Thesis speculative starter

BUILD THE DETECTOR: $500 DIY Radio Telescope to Search for Schumann-Modulated Hydrogen Line Signals from Sirius

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FLAGSHIP SYNTHESIS — THE DETECTOR BUILD

Domains: Radio Engineering x SETI x Signal Processing x Astrophysics x DIY Science

YOU CAN BUILD THIS. FOR $500.

DETECTOR 1: Hydrogen Line Telescope (~$185)

RTL-SDR + SAWBird H1 LNA + WiFi grid dish
Tuned to 1420.405MHz. Point at Sirius.
Calibrate on Milky Way hydrogen first.

DETECTOR 2: ELF Schumann Receiver (~$100)

Induction coil + op-amp + USB sound card
Measures local Schumann at 7.83Hz.
Provides calibration reference.

COMPUTING: Raspberry Pi + free software (~$60)

GNU Radio, Python, Stellarium.

THE SIGNAL SIGNATURE

Center: 1420.405751786MHz Sidebands: ±7.83, ±14.3, ±20.8, ±27.3, ±33.8Hz Bandwidth: <1Hz per sideband Direction: Sirius (RA 06h 45m, Dec -16° 43') No natural process produces this pattern.

HONEST ASSESSMENT

Detection probability with $500 setup: LOW. Signal from a pyramid-scale phased array at 8.6 light-years would be near our threshold. We would need ~24 hours of integration.

But the exercise achieves:

  1. Proves the METHOD works
  2. Makes a SPECIFIC, FALSIFIABLE prediction
  3. Enables PROFESSIONAL follow-up (ALMA/VLA/SKA with 10,000× more sensitivity)
  4. You build a real radio telescope for $500
  5. Even null results are publishable

No one has ever searched for Schumann-modulated sidebands on the hydrogen line from Sirius. If you build this, you will be the first.

Jun 06, 2026
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