Meteor burst communications (MBC) is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish brief communications paths between radio stations up to 2,250 kilometres (1,400 mile) apart.

Technology

Meteor burst communication relies on the phenomenon of reflecting radio waves off the ionized trails left by micrometeors as they enter the atmosphere and disintegrate. Billions of dust-size meteor large enough to give usable trails enter the atmosphere each day.

The operational principle is as follows: the Master Station transmits a continuous, coded signal, usually in the 40 to 50 MHz region (Low Band VHF). When a meteor appears in the proper location, it reflects that signal to a receiving Remote Station. The Remote Station decodes the signal, turns on its transmitter and reflects a signal back along the same path to the Master Station. Information can be sent in either direction until diffusion reduces the electron density in the trail to a value too low to sustain reflection.

The maximum length of a single-hop link is about 1,600 kilometers

, a distance determined by the height of the meteor trail and the curvature of the earth. The typical meteor trail has a useful duration of a few hundred milliseconds, while wait-times betweens suitably located trails can range from a few seconds to minutes depending on the time of day, time of year, and system design factors. Hence, the data transfer consists of bursts of high data rate transmissions, which can be hundreds of characters, separated by a period of silence. One important by-product of the burst characteristic is the ability of many links to share a common transmission frequency - an important feature in data collection systems.

The exchange of information can be in either direction. Data can consist of short messages such as sensor data readout, coded messages of up to several hundred characters, text messages of a few words, or long messages achieved by splicing together the transmission of successive bursts. In these applications, average throughputs of up to several hundred words per minute are achieved with relatively simple equipment.

The performance of a meteor burst link is defined as the “waiting time” required to transfer a message between two stations at a specified reliability. The primary system parameters that will influence this waiting time are operating frequency, data rate, transmitter power, antenna gain, and receiver threshold level.

Meteor burst communications systems can be employed effectively for both point-to-point services and multiple station networks for ranges up to 160-0 kilometers. For extended ranges, relay stations are employed using data store-and-forward techniques. The meteor burst system is fully automated and simple to operate. It’s rapid deployment capability makes it ideal for disaster and emergency communications.

Meteor burst communications has proven to be a cost-effective, dependable communications service - without recurring leased circuit costs.

Process

  1. The master station transmits a continuous coded signal.
  2. When a meteor appears in the proper location, it reflects that signal off the meteor trail to a receiving remote sight.
  3. The remote station decodes the signal and reflects the signal back.
  4. … along the same path.
  5. Information can continue to be sent back and forth until the trail diffuses.

Download Video

https://web.archive.org/web/20060317193121oe_/http://www.meteorcomm.com/flash/meteorburst_tech.swf

(The video can be played by Internet Explorer with Flash Player ActiveX control.)

Equipment

In its simplest form, a meteor burst communications (MBC) network consists of one master station operating in a star configuration to all remote stations located within its RF communication range of 1,000 miles. Multiple master stations can be interconnected into a clustered star configuration for extending network coverage and increasing redundancy. The system can easily be expanded to operate with thousands of remote stations located anywhere within a 360 degree radius at distances up to 1,000 miles.

Master Station

An MBC network requires a minimum of one master station, and one remote site.

The master station is comprised of a controller, a meteor burst radio, a power amplifier and one or more paired receivers and antennas. The standard antenna used is a 5 element yagi, with a field of view of 45 degrees. To cover 360 degrees, 8 antennas would be used.

MCC-520S Master Station (MeteorComm)

The MCC-520S master station is normally connected to a customer’s host computer for processing and archiving the data collected by the network. MBNET 200 is the resident operating system that integrates all network elements and efficiently routes all data to the host computer.

Remote Station

The remote station is comprised of a meteor burst radio, a power supply and an antenna. MCC-545B Remote Stations have an open architecture and are programmable for interfacing to any data collection or text messaging applications. The salient benefits of MeteorComm’s meteor burst networks and products are as follows:

  • Error free messaging with an average latency of 10 minutes.
  • Frequency synthesized to operate on any frequency in the 40-50MHz band
  • Robust operation from -30 to +60 degrees Celsius
  • Message prioritization with end-to-end acknowledgement
  • Solar powered

    remote stations

  • Over-the-air remote station programming
  • Script files for customer application programming
  • Built-in data acquisition for minimizing data logger requirements
  • Data collection and text messaging throughout the entire network
MCC-545B Remote Station (MeteorComm)

Antenna

An antenna is required for each remote station, as well as for each sector that the master station will transmit and listen to. Depending on the application, either a 3 element or 5 element yagi antenna is used.

3 Element Yagi Antenna

A three-element Yagi–Uda antenna used for long-distance (skywave) communication in the shortwave bands by an amateur radio station. The longer reflector element (left), the driven element (centre), and the shorter director (right) each have a so-called trap (parallel LC circuit) inserted along their conductors on each side, allowing the antenna to be used on more than one frequency band.

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteor_burst_communications
  2. https://www.meteorcomm.com
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20060317193121/http://www.meteorcomm.com/technologies/tech_burst_tech.aspx