For the members of the H-line group....The Last Transmission
The Last Transmission
Andrew Thornett
For the members of the BAA H-line group
They sit in sheds with wires and screens,
Tracking signals, chasing dreams.
Not for aliens, not for fun—
Just mapping gas ‘round a dying sun.
Dishes wobble, creak, and groan,
Old and rusted, overgrown.
Neighbours whisper, eyes askance—
"They haven't moved in months, perchance?"
At 1420 megahertz,
The cosmos hums, the signal spurts.
A spectral line so cold, so thin,
Like ghostly whispers creeping in.
Through hiss and pop, through static's moan,
They plot the Galaxy—starved, alone.
A labour born of love and terrible dread,
For stars will die, but the dish needs to be fed.
One by one, they drop like flies,
Under silent, watchful and reproachful skies.
No one comes, no one calls,
Just a dish that listens… and never falls.
Years will pass, the metal might rust,
J2000 charts dissolve to cosmic dust.
But still: The Milky Way drifts by,
Above the graves of those who tried.
A little grim, but fittingly poetic for the relentless, lonely pursuit of the universe!
|
Thanks Mike,? I’ll try and remember how to write a letter.? I’ll let you know how I get on.. ?
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From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Mike via groups.io
Sent: 26 March 2025 12:52
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [baa-rag] Jeff Lashley? Hi Paul
Jeff has the radio amateur call-sign 2E0ODF. Have looked on QRZ.com and it has given an address as:
33 Goodes Avenue, Syston, Leicestershire, LE7 2JH
No other details - hope that helps.
Best wishes
Mike
On 26/03/2025 09:01, Paul Hearn via groups.io wrote: Does anyone have contact details for Jeff Lashley I'm trying to contact him - thanks.
???? Paul Hearn? ???? ?paul@...? ???? ?RA Section Director? ???
? --
???? Paul Hearn? ???? ? paul@...? ???? ?RA Section Director? ???
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Hi Paul
Jeff has the radio amateur call-sign 2E0ODF. Have looked on
QRZ.com and it has given an address as:
33 Goodes Avenue, Syston, Leicestershire, LE7 2JH
No other details - hope that helps.
Best wishes
Mike
On 26/03/2025 09:01, Paul Hearn via
groups.io wrote:
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Show quoted text
Does anyone have contact details for Jeff Lashley I'm trying
to contact him - thanks.
--
???? Paul Hearn? ???? ? paul@...? ???? ?RA
Section Director? ???
|
Does anyone have contact details for Jeff Lashley I'm trying to contact him - thanks.
--
???? Paul Hearn? ???? ? paul@...? ???? ?RA Section Director? ???
|
Next BAA RAZoom April 4th 19:30 BST H-line and muons
Andrew Thornett will present his home observatory including H-line observations and remote access at Green Bank.
Richard Knott will present Muon detector... – the next step forward.? This will include instrumentation and software for data analysis and presentation.
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?
If you are not on the distribution list, please contact me for the Zoom link.
--
???? Paul Hearn? ???? ? paul@...? ???? ?RA Section Director? ???
|
Some interesting echoes this morning.? The UK Meteor Radar project has now started recording the full bandwidth data from all the receivers in the network for development and research purposes.
An archive of these recordings can be found at
Brian
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I've tries doing something about it but unfortunately I don't seem able to do so.
Sent from
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Andrew,
?
The audio from the other attendees is very low, they are hard to hear. Your audio is fine.
?
There is a persistent background “hum” which is quite audible, try listening to the middle, and?end of the video.
?
Video resolution and quality is fine.
?
Jonathan
?
?
Can you tell me more about the problem you had watching the video from the group? I have gone onto Youtube and the video is smooth and seems easy to view and
hear. Isn’t that the case for you?
Andy
?
?
Thanks Norman. I'll have a look at that recording to see what you mean.....
Hi Andrew
Not spoken for a long time, have you taken to poetry now as well as .....?
