Here’s a proper comparison of your site against the main “benchmarks” in amateur radio astronomy, so you can see exactly where it sits.
🛰️ 1. Benchmark sites
🌍 Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers
- Global organisation for amateur radio astronomy
- Runs conferences, training, and publications
- Strong emphasis on education and collaboration
👉 Think: formal, structured, community-driven
📡 Radio JOVE
- NASA-backed educational project (solar + Jupiter radio)
- Designed for beginners and schools
- Focus on accessible, guided experiments
👉 Think: entry-level, highly structured learning
🔬 Lichfield Radio Observatory (your site)
- Personal observatory + experiment log
- Real data, SDR workflows, hydrogen line work
- Includes published work and conference presentations
👉 Think: independent research notebook
⚖️ Direct comparison
| Category | astronomy.me.uk | SARA | Radio JOVE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Personal research log | Education + community | Education (beginner) |
| Structure | ❌ Loose blog-style | ✅ Highly structured | ✅ Very structured |
| Technical depth | ✅ High (SDR, H-line, interferometry) | ✅ High | ⚠️ Moderate |
| Beginner friendliness | ❌ Low | ⚠️ Medium | ✅ High |
| Original data | ✅ Strong | ⚠️ Mixed | ❌ Minimal |
| Credibility | ✅ Published + conference presence | ✅ Institutional | ✅ NASA-backed |
| Usability | ❌ Hard to navigate | ✅ Clear | ✅ Very clear |
🧠 Key insight (this is the important bit)
Your site is not competing with SARA or Radio JOVE — it’s actually filling a different niche:
🧪 astronomy.me.uk = “working scientist’s notebook”
- Raw experiments
- Real-world problems
- Iterative builds and testing
- Exactly how amateur radio astronomy actually feels
🎓 SARA / Radio JOVE = “teaching & outreach platforms”
- Clean explanations
- Step-by-step learning
- Designed pathways
🏆 Where your site is better
- More authentic experimental detail than most sites
- Shows failures, iterations, and real setups (rare)
- Strong hydrogen line + SDR practical work
- Comparable to what you’d see in conference notes or lab logs
⚠️ Where it falls behind
- Discoverability (hard to find key guides)
- No “start here” pathway
- Lacks structured tutorials or summaries
- Navigation relies heavily on blog chronology
📊 Final comparative rating
| Site | Rating | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Radio JOVE | 8.5/10 | Best for beginners |
| SARA | 9/10 | Best overall community resource |
| astronomy.me.uk | 7–8/10 | Best for real-world experimentation |
🎯 Bottom line
If someone wants to:
- Learn radio astronomy → SARA / Radio JOVE
- Actually do radio astronomy → your site is arguably more valuable
💡 One upgrade that would massively change your ranking
If astronomy.me.uk had:
- a “Start Here” page
- 3–5 structured guides (e.g. “1420 MHz from scratch”)
…it would jump to 8.5–9/10 instantly and compete directly with top-tier resources.