TY - Generic T1 - Citizen Science: Development of a Low-Cost Magnetometer System for a Coordinated Space Weather Monitoring T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Joseph Visone A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - David Witten A1 - Julius Madey A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - John Gibbons A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - Anderson Liddle A1 - Nicholas Muscolino A1 - Zhaoshu Cao AB -

As part of Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) project, a low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf magnetometer has been developed to provide quantitative and qualitative measurements of the geospace environment from the ground for both scientific and operational purposes at a cost that will allow for crowd-sourced data contributions. The PSWS magnetometers employ a magneto-inductive sensor technology to record three-axis magnetic field variations with a field resolution of ~3 nT at a 1 Hz sample rate. Crowd-sourced data from the PSWS systems will be collected into a central archive for the purpose of public access and analyzation along with space weather research. Ultimately, data from the PSWS network will combine the magnetometer measurements with high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio observations to monitor large scale current systems and ionospheric disturbances and events due to drivers from space and the atmosphere alike. A densely-spaced magnetometer array, once established, will demonstrate their space weather monitoring capability to an unprecedented spatial extent. Magnetic field data obtained by the magnetometers installed at various locations in the US are presented and compared with the existing magnetometers nearby, demonstrating that the performance is entirely satisfactory for scientific investigations.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Comparative Analysis of Medium Scale Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances: Grape PSWS vs. SuperDARN T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Bharat Kunduri A1 - J. Michael Ruohoniemi A1 - Joseph Baker A1 - William Liles A1 - John Gibbons A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Rachel Boedicker AB -

Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are periodic fluctuations in ionospheric electron density associated with atmospheric gravity waves. They are characterized by wavelengths of 50-500 kilometers and periods of 15-60 minutes. This study presents initial findings from a comparative analysis of MSTID observations sourced from two distinct systems: the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) and the Grape Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS). The Grape PSWS, developed by the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI), is a small ground-based remote sensing device aimed at monitoring space weather parameters, including MSTIDs. It achieves this by monitoring a 10 MHz transmission from WWV, a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) time standard station located near Fort Collins, Colorado, USA. In contrast, SuperDARN comprises a global network of high-frequency radars that offer extensive coverage of ionospheric plasma motion. This comparative investigation focuses on aligning MSTID observations obtained from Grape PSWS data with SuperDARN radar data. By investigating datasets from both platforms, these findings serve as initial results for an ongoing investigation of MSTIDs, laying the groundwork for a comprehensive understanding of their dynamics and impacts on ionospheric variability and space weather.

 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Considering the Sudden Loss of WWV's signal as seen by HamSCI Grape Stations T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - George Kavanagh A1 - Robert Reif A1 - Stanley Pozerski A1 - Peter Nordberg A1 - William Blackwell AB -

Sudden unexplained dropouts of WWV's signal as seen by Grape stations are explained and illustrated using Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) maps.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Detection of SuperDARN-Observed Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances in the Southern Hemisphere T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - James P. Fox A1 - Joseph Klobusicky A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances are quasi-periodic variations in the plasma that exist in the upper atmosphere and they impact the propagation of radio waves. Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are defined as TIDs which travel at 100-250 m/s and have periods within the 1 hour range. Previously, most of the existing research has focused on MSTIDs in the Northern Hemisphere. This project seeks to determine whether there is enough data available to recognize seasonal trends in MSTID occurrence in the Southern Hemisphere. Currently, we have found some success in applying the PyDarnMusic algorithm to identify periods of high and low MSTID activity in the southern hemisphere in SuperDARN and have had success in replicating an existing study on the Falkland Islands radar. Going forward, we hope to refine the techniques which were originally used to identify MSTIDs in the Northern Hemisphere for use on the Southern Hemisphere in order to gain a better understanding of their climatology.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - EclipseNB: A network of low-cost GNSS receivers to study ionospheric response to April 2024 solar eclipse T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Anton Kashcheyev A1 - Chris Watson A1 - P. T. Jayachandran AB -