I saw the first 15 mins or so of your new Group re 1420 MHz.? Viewing the recorded version this morninng, maybe I did not login correctly though what I saw was hard work, meaning Noisey and lack of resolution in the
picture, so when Lunchtime was announced I switched off !
Incidentally,?Paul and Heather attend our local Amateur Radio club, near Hereford. Heather played a big part in writing?the code for 4m meteor?detection receiver, where the time of signal transmission is embedded in
the transmitted signal. Very convenient for working out time of flight and calculating distance.
Co-axial cable Impedance.? Matching impedance is not too critical when you are not transmitting POWER. where out of phase reflections can cause much higher voltages to be created often referred?to as Meltdown
especially where semiconductors are used. In days of old when Valves were the norm, Flashovers or 'arcing' (across air spaced capacitors) were common.? Especially when It was common to have a few hundred volts (or more) in the PA stage of a transmitter.? That
takes me back to a time when I was a young trainee engineer, now a very long time ago.
If using various cables for a Receiver's input, it is the integrity of the co-axial cables inner and outer and their isolation from Ground that matter.? as well being able to carry a radio signal at the frequency of
interest.? Also the avoidance of interference or noise? 'QRM',? ?this latter term is from amateur radio and/or HM forces.?
?
On Sun, Mar 9, 2025 at 11:33?PM Andrew Thornett via
<andrew=[email protected]> wrote:
The Hidden Wonders of the Sky
Andrew Thornett, March 2025
?
Why, oh why, can they not see –
The wonder of a starry sky –
Seen with starlight not visible without,
The wonders of the modern world.
Beacons blink in cosmic song,
Billions whisper all night long,
Between the voids where giants spin,
Bringing secrets deep within.
Celestial signals, faint yet bright,
Calling from the edge of sight,
Caught by aerials tuned with care,
Cracking codes from distant air.
Daring pulses race through space,
Dancing waves in endless chase,
Drifting, shifting, bending light,
Drawing minds to scale their height.
Echoes trace a past unknown,
Eons speaking, softly shown,
Eager ears and patient hands
Extract what deep time still demands.
Far beyond the eye’s own reach,
Frequencies in silent speech
Find their way to those who dare
Follow trails through frozen air.
Gazing upward, lost in thought,
Galaxies with wonder fraught,
Grains of truth in static lie—
Grasp them, question, ask them why!
Would they listen? Would they care?
Why, oh why, don’t they just stare?
What is lost if minds stay blind
When the universe calls—unkind?
?
--
|
Andrew, ? The audio from the other attendees is very low, they are hard to hear. Your audio is fine. ? There is a persistent background “hum” which is quite audible, try listening to the middle, and?end of the video. ? Video resolution and quality is fine. ? Jonathan ?
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Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Andrew Thornett via groups.io
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2025 4:18 PM
To: '[email protected]' <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [baa-rag] Why, oh why?? Can you tell me more about the problem you had watching the video from the group? I have gone onto Youtube and the video is smooth and seems easy to view and hear. Isn’t that the case for you? Andy ? ? Thanks Norman. I'll have a look at that recording to see what you mean.....
