Very Low radio Frequencies

Everyone in the SETI community knows that ET broadcasts in the microwave region of the radio spectrum between 1400 and 1700 megahertz. Any suggestion to the contrary is met with shouts of ridicule. The idea that we might look for ET at very low frequencies, therefore, would probably put most of these people on the floor in fits of hysteria.

In fact no one has the slightest idea where to look for a signal from ET. None of the so called experts have ever found an ET signal.

Ever. Even once.

There was a time when all of the aviation experts knew that the only way to build a flying machine was to use flapping wings. That's why none of the early aviation experts ever actually flew.

Ever. Even once.

It wasnt until the Wright brothers tried something completely different that it turned out to be possible.

Let's try something completely different. Let's look for ET at the other end of the radio spectrum.

Granted, "let's look somewhere else" is not a powerful argument. I only mean to make the point that when we dont know what we are doing and get nowhere for a really long time, that a new approach is often called for. I am suggesting that VLF SETI is a valid approach and that it is defensible on its own merits for several very good reasons:

1. No one has ever looked in the VLF region for ET, it is brand new territory. If nothing else we can look forward to new discussions leading to new ideas. If this were the ONLY reason, it would be sufficient. We need new ideas more than we need anything else. The SETI community is in a terrible rut.

2. We have every reason to think that Bracewell/Von Neuman probes can exist, and if they do, that they will evolve into whatever their own survival needs require of them. This could easily include novel means of communicating, locally, among themselves. In fact such a capacity would probably be part of the original design, in which case it would be selected for and improved upon. In either case the probes would have the capacity to communicate locally. VLF is one of the many possible methods they could employ.

3. VLF radio signals PASS THROUGH and AROUND the Earth. The ability to signal through a planet would be very useful to a group of spacefarers that spend a lot of their time exploring around planets. VLF is unique in its ability to do this and is precisely the sort of thing that we would expect them to evolve, if the original designers didnt think of it first.

   Not only is VLF a reasonable way to communicate locally, but it would allow local communications THRU and AROUND a planetary mass. It is not just one of many possible methods, it is among the best possible methods!

4. Seismic waves pass through the Earth too, but they are altered by the passage. They carry information about the interior when they reach the other side. That's why geologists use them to study the interior of the Earth. VLF signals could be used the same way.

   VLF is not only one of the best possible methods for space probes to use for communications, but it can also be used it to study any worlds they approach.

5. A lot of the noise on the air at Very Low Frequencies is of unknown origin. And there is a lot of noise !

   So, lets see now, in the very range of frequencies that we think might be useful to alien space probes, for communications and environmental measurements, we have already found a lot of "noise" that we can't explain.

6. There is evidence that large meteors produce signals at Very Low Frequencies.

   Meteors? Are they all meteors?

7. The belief that ET transmits between 1400 and 1700 MHZ is based on the assumption that they want to be heard. The universe is quiet at these frequencies, and the natural resonance frequencies of Hydrogen and the OH radical are in this region. ( H+OH=H2O, water ), that's why this region is called "the water hole". It is assumed further that intelligent life would be based on water, hence an intelligent species would make the connection between water ( H + OH ) and a quiet place in the background static of the galaxy to construct a beacon for no other reason than to say "we exist" to other species who would make the same connections and look there for a beacon. A someone who may not even exist, who may not choose to answer, and who would not answer for thousands of years in any case.

   In 40 years of SETI no one has ever heard anything in the water hole. And NO ONE is trying to build a beacon, because we all agree that there is no point to it. It would need funding for thousands of years and no one involved in it would live long enough to see the results, if any. So, why do we think anyone else would see any point to it?

   In the mean time, what's all that noise in the VLF portion of the spectrum??

8. The technology required to detect VLF signals is really trivial, a computer, a sound card, and a roll of wire. Download a little shareware ( from the JBTSETI links page ) and you are in business. There are better ways to do it, but trivial works.

9. Even if you fail to find ET, there are still plenty of other interesting things to look into.

   Penicillin was discovered while doing research on bread mold.

Wouldn't it be interesting to make a video tape of UFOs in action and record some VLF sounds on the soundtrack? A few weird hoots and whistles that correlate to their movements would be a real attention getter. If this actually happens it would open up a whole new area of research. Maybe we could even TRACK them on Bi-static radar while we video tape! My wife has a camcorder in layaway, I'll let you know how it turns out.

How about a webcam watching the sky all night in my backyard for passing "meteors" and recording the pictures and VLF sounds together?

Data aquisition: The Soundblaster card

The spectrum analysis software mentioned in this section takes its input from a Soundblaster card and requires no other data aquisition card. The signal simply goes in thru the "mic" input and you are in business. The Soundblaster card, or a compatible, is required.

Frequency Range

For our purposes we will consider Very Low Frequency to mean, below approximately 20 thousand hertz, ( 20khz ), because the Soundblaster can handle any frequency in this range without external hardware.

If you choose to explore other frequency ranges, converters are available, or can be built for any range you like.

Theory

For information on theory, antennas, construction practices, definition of terms, and VLF spectra, I stongly suggest that you check out these websites:

You really should look at them before going on. I will make a reasonable effort to explain things as we go along, but a little background first, would be helpful. When you go to, "Radio Waves Below 22KHZ", scroll down to the bottom of the main page and look at the "unexplained signals" section. There is some very strange stuff out there.