs and wave files from amateur radio operators for scientific study. This is a combination 'special event' and a “contest” to generate contact data during meteor scatter events using frequencies on both 10 and 6 meters. Contest rules can be found at www.hamsci.org/msqp. Ten meters has not been used much for meteor scatter study due to past symbol rate limits. But with recent changes in FCC rules, WSJT-X/MSK144 can now be used on HF bands. The HamSCI meteor scatter event will collect contact data from both 10 meters and 6 meters on specific frequencies. Data will be analyzed offline, comparing data from both bands, using both PSK Reporter raw data and operator contact logs from WSJT-X. User data including both logged contact and received reports are necessary for valid experimental analysis. The latter can be provided by any receive system reporting on MSK144 through PSK Reporter. Currently, we need operators to be active (i.e., CQ-ing) on MSK144; or passive, if possible, reporting via PSK Reporter as 'monitors'. The best times are early morning hours prior to 10M opening to F2 propagation. Meteor scatter propagation occurs well below F2 and is supported in or near the E layer where the meteor ionization tracks occur. Saturday mornings are being used regularly to announce and coordinate 10M contacts using Ping Jockey Central. Announcements are also made on the Front Range Six Meter groups.io due to the substantial number of meteor scatter operators in that group. To be successful, this effort needs operators, both active and passive. If you do not have the time to be active, at least set up passive reporting. PSK Reporter currently has scarce 10M MSK144 monitors so we need to increase those numbers during the early morning hours. You can find the description of the 2025 HamSCI Meteor Shower QSO Party at www. hamsci.org/msqp-poster and at www.hamsci.org/msqp. Please join us in becoming both active and/or passive operator/participants. Eventually, the HamSci team will be collecting operator contact information, but for now, all that is required is for participants to report through PSK Reporter. For more information on the operating guidelines for the activity, please go www.hamsci.org/msqp. HamSCI serves as a means for fostering collaboration between professional researchers and amateur radio operators. It assists in developing and maintaining standards and agreements between all people and organizations involved. Its goals are to advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities, encourage the development of modern technologies to support this research and provide educational opportunities for the amateur community and the public. For more information about HamSCI and to join our mailing list, please visit our website www.hamsci.org. ###
I notified my peers at DSES.science about this opportunity a few weeks ago, and several other members have expressed an interest in joining me in this scientific endeavor. Thanks for raising the issue here! -Emil, ae0zc
