Meteor scatter

Thousands of tiny meteors burn up in the upper atmosphere every hour. Each one leaves a short-lived trail of ionized gas that can reflect VHF signals for a fraction of a second, occasionally for several seconds. Meteor scatter (MS) uses those "pings" to make contacts out to about 1,300 miles (2,100 km), at any time of day, with no help needed from the ionosphere or the weather.

The mode that made it easy is MSK144 in WSJT-X. It sends a short message over and over for 15 seconds, so any ping long enough to carry one copy completes that part of the QSO. Technicians have full privileges on every band where MS is used.

Independent guide, not affiliated with ARRL, the WSJT Development Team, or any meteor organization. Settings below are from the WSJT-X User Guide. Your region's operating practice may differ.

Meteor scatter v1.0 · written 2026-10-08 · WSJT-X version, frequencies and contest dates checked as of Oct 2026

What to expect

The WSJT-X User Guide puts it plainly: meteor scatter QSOs can be made any time on the VHF bands at distances up to about 2,100 km. Completing one takes longer in the evening than in the morning, longer on higher bands, and longer near the maximum distance. With patience, 100 W or more and a single yagi, it can usually be done, even on 432 MHz.

Distance: contacts near the 1,300-mile limit take longer. Very short paths are not where MS shines either; for nearby stations, tropo or plain SSB is usually easier. Point the antenna at the other station.

When it works best

• Mornings. Random ("sporadic") meteors are more common around dawn local time, when your side of Earth faces the direction of Earth's orbit. This is why WSJT-X says evening QSOs take longer.
• Major showers. Rates jump for a day or two around each shower's peak. The big ones in an ordinary year are the Quadrantids (early January), Perseids (mid-August) and Geminids (mid-December). The Lyrids (late April), Eta Aquariids (early May), Orionids (late October) and Leonids (mid-November) are smaller but useful.
• Still ahead in 2026 (as of Oct 8): the Orionids, Leonids and Geminids. Look up this year's peak dates and times on the American Meteor Society calendar. The International Meteor Organization's calendar normally has the same data; in October 2026 its site was being rebuilt.
• VHF contests. Activity on the calling frequencies is highest during VHF contest weekends, such as the ARRL September VHF contest (September 12–14 in 2026).

Setting up MSK144 in WSJT-X

From the MSK144 section of the WSJT-X User Guide:

1. Choose MSK144 from the Mode menu and Fast from the Decode menu.
2. Set the receive audio frequency to Rx 1500 Hz and the frequency tolerance to F Tol 100.
3. Set the T/R period to 15 s (or 30 s where that's the local standard). 15 s is recommended for most purposes.
4. Click Monitor and watch the percentage on the Receiving label in the status bar. If it's well under 100%, raise decoding to Normal or Deep and F Tol to 200. Most modern computers handle Deep and 200.
5. Check Auto Seq. Fifteen-second periods don't leave time to pick messages by hand.

MSK144 fills the whole SSB passband, always centered on 1500 Hz audio. Keep your transmit audio clean and flat across roughly 300 to 2700 Hz, and your clock within a second of UTC.

Calling frequencies

These are where people listen and call. When the calling frequency is busy, WSJT-X's Tx CQ nnn option lets you call CQ on the calling frequency and hold the QSO on a clear frequency of your choice. A station that double-clicks your CQ nnn message is moved there automatically. It needs CAT control with Split operation turned on. The User Guide's "Offset CQ" section walks through it.

How a QSO goes

A standard MSK144 QSO looks like any FT8 QSO. One station transmits in the first 15-second period, the other in the second. WSJT-X sets this when you answer a decode.

CQ K1ABC FN42
K1ABC W9XYZ EN37
W9XYZ K1ABC +02
K1ABC W9XYZ R+03
W9XYZ K1ABC RRR
K1ABC W9XYZ 73

On 2 m and up, WSJT-X can send short-format (Sh) messages for the report, RRR and 73. They last 20 ms instead of 72 ms, so even very short pings carry them. Short messages hash the two call signs, so only your QSO partner can decode them; they appear in angle brackets, such as <K1ABC W9XYZ> R+03. The User Guide says they give little or no advantage on 6 m, where standard messages fit in most pings.

Each transmission period, WSJT-X repeats the same message until it hears the next step. Don't give up after a few minutes. On 2 m, a contact can take much longer than on 6 m.

Meteor scatter from a park

MSK144 is a practical park mode on 6 m:

• A 100 W radio and a small yagi on a mast can make contacts from a park, per the WSJT-X guidance above.
• MSK144 contacts are data contacts for POTA, like FT8. A complete exchange (calls, report, RRR or RR73) is a QSO.
• Spot yourself with the frequency and mode, and say MSK144 so hunters set their T/R period to 15 s.
• Ten MS contacts for an activation is a big ask. Treat MS as a bonus on top of HF or 6 m FT8.

Habits / gotchas / checklist

• Clock within a second of UTC.
• T/R period 15 s, Auto Seq on.
• Rx 1500 Hz, F Tol 100 to 200.
• Antenna pointed at the other station.
• Mornings and shower peaks for the best rates.
• Move off the calling frequency when it's busy.
• Patience. Leave each QSO running long enough for the pings to arrive.

Sources (checked Oct 2026)

• WSJT Development Team, WSJT-X (version 3.0.2, June 18, 2026) and its User Guide (MSK144 operating section, Offset CQ, MSK144 protocol). Calling frequencies are WSJT-X's built-in Region 2 defaults.
• American Meteor Society, meteor shower calendar.
• ARRL, September VHF contest (2026 dates).

Related

• Moonbounce (EME) · Microwave · ATV and DATV
• Technician HF and VHF overview
• WSJT-X — setup, timing and logging