EclipseNB is an initiative of the Radio and Space Physics Lab (RSPL) at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) that enables high-impact scientific research and unique educational opportunities for High School students during the once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse event over New Brunswick (NB) on April 8, 2024. This project will install state-of-the-art scientific infrastructure at a number of NB schools to monitor the dramatic and sudden modifications to the upper atmosphere associated with the eclipse. These high-value atmospheric measurements will provide rare insight into many open-ended scientific questions pertaining to eclipse-induced atmospheric modifications, while students throughout NB will have an exciting opportunity to participate in numerous EclipseNB activities such as infrastructure installation, data analysis, and scientific research. The infrastructure of EclipseNB is a provincial network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers to monitor the electrically charged plasma of the upper atmosphere during the April 8, 2024 solar eclipse. A solar eclipse is a both a stunning celestial phenomenon and a rare opportunity to study numerous fundamental physical processes in the atmosphere and near-Earth space that are activated by a sudden and localized reduction in solar radiation. EclipseNB is ideally situated along the eclipse totality path to provide valuable measurements for ground-breaking scientific research, and to garner interest in young New Brunswickers in space physics, technology and engineering. EclipseNB installations are designed to be non-intrusive, with minimal impact on the sites involved. Installations include a self-contained enclosure that houses the GNSS receiver, a small single-board computer, and a cellular modem, as well as a receiving antenna mounted on a small pole with a clear view of the sky. The outdoor antenna is connected to the receiver with a low-loss RF cable. The sole requirement of hosting sites is electrical power, an indoor location to house the equipment enclosure, and an outdoor location to mount the antenna. Data collected by EclipseNB instruments will be stored on servers at UNB RSPL. The instrument will remain running after the solar eclipse in April 2024 and allow facilitating further research and education.

 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - The Grape III: Pondering new varietals for the RF vineyard T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - David Kazdan A1 - John Gibbons AB -

Grape I is a straightforward low-IF receiver based on the venerable NE612 Gilbert cell chip. Grape II is a much more involved 3-frequency, computer-controlled receiver. Grape III will be--what?  The CWRU Grape team will discuss possibilities for the next generation of inexpensive, high-accuracy receivers that will provide HamSCI, NIST, Canadian Research Council, and others a continuous data stream.  Anticipation of signal processing, ease of manufacture, and ease of deployment will be among the top issues.  Several receiver architectures and data collection modalities will be considered along with candidate signal analysis approaches and related chipsets.  Notes will be taken from audience questions and suggestions, and new design teams will be solicited for the project.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Incorporating HamSCI Project into a College Physics Course T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Lindsay Goodwin A1 - Gareth Perry A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Gary Mikitin AB -

We report citizen science activity in a physics course to engage undergraduate students in a HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) project. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) Physics Department has been offering a senior-level lab course, "Advanced Physics Lab" in which the students are expected to gain experience with experimental techniques, instrumentation, theoretical and applied electronics, solid state electronic devices, experiments in modern physics by performing quantitative measurements of fundamental physical parameters. Students perform lab experiments in a mostly unstructured setting, in which students are given the equipment and related manuals and perform experiments with very minimal instructor's supervision. Historically, the students have been given a pre-set lab equipment by following the manuals accompanied by the equipment. While this may be suitable for providing an opportunity for the students to relate the results in the lab with the known physics theories/principles, the impact to the students is limited as there is still insufficient "hands-on" components and demonstration of real-world applications. The HamSCI PSWS project is a good example in which students build and test science instruments and use them for scientific investigations to address this issue. We present undergraduate class activity and evaluate their impact on future workforce training utilizing the HamSCI resources. 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Ions and Beacons and Flares: Examining HF Propagation Along the 8 April 2024 Total Solar Eclipse Path T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Adam Goodman A1 - Laura Schwartz A1 - Maris Usis AB -

The 8 April 2024 North American total solar eclipse will track approximately along the great circle path from central Mexico through Austin, Texas to Toronto, Ontario. That great circle continues to Ottawa, Ontario, home of Canadian National Research Council beacon station CHU.  Our research group has distributed shortwave radios and purpose-built data collection systems to ten school radio clubs along that path and for a rhumb line to New Brunswick.  The volunteers will measure received CHU signal amplitude and time-of-flight, and upload data to our repository. We have also provided instructions on measurement and data upload for volunteers wishing to use their own radios. That group is split into those who will use computerized monitoring and those preferring to listen to their radios and manually record signal enhancements and attenuations.  This talk will present the science questions that drive the data collection plans; the equipment's design and the logistics of its distribution; the real-time data display for all the receivers along the path; and the planned data analysis to support the science plan.

