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> given that the science is still inconclusive and not fully settled then funding would likely not be forthcoming Wouldn’t the first step be to settle the scie

> given that the science is still inconclusive and not fully settled then funding would likely not be forthcoming Wouldn’t the first step be to settle the science then? Why would you need a big network to do that instead of just a dedicated experimental site in earthquake prone area? Wouldn’t that be enough to prove if there is a signal? My understanding is that ELF transmitters are kind of a big deal and require a lot of money to run. Am I wrong on that? Or you are planning to monitor naturally occuring ELF signals?

hilbert42 3y ago
"Wouldn’t the first step be to settle the science then?" That was actually my suggestion. The amateur radio service is defined as an experimental service so by its nature it involves all radio amateurs if they're interested—they'd pay for any equipment that was needed, not the government. Earthquakes are unpredictable and it'd be very difficult to guarantee there would be enough AR stations equipped with monitoring equipment sufficient to accurately triangulate the location of the electromagnetic disturbance. It's a voluntary service so to be effective you'd involve as many as possible (and do so everywhere). The fact that the science is still unresolved is partially because there isn't enough scientific monitoring equipment in the right place at the right time. The whole purpose of my proposal was to try and overcome that limitation. ELF transmissions are a big deal when one is trying to communicate with submarines where the seawater adds hugely to the path-loss. Any such monitoring service would likely only use several Hz bandwidth so one should be able achieve a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio with limited power (like Voyager does now to communicate with earth). BTW, there's already an amateur band a 2200 metres (135.7 - 137.8 kHz). which is well below the AM broadcast band. Whether it's low enough in frequency needs investigation. In fact, it would be necessary to select the 'ideal' band before any service could commence (that would be part of the scientific investigation).

hilbert42 3y ago

"Wouldn’t the first step be to settle the science then?" That was actually my suggestion. The amateur radio service is defined as an experimental service so by its nature it involves all radio amateurs if they're interested—they'd pay for any equipment that was needed, not the government. Earthquakes are unpredictable and it'd be very difficult to guarantee there would be enough AR stations equipped with monitoring equipment sufficient to accurately triangulate the location of the electromagnetic disturbance. It's a voluntary service so to be effective you'd involve as many as possible (and do so everywhere). The fact that the science is still unresolved is partially because there isn't enough scientific monitoring equipment in the right place at the right time. The whole purpose of my proposal was to try and overcome that limitation. ELF transmissions are a big deal when one is trying to communicate with submarines where the seawater adds hugely to the path-loss. Any such monitoring service would likely only use several Hz bandwidth so one should be able achieve a reasonable signal-to-noise ratio with limited power (like Voyager does now to communicate with earth). BTW, there's already an amateur band a 2200 metres (135.7 - 137.8 kHz). which is well below the AM broadcast band. Whether it's low enough in frequency needs investigation. In fact, it would be necessary to select the 'ideal' band before any service could commence (that would be part of the scientific investigation).