Beacon Receiver Project Reference Material
Introductory Talks
Papers
Bernhardt, P., Siefring, C., New satellite-based systems for ionospheric tomography and scintillation region imaging, Radio Science, Vol 41, RS5S23, doi:10.1029/2005RS003360, 2006.
Grydeland, T., Lind, F. D., Erickson, P. J., and Holt, J. M., Software Radar signal processing
Coding conventions
HDF5 File Format
Haystack Information
Latitude = +42° 37' 6.81" from Wikipedia
Longitude = -71° 29' 29.10" from Wikipedia
Latitude (decimal degrees) = 42.61866 (from calc) == 42.618557 (from Google maps)
Longitude (decimal degrees) = -71.49142 (from calc) == -71.491417 (from Google maps)
Elevation = 103-105m approximate from
link
MISC Tools
Satellite Tracking/TLE Data
COSMIC 1/FORMOSAT 3A:
http://n2yo.com/?s=29047 COSMIC 2/FORMOSAT 3B:
http://n2yo.com/?s=29048 COSMIC 3/FORMOSAT 3C:
http://n2yo.com/?s=29049 COSMIC 4/FORMOSAT 3D:
http://n2yo.com/?s=29050 COSMIC 5/FORMOSAT 3E:
http://n2yo.com/?s=29051 COSMIC 6/FORMOSAT 3F:
http://n2yo.com/?s=29052
Antenna Data
Discone
Gain: 2dBi
Polarization: Vertical linear polarization
Helical SatCom Antenna
Gain: 9dBi
Polarization: Left Hand Circular Polarization (LHCP)
Cross Polarized Yahi
Gain: 12dBi for circular polarization and 9 dBi for a single polarization
Polarization: circular or single
Turnstile
Gain: 5dBi when properly placed at least 1/2 wavelength above the ground plane
Polarization: Circular polarization
Beacon Data
CERTO on COSMIC:
Frequencies: 150.012/400.032/1066.752 MHz
Downlink TX strength: 1W
Satellite TX polarization: Right Hand Circular Polarization (RHCP)
Gain: 4dB
Orientation: nadir
CERTO on DMSP/F15:
Frequencies: 150.012/400.032/1066.752 MHz
Downlink TX strength: 2W
Satellite TX polarization: Linear polarization
Gain: 1dB
Orientation: monopole antenna facing the ram direction of the orbit
RADCAL: 150.012/400.032 MHz
SATCOM on Skynet 4D:
Frequencies: 253.950, 254.050, 254.150, 257.450, 257.550, and 257.650MHz
TRANSIT on OSCAR:
Frequencies: most powerful signals at 149.988 and 399.968 MHz
Downlink TX strength:
Satellite TX polarization: Quadrafilar helix
Gain: more gain toward the horizon
Orientation: nadir
Satellite Data
Satellite Name
Country
TLE
Orbital Type
Inclination
Onboard Beacons
Formosat 3A
USA/Taiwan
LEO
72 deg
CERTO
Formosat 3B
USA/Taiwan
LEO
72 deg
CERTO
Formosat 3C
USA/Taiwan
LEO
72 deg
CERTO
Formosat 3D
USA/Taiwan
LEO
72 deg
CERTO
Formosat 3E
USA/Taiwan
LEO
72 deg
CERTO
Formosat 3F
USA/Taiwan
LEO
72 deg
CERTO
RADCAL
USA
LEO
90 deg
RADCAL
Skynet 4D
UK
GEO
3.8 deg
SATCOM
Estimating Noise Power
A separate page on Estimating Noise Power contains useful information.
Hardware Manufacturer Websites
Watkins-Johson:
http://www.wj.com Avago(old Agilent):
http://www.avagotech.com Synergy Microwave:
http://www.synergymwave.com Hittite Microwave
http://www.hittite.com Tyco-MA/COM:
http:www.macom.com
A TechNote on Antenna Polarization