Hi Andrew Not spoken for a long time, have you taken to poetry now as well as .....? I saw the first 15 mins or so of your new Group re 1420 MHz.? Viewing the recorded version this morninng, maybe I did not login correctly though what I saw was hard work, meaning Noisey and lack of resolution in the picture, so when Lunchtime was announced I switched off ! Incidentally,?Paul and Heather attend our local Amateur Radio club, near Hereford. Heather played a big part in writing?the code for 4m meteor?detection receiver, where the time of signal transmission is embedded in the transmitted signal. Very convenient for working out time of flight and calculating distance. Co-axial cable Impedance.? Matching impedance is not too critical when you are not transmitting POWER. where out of phase reflections can cause much higher voltages to be created often referred?to as Meltdown especially where semiconductors are used. In days of old when Valves were the norm, Flashovers or 'arcing' (across air spaced capacitors) were common.? Especially when It was common to have a few hundred volts (or more) in the PA stage of a transmitter.? That takes me back to a time when I was a young trainee engineer, now a very long time ago. If using various cables for a Receiver's input, it is the integrity of the co-axial cables inner and outer and their isolation from Ground that matter.? as well being able to carry a radio signal at the frequency of interest.? Also the avoidance of interference or noise? 'QRM',? ?this latter term is from amateur radio and/or HM forces.? ? On Sun, Mar 9, 2025 at 11:33?PM Andrew Thornett via <andrew=[email protected]> wrote: The Hidden Wonders of the Sky Andrew Thornett, March 2025 ? Why, oh why, can they not see –
The wonder of a starry sky –
Seen with starlight not visible without,
The wonders of the modern world. Beacons blink in cosmic song,
Billions whisper all night long,
Between the voids where giants spin,
Bringing secrets deep within. Celestial signals, faint yet bright,
Calling from the edge of sight,
Caught by aerials tuned with care,
Cracking codes from distant air. Daring pulses race through space,
Dancing waves in endless chase,
Drifting, shifting, bending light,
Drawing minds to scale their height. Echoes trace a past unknown,
Eons speaking, softly shown,
Eager ears and patient hands
Extract what deep time still demands. Far beyond the eye’s own reach,
Frequencies in silent speech
Find their way to those who dare
Follow trails through frozen air. Gazing upward, lost in thought,
Galaxies with wonder fraught,
Grains of truth in static lie—
Grasp them, question, ask them why! Would they listen? Would they care?
Why, oh why, don’t they just stare?
What is lost if minds stay blind
When the universe calls—unkind? ?
--
|
Can you tell me more about the problem you had watching the video from the group? I have gone onto Youtube and the video is smooth and seems easy
to view and hear. Isn’t that the case for you?
Andy
?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>
On Behalf Of Andrew Thornett via groups.io
Sent: 21 March 2025 21:11
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [baa-rag] Why, oh why?
?
Thanks Norman. I'll have a look at that recording to see what you mean.....
Hi Andrew
Not spoken for a long time, have you taken to poetry now as well as .....?
I saw the first 15 mins or so of your new Group re 1420 MHz.? Viewing the recorded version this morninng, maybe I did not login correctly though what I saw was hard work, meaning Noisey and lack of resolution in the picture, so when Lunchtime
was announced I switched off !
Incidentally,?Paul and Heather attend our local Amateur Radio club, near Hereford. Heather played a big part in writing?the code for 4m meteor?detection receiver, where the time of signal transmission is embedded in the transmitted signal.
Very convenient for working out time of flight and calculating distance.
Co-axial cable Impedance.? Matching impedance is not too critical when you are not transmitting POWER. where out of phase reflections can cause much higher voltages to be created often referred?to as Meltdown especially where semiconductors
are used. In days of old when Valves were the norm, Flashovers or 'arcing' (across air spaced capacitors) were common.? Especially when It was common to have a few hundred volts (or more) in the PA stage of a transmitter.? That takes me back to a time when
I was a young trainee engineer, now a very long time ago.
If using various cables for a Receiver's input, it is the integrity of the co-axial cables inner and outer and their isolation from Ground that matter.? as well being able to carry a radio signal at the frequency of interest.? Also the
avoidance of interference or noise? 'QRM',? ?this latter term is from amateur radio and/or HM forces.?
?
On Sun, Mar 9, 2025 at 11:33?PM Andrew Thornett via
<andrew=[email protected]> wrote:
The Hidden Wonders of the Sky
Andrew Thornett, March 2025
?
Why, oh why, can they not see –
The wonder of a starry sky –
Seen with starlight not visible without,
The wonders of the modern world.
Beacons blink in cosmic song,
Billions whisper all night long,
Between the voids where giants spin,
Bringing secrets deep within.
Celestial signals, faint yet bright,
Calling from the edge of sight,
Caught by aerials tuned with care,
Cracking codes from distant air.
Daring pulses race through space,
Dancing waves in endless chase,
Drifting, shifting, bending light,
Drawing minds to scale their height.
Echoes trace a past unknown,
Eons speaking, softly shown,
Eager ears and patient hands
Extract what deep time still demands.
Far beyond the eye’s own reach,
Frequencies in silent speech
Find their way to those who dare
Follow trails through frozen air.
Gazing upward, lost in thought,
Galaxies with wonder fraught,
Grains of truth in static lie—
Grasp them, question, ask them why!
Would they listen? Would they care?
Why, oh why, don’t they just stare?
What is lost if minds stay blind
When the universe calls—unkind?
?
--
|
Thanks Norman. I'll have a look at that recording to see what you mean.....
Sent from
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Andrew
Not spoken for a long time, have you taken to poetry now as well as .....?
I saw the first 15 mins or so of your new Group re 1420 MHz.? Viewing the recorded version this morninng, maybe I did not login correctly though what I saw was hard work, meaning Noisey and lack of resolution in the picture, so when Lunchtime was announced
I switched off !
Incidentally,?Paul and Heather attend our local Amateur Radio club, near Hereford. Heather played a big part in writing?the code for 4m meteor?detection receiver, where the time of signal transmission is embedded in the transmitted signal. Very convenient
for working out time of flight and calculating distance.
Co-axial cable Impedance.? Matching impedance is not too critical when you are not transmitting POWER. where out of phase reflections can cause much higher voltages to be created often referred?to as Meltdown especially where semiconductors are
used. In days of old when Valves were the norm, Flashovers or 'arcing' (across air spaced capacitors) were common.? Especially when It was common to have a few hundred volts (or more) in the PA stage of a transmitter.? That takes me back to a time when I was
a young trainee engineer, now a very long time ago.
If using various cables for a Receiver's input, it is the integrity of the co-axial cables inner and outer and their isolation from Ground that matter.? as well being able to carry a radio signal at the frequency of interest.? Also the avoidance of interference
or noise? 'QRM',? ?this latter term is from amateur radio and/or HM forces.?
Best wishes
Norman? ?M0SXF
On Sun, Mar 9, 2025 at 11:33?PM Andrew Thornett via
<andrew= [email protected]> wrote:
The Hidden Wonders of the Sky
Andrew Thornett, March 2025
Why, oh why, can they not see –
The wonder of a starry sky –
Seen with starlight not visible without,
The wonders of the modern world.
Beacons blink in cosmic song,
Billions whisper all night long,
Between the voids where giants spin,
Bringing secrets deep within.
Celestial signals, faint yet bright,
Calling from the edge of sight,
Caught by aerials tuned with care,
Cracking codes from distant air.
Daring pulses race through space,
Dancing waves in endless chase,
Drifting, shifting, bending light,
Drawing minds to scale their height.
Echoes trace a past unknown,
Eons speaking, softly shown,
Eager ears and patient hands
Extract what deep time still demands.
Far beyond the eye’s own reach,
Frequencies in silent speech
Find their way to those who dare
Follow trails through frozen air.
Gazing upward, lost in thought,
Galaxies with wonder fraught,
Grains of truth in static lie—
Grasp them, question, ask them why!
Would they listen? Would they care?
Why, oh why, don’t they just stare?
What is lost if minds stay blind
When the universe calls—unkind?
--
|
Hi Andrew
Not spoken for a long time, have you taken to poetry now as well as .....?
I saw the first 15 mins or so of your new Group re 1420 MHz.? Viewing the recorded version this morninng, maybe I did not login correctly though what I saw was hard work, meaning Noisey and lack of resolution in the picture, so when Lunchtime was announced I switched off !
Incidentally,?Paul and Heather attend our local Amateur Radio club, near Hereford. Heather played a big part in writing?the code for 4m meteor?detection receiver, where the time of signal transmission is embedded in the transmitted signal. Very convenient for working out time of flight and calculating distance.