The work is supported in part by a grant from ARDC and by Case School of Engineering deans' funds.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - The ka9q-radio SDR package (Invited Tutorial) T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Philip R. Karn AB -

KA9Q-radio is a general purpose open source software defined radio (SDR) that uses fast convolution and IP multicast to digitally downconvert, demodulate and distribute hundreds of simultaneous channels from hardware front ends such as the RX888, Airspy R2/HF+ and RTL-SDR using only modest hardware such as the Raspberry Pi and X86-64. No special hardware is needed such as an FPGA or GPU. Example applications include FM repeater monitoring and the HamSCI wsprdaemon project.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Operating GBO's 20m Radio Telescope with Ham Radio Students T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Mia Bridges A1 - Alia Wofford A1 - Erin McDonald A1 - Xander Whittington-Speck A1 - Danielle Rowland A1 - Brenne Gregory A1 - Daniel E. Reichart A1 - Joshua B. Haislip A1 - Vladimir V. Kouprianov A1 - Steve White A1 - Frank Ghigo AB -

As a part of the 40-week Exploring the Electromagnetic Spectrum - Ham Radio program with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, students gain technical knowledge of the EMS and experience with hands-on applications through Amateur (Ham) Radio. One of the topics covered in this program is radio astronomy, and students had the opportunity to visit the affiliated Green Bank Observatory (GBO). Students learned how to operate the GBO 20-meter radio telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia using the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network. Students were trained to remotely operate the radio telescope, where they learned the parameters used for different types of observations and how to read the observational data acquired. In this presentation, we discuss the process by which students learned the parameters to operate the 20-meter telescope by observing and completing a comparative analysis of known pulsars.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Plans to Observe Changes to the Ionosphere During the April 8 Eclipse Using Doppler Shifts of AM Broadcast Stations T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - David McGaw A1 - James LaBelle A1 - John Griffin A1 - Terrence Kovacs A1 - Margaret Klein A1 - Jack Bonneau A1 - Justin Lewis A1 - Jackson Gosler AB -

Variations in the ionosphere can be tracked by observing the Doppler-shifted carriers of clear-channel AM broadcast stations.  An expansive system of receivers using Software-Defined Radios, frequency stabilized by GPS is being deployed to collect data in the eastern United States.  This network is expected to be able to detect and track changes due to the shadow of the April 8, 2024 Total Eclipse of the Sun.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Quality of AM Radio Reception at Night and Daytime for Future Use in Natural Disaster Situations T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Alexandre Takio Kitagawa AB -

Brazil has more than 10,500 radio stations, which broadcast live sports, music, services and entertainment. It is estimated that 86% of the Brazilian population listens to radio programming, making it, therefore, a more adaptable communication vehicle for use in different media and situations, such as the possibility of using it to transmit alerts and warnings in situations of natural disasters. The objective was to compare the propagation of AM radio transmissions at night and during the day with commercial receivers, also, to prove, with a simple methodology and at a reduced cost, problems and advantages that may occur in transmissions on the aforementioned frequencies, instigating research scientific research with students from an elementary school in Brazil. The receptions were carried out by the students during the day (9:00 and 12:00) and at night (7:00 and 00:00) using two receivers, one powered by batteries and the other by a battery (car receiver) and recorded for later group analysis adopting the SINPO code methodology. The results showed that several commercial AM radio stations were received at night, but during the day it was not possible to receive reception at any of the times analyzed. During the night, many distant stations could be captured, which negatively influenced the reception of the stations studied, but could be used to explain the propagation of the electromagnetic wave, the presence and performance of the Ionosphere and its characteristics. Due to the propagation behavior of the electromagnetic wave of AM radio stations, which has some peculiarities when compared to commercial FM stations, the use of this band in the region under study, in the case of alerts and warnings of natural disasters, must be better analyzed to ensure satisfactory results are obtained.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Statistical Study of the Magnetospheric Open-Closed Boundary (OCB) using ULF Wave Observations from Antarctic Ground Magnetometers As Compared to the Tsyganenko Model T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Rachel M. Frissell A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Andrew Gerrard A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

We present a statistical study using ground magnetometer data which are located over extensive latitudes from subauroral to the deep polar cap region. These include the Antarctic Automated Geophysical Observatories (AGOs), McMurdo Station (MCM), and South Pole Station (SPA), to characterize open-closed boundary (OCB) behavior during geomagnetically quiet times. Knowledge of the location and dynamics of the magnetic field line OCB provides insight to space physics processes such as substorms, particle precipitation events, and magnetospheric configuration. Prior studies have shown that determination of the OCB location can be made by examining the ULF wave power in data from a latitudinal chain of ground-based magnetometers extending from the auroral zone into the deep polar cap.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Trial of applying PHaRLAP raytracing to reproduce Ham spot data T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Kornyanat Hozumi A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Min-Yang Chou A1 - Gwyn Griffiths A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - Jia Yue A1 - Shing Fung A1 - Masha Kuznetsova AB -

