Amateur Pulsar Hunters

NOTE: The following listing is in rough order of notified or known current pulsar hunting activity as of August 2021. Updates and corrections welcomed. Links are provided to relevant websites where they exist and are known.

• Astropeiler Stockert Group - Wolfgang Herrmann : Ongoing observations using a 25-meter-diameter parabolic dish antenna @ 1420 MHz (amateur group) as well as a number of smaller dishes. Note: most successful amateur group in terms of pulsars detected - more than 130 pulsars, including 4 binaries, one magnetar and several detections of the FRB repeater FRB20201124 !!! (as of August 2021). See website here.

• Joe Martin (K5SO): An 8.6 metre diameter parabolic dish antenna @ 436 MHz / 1400 MHz. His system has detected 47 pulsars (@June 2022) as well giant pulses from the Crab pulsar and pulses from a magnetar ! See website here.

• Deep Space Exploration Society (DSES): The observing team of Richard A. Russel, Ray Uberecken, Bob Haggart and Dan Layne have detected 23 pulsars (@ November 2022) using a 18 metre dish @ 420 MHz and 1420 MHz. See website here.

• Steve Olney (author): Crossed Yagi antenna (circularly-polarised) @ 436 MHz. As of May 2022 - completing over 5 years of daily observation of the Vela Pulsar. See website here.
  NOTE: the first ever detection of a 'glitch' in any pulsar by an amateur was achieved by HawkRAO in 2019 when Vela 'glitched' (refer to ATel # 12466). This was followed up by detection of a 2nd Vela glitch in 2021 by HawkRAO (refer to ATel # 14808).

• Jean-Jacques Maintoux (F1EHN):  April 2016 - March 2017: 3.3 metre diameter dish antenna @ 1427 MHz. Further details can be found on his personal website.  It is mostly in French, but some information is in English.  For example, there is a detailed summary of Jean-Jacques's pulsar activities in English. 

• Keith Juson (G0JLO): Homemade 8 x 20 element yagi array antenna @ 432 MHz.  See website here.

• Andrea Dell'Immagine (IW5BHY): A 3D corner reflector antenna @ 422 MHz in transit mode (fixed pointing, i.e., no tracking).  The corner reflector was constructed by Maurizio Gragnani (IU5BEC) which made daily observations of B0329+54 for 2 years and 2 months. Also in early November 2018 observations of B0950+08 were achieved and later daily observations of the Crab Pulsar (B0531+21) looking for giant pulses. See website here (parts of the website very slow at the time of writing August 2021).

• Hannes Fasching (OE5JFL):  Homemade 7.3 metre diameter offset dish antenna @ 1294 MHz and 424 MHz. Homemade 3 metre diameter offset dish antenna @ 1294 MHz and 420 MHz. Homemade 23-element Yagi antenna @ 429 MHz. See website here.

• Mario Natali (I0NAA): A 5 metre diameter dish antenna @ 1303 MHz, 1297 MHz and 409 MHz. See website here.

• Nando Pellegrini (I1NDP): A 10 metre dish @ 1296 MHz. See website here.

• Bernd Wilde (DL7APV): Large EME array @ 432 MHz. See website here.

• Tavolaia Observatory: Observations of the B0329+54 pulsar located in Tavolaia (near Pisa, Italy) run by the Isaac Newton Astronomical Association. A 3D corner reflector antenna has been installed at the Tavolaia Observatory and observations conducted daily of B0329+54 at 415 MHz. .  The corner reflector was constructed by Andrea Buti. See website here.

• Michiel Klaassen: - Using a 25-meter-diameter parabolic dish antenna at the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory, Michiel has detected B0329+54 at 419 MHz. See website here.

• Peter East (UK) and Guillermo Gancio (Argentina): Peter and Guillermo have collaborated to detect the Vela Pulsar (B0833-45/J0835-4510) using a 30 metre dish @ 1420 MHz in Argentina. See website here.

• Tadeja Saje (S56ZSA) and Matjaž Vidmar (S53MV):  A 3.1 metre diameter dish antenna @ 1420 MHz.  Further details are contained in this PDF document.

• The DL0SHF Group: - Klaus Fenger (DF5DU), Per Dudek (DK7LJ) and Joachim Köppen (DF3GJ) use a 9 metre diameter dish @ 1296 MHz. See website here.

• CA Muller Radio Astronomy Station (CAMRAS): Using a 25-meter-diameter parabolic dish antenna at the Dwingeloo Radio Observatory, Paul Boven (PE1NUT) and Pieter-Tjerk de Boer (PA3FWM) have detected B0329+54 at 1.3 GHz and 440 MHz. See website here.

• Moe Wheatley (AE4JY) and Pieter Ibelings (N4IP): A 26-meter-diameter parabolic dish antenna @ 327 MHz (borrowed time on PARI antenna).  See website here.