Meteor Burst Communications (MBC), also known as Meteor Burst Communication, refers to the ionization trail produced when a meteor enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up. This enhances the density of the ionosphere in the area of the meteor's trajectory, allowing for VHF band (typically 30 MHz to 150 MHz) communication using skywave propagation. In fact, meteor trails also have a significant positive impact on the 10 MHz band during daylight hours.
The difficulty of communicating via scattered signals from meteor tails is not particularly high. Since the ionized trails left by meteors exist for only a few seconds, the entire communication process is intermittent, which makes direct voice communication somewhat difficult. However, a digital communication mode called "MSK144" is well-suited for communication using meteor tail scattering, because unlike FT8/FT4, which involves sending data over several seconds, MSK144 repeatedly transmits data packets of up to 73ms, and can reconstruct complete packets from multiple incomplete packets. For one-way voice communication, it is possible to try repeatedly reporting the call sign to establish communication.
The requirements for antennas in meteor scatter communication are not high; a single DP (dual-polarized antenna) is sufficient. Directional antennas (with gain not too high to create narrow electromagnetic wave beams) are preferable. For both transmitting and receiving, I recommend using full-mode radios with at least 10 watts of power that support the V band, and with good receive sensitivity. If you don't have a high-power or full-mode V-band transmitter, you can also try using a handheld radio to attempt to receive signals and report them.
You can watch the following video to learn about the theoretical knowledge and more practical suggestions for scattered communication using meteor tails:
[Amateur Radio / YouTube Upload] (Experienced) Understanding Comet Tail Reflection Communication
There aren't many amateur radio operators in China who experiment with meteor tail reflection communication. I hope this post will pique the interest of other amateur radio enthusiasts!
Tomorrow (August 12, 2025) is the Perseid meteor shower, which is one of the most spectacular meteor showers of the year. I plan to go hiking with my base station and U7V4++ at 3:00 AM.
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