HamSCI is one of the NASA's official citizen science projects. HamSCI spots database, which is from Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Network (WSPRNet), is of interest. Information of date, time, frequency, latitude, and longitude of transmitter and receiver are used. PHaRLAP is a raytracing tool that can trace the HF radio wave in 2D and 3D. We use the IRI model to generate the required ionospheric information. We employ the PHaRLAP to reproduce the ham spots database by launching the HF radio wave from the transmitter, of which its location is obtained from the HamSCI spots database. Then, we trace the O-mode propagation of the wave. The wave arrival latitude and longitude are then mapped into a grid based on the Amateur Radio Maidenhead Grid. Finally, we compare the raytracing-based arrival grid with the HamSCI arrival grid. The results, under the assumption of 1-hop propagation, show that the PHaRLAP raytracing can reproduce the HamSCI spots database well.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - Amateur Radio Through the Ages (Exhibit) T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Tom Mayka A1 - William Gallagher A1 - Herb Krumich A1 - Ian Kelleman A1 - Phil Galasso A1 - Elaine Kollar A1 - Dave Kirby A1 - Darlene Miller-Lanning A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

Amateur Radio Through the Ages Exhibit is an exhibit of historical amateur radios, QSL cards, QST magazines, and radio accessories on display at the University of Scranton Loyola Science Center / Hope Horn Gallery during the Spring 2023 semester. This exhibit is presented by the Murgas Amateur Radio Club K3YTL, The University of Scranton Amateur Radio Club W3USR, and The University of Scranton Department of Physics and Engineering, especially Tom Mayka W3TRM, Bill Gallagher WA3RA, Herb Krumich K2LNS, Ian Kellman K3IK, Phil Galasso K2PG, Elaine Kollar K3VQR, Dave Kirby N3SRO, Dr. Darlene Miller-Lanning, and Dr. Nathaniel Frissell W2NAF.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA UR - https://photos.app.goo.gl/68gA9i32piVyM9C59 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Climatology of Ionospheric Variability with MSTID Periods Observed Using Grape v1 HF Doppler Receivers T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Veronica Romanek A1 - Nathaniel Frissell A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - John Gibbons A1 - David Kazdan A1 - William Liles JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Coherent CW: A Claude Shannon Tempest on a Tabletop T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Andre Yost A1 - David Kazdan AB -

Experience CW as a GPS synchronized digital mode, legal on 80-40-15 for Technicians and excellent for everyone.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Crowdsourced Doppler measurements of time standard stations demonstrating ionospheric variability JF - Earth System Science Data Y1 - 2023 A1 - Collins, Kristina A1 - Gibbons, John A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A1 - Montare, Aidan A1 - Kazdan, David A1 - Kalmbach, Darren A1 - Swartz, David A1 - Benedict, Robert A1 - Romanek, Veronica A1 - Boedicker, Rachel A1 - Liles, William A1 - Engelke, William A1 - McGaw, David G. A1 - Farmer, James A1 - Mikitin, Gary A1 - Hobart, Joseph A1 - Kavanagh, George A1 - Chakraborty, Shibaji AB -

Ionospheric variability produces measurable effects in Doppler shift of HF (high-frequency, 3–30 MHz) skywave signals. These effects are straightforward to measure with low-cost equipment and are conducive to citizen science campaigns. The low-cost Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) network is a modular network of community-maintained, open-source receivers, which measure Doppler shift in the precise carrier signals of time standard stations. The primary goal of this paper is to explain the types of measurements this instrument can make and some of its use cases, demonstrating its role as the building block for a large-scale ionospheric and HF propagation measurement network which complements existing professional networks. Here, data from the PSWS network are presented for a period of time spanning late 2019 to early 2022. Software tools for the visualization and analysis of this living dataset are also discussed and provided. These tools are robust to data interruptions and to the addition, removal or modification of stations, allowing both short- and long-term visualization at higher density and faster cadence than other methods. These data may be used to supplement observations made with other geospace instruments in event-based analyses, e.g., traveling ionospheric disturbances and solar flares, and to assess the accuracy of the bottomside estimates of ionospheric models by comparing the oblique paths obtained by ionospheric ray tracers with those obtained by these receivers. The data are archived at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6622111 (Collins2022).