Co-axial cable Impedance.? Matching impedance is not too critical when you are not transmitting POWER. where out of phase reflections can cause much higher voltages to be created often referred?to as Meltdown especially where semiconductors are used. In days of old when Valves were the norm, Flashovers or 'arcing' (across air spaced capacitors) were common.? Especially when It was common to have a few hundred volts (or more) in the PA stage of a transmitter.? That takes me back to a time when I was a young trainee engineer, now a very long time ago.
If using various cables for a Receiver's input, it is the integrity of the co-axial cables inner and outer and their isolation from Ground that matter.? as well being able to carry a radio signal at the frequency of interest.? Also the avoidance of interference or noise? 'QRM',? ?this latter term is from amateur radio and/or HM forces.?
Best wishes Norman? ?M0SXF
On Sun, Mar 9, 2025 at 11:33?PM Andrew Thornett via <andrew= [email protected]> wrote:
The Hidden Wonders of the Sky
Andrew Thornett, March 2025
Why, oh why, can they not see –
The wonder of a starry sky –
Seen with starlight not visible without,
The wonders of the modern world.
Beacons blink in cosmic song,
Billions whisper all night long,
Between the voids where giants spin,
Bringing secrets deep within.
Celestial signals, faint yet bright,
Calling from the edge of sight,
Caught by aerials tuned with care,
Cracking codes from distant air.
Daring pulses race through space,
Dancing waves in endless chase,
Drifting, shifting, bending light,
Drawing minds to scale their height.
Echoes trace a past unknown,
Eons speaking, softly shown,
Eager ears and patient hands
Extract what deep time still demands.
Far beyond the eye’s own reach,
Frequencies in silent speech
Find their way to those who dare
Follow trails through frozen air.
Gazing upward, lost in thought,
Galaxies with wonder fraught,
Grains of truth in static lie—
Grasp them, question, ask them why!
Would they listen? Would they care?
Why, oh why, don’t they just stare?
What is lost if minds stay blind
When the universe calls—unkind?
|
Today’s Space Weather News carries a story on Cosmic rays initiating lightning. ? . ? I do not monitor Muons but, if I remember correctly they are also the source of Muons. ?Has anyone looked for coincidences between the two?
?
Mike German
|
Inaugural Meeting of BAA RAG H Line Group - Now online
Hi
?
Radio Astronomy Section Monday the 19th March
?
Inaugural Meeting of BAA RAG H Line Group by Dr Andrew Thornett
?
Video is now on YouTube?
?
You can find links to previous meeting videos and associated materials?
?
Kind Regards
John B
|
My spectrum of M101 taken with 20m Skynet radio dish at Green Bank
Below is my spectrum of M101 taken with 20m Skynet radio dish at Green Bank:
?
?
?
10 x 1s observations, with 10 x 1s reference samples (every other observation sample) 1.5 degrees apart.
?
Peak is at -250 km/s.
This matches Wikipedia record =
?
The following graph is published on ResearchGate, and comes from “An improved CESE method and its application to steady-state coronal structure simulation”, June 2013, Science China Earth Sciences 57(1).
?
?
Looking at the graphs above, 250 km/s = ?5-6 R (MPc) distance from ourselves on radial line of site (rlRs).
?
From Wikipedia, Distance to M101 from Earth = 20.9 ± 1.8 Mly (6.4 ± 0.5 Mpc). So, my observations match closely to published data on velocity and distance of M101.
?
All those astrophotographers in my astronomy club with remote observing rigs they rent ain’t seen nothing yet……I’ve got a 20m scope at Green Bank Observatory!!!! Yippee!
?
Andy
?
?
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There may be interest from members of this Group in this topic.? The International Meteor Organsiation has opened its page for registration at the? 44th International Meteor Conference (IMC25) in Soest, The Netherlands from September 18 to 21.? ?The Conference will have a number of papers specifically on Radio Meteor topics as well as other meteor topics.? In addition this year, a Radio Metor Workshop is planned with the chance to participate in round-the-table discussions and to listen to or present papers on a less formal basis than the main IMC.? ?In the past this has been attended by amateur and professional radio meteor astronomers.? Unfortunately I will not be attending this year but plan to join in on-line.? All details via the link
?
Mike
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Re: M31 Radio Map Green Bank 20m RT 130325
Mind you, as extra-galactic sources are travelling quite fast relative to us compared to rest of Milky Way, the Milky Way dip gives an effective marker at about zero for our solar system, ie zero relatively the sun's standard of rest.
Andy
Sent from
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That is exactly what I understand it is
Sent from
Great observations of a rare 21cm blue shift frequency shift. I guess M31 is really coming towards us for a crunch in the future. What I don't get is the receiver signal/noise intensity dip at or just after the 21cm marker. Receiver front end saturation
from the strong Milky Way 21cm signal?
Adrian
|
Re: M31 Radio Map Green Bank 20m RT 130325
That is exactly what I understand it is
Sent from
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Great observations of a rare 21cm blue shift frequency shift. I guess M31 is really coming towards us for a crunch in the future. What I don't get is the receiver signal/noise intensity dip at or just after the 21cm marker. Receiver front end saturation
from the strong Milky Way 21cm signal?
Adrian
|
Re: M31 Radio Map Green Bank 20m RT 130325
Great observations of a rare 21cm blue shift frequency shift. I guess M31 is really coming towards us for a crunch in the future. What I don't get is the receiver signal/noise intensity dip at or just after the 21cm marker. Receiver front end saturation from the strong Milky Way 21cm signal?
Adrian
|
Re: Help with Observations
Hello Mike
Thanks for your reply.?? In addition to the most obvious
observations I am particularly interested in events seen from
multiple locations and how the rate at which echoes seen from
different locations changes by time of day. Perhaps we can have a
chat to expand on this.? Re Moxon antennas I have recently sourced
one from Wimo or to "roll your own" look
at
Brian
?
On 14/03/2025 11:04, Mike via groups.io
wrote:
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Show quoted text
Hello Brian
I would be more than happy to make observations using the meteor
radar system. I have continued to look at the beacon sites and
have observed some of the very interesting effects you refer to.
I'm hoping to get my own system up and running again soon - at
long last I was able to find a supplier of a 6m Moxon antenna
(from Ceecom Antennas).
Thanks and best wishes
Mike
On 13/03/2025 09:15, Brian wrote:
Hello
Folks
I am looking for help in making regular meteor observations
using the UK meteor radar system. See the live stream at :-
We are seeing some very interesting effects from the network of
( currently ) 4 receiving sites. I am unable to make systematic
observations on a regular basis due to ongoing commitments on
this project and other matters but the system is available to
all to make a contribution.? I can give some guidance? on what
to look for on a personal basis so if you are interested and
available please get in touch.
All the best Brian for the UK meteor radar project.
|
Re: Help with Observations
Hello Brian
I would be more than happy to make observations using the meteor
radar system. I have continued to look at the beacon sites and
have observed some of the very interesting effects you refer to.
I'm hoping to get my own system up and running again soon - at
long last I was able to find a supplier of a 6m Moxon antenna
(from Ceecom Antennas).
Thanks and best wishes
Mike
On 13/03/2025 09:15, Brian wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello
Folks
I am looking for help in making regular meteor observations using
the UK meteor radar system. See the live stream at :-
We are seeing some very interesting effects from the network of (
currently ) 4 receiving sites. I am unable to make systematic
observations on a regular basis due to ongoing commitments on this
project and other matters but the system is available to all to
make a contribution.? I can give some guidance? on what to look
for on a personal basis so if you are interested and available
please get in touch.
All the best Brian for the UK meteor radar project.
|
Paul Hearn
A. C.