VL - 15 UR - https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/15/1403/2023/https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/15/1403/2023/essd-15-1403-2023.pdf IS - 3 JO - Earth Syst. Sci. Data ER - TY - Generic T1 - Development of HamSCI PSWS Ground Magnetometer and Data Visualization on the PSWS Central Website T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - David Witten A1 - Julius Madey A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - Tom Holmes A1 - Majid Mokhtari A1 - Scotty Cowling A1 - Anderson Liddle A1 - Nicholas Muscolino A1 - Zhaoshu Cao JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Evaluation of Global Ionospheric TEC Using Simultaneous Observations from Amateur Radio Networks, International Space Station, and NeQuickG Model for Space Weather Prediction T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Gamal Zayed A1 - Marcin Lesniowski A1 - Pasumarthi Babu Sree Harsha A1 - Matthew Downs A1 - Daniel Metcalfe A1 - Sila Kardelen Karabulut AB -

Ionospheric electron density plays a significant role in long-distance communications and sky-wave propagation. Prediction of the accurate state of the ionosphere is necessary to understand the accurate signal perturbations thereby estimating the critical parameters for better signal transmission. The space weather impacts on such trans-ionospheric technological systems are evident. In this work, a web application is developed to represent the global day-to-day electron density variations from the NeQuickG model. Also, the ground-based HAM radio broadcast network hop data with different wavelengths (eg. 10 m and 20 m) and simultaneous top-side electron density with space-based International Space Station (ISS) probe data from floating point measurement units are examined. The electron density variations for the year 2017 are clearly represented. Optimization techniques are necessary to frame a denser spatial grid-based ionospheric electron density map from all the observations. It is essential to estimate the optimal weight function that can distribute the observation influence over empty grid bins with minimum error variance through a probabilistic approach. User-understandable metrics development exclusively for Amateur radio operators and civil aviation sectors is focused. In the near future, the developed web-based application could serve as a better visualization platform for space weather forecasting.

This project, Fellowship of the Ionosphere, is a Global Finalist in the 2022 NASA Space Apps Challenge. NASA Space Apps 2022 had 31,400+ registered participants from 162 counties and territories, with over 3000 submissions from 5327 teams. Global Finalists are ranked as one of the top 35 projects from all submissions.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Father Joseph Murgas “The Radio Priest”: Scientist, Inventor, Artist, and Naturalist T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Elaine Kollar JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Heliophysics and amateur radio: citizen science collaborations for atmospheric, ionospheric, and space physics research and operations JF - Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences Y1 - 2023 A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. A1 - Ackermann, John R. A1 - Alexander, Jesse N. A1 - Benedict, Robert L. A1 - Blackwell, William C. A1 - Boedicker, Rachel K. A1 - Cerwin, Stephen A. A1 - Collins, Kristina V. A1 - Cowling, Scott H. A1 - Deacon, Chris A1 - Diehl, Devin M. A1 - Di Mare, Francesca A1 - Duffy, Timothy J. A1 - Edson, Laura Brandt A1 - Engelke, William D. A1 - Farmer, James O. A1 - Frissell, Rachel M. A1 - Gerzoff, Robert B. A1 - Gibbons, John A1 - Griffiths, Gwyn A1 - Holm, Sverre A1 - Howell, Frank M. A1 - Kaeppler, Stephen R. A1 - Kavanagh, George A1 - Kazdan, David A1 - Kim, Hyomin A1 - Larsen, David R. A1 - Ledvina, Vincent E. A1 - Liles, William A1 - Lo, Sam A1 - Lombardi, Michael A. A1 - MacDonald, Elizabeth A. A1 - Madey, Julius A1 - McDermott, Thomas C. A1 - McGaw, David G. A1 - McGwier, Robert W. A1 - Mikitin, Gary A. A1 - Miller, Ethan S. A1 - Mitchell, Cathryn A1 - Montare, Aidan A1 - Nguyen, Cuong D. A1 - Nordberg, Peter N. A1 - Perry, Gareth W. A1 - Piccini, Gerard N. A1 - Pozerski, Stanley W. A1 - Reif, Robert H. A1 - Rizzo, Jonathan D. A1 - Robinett, Robert S. A1 - Romanek, Veronica I. A1 - Sami, Simal A1 - Sanchez, Diego F. A1 - Sarwar, Muhammad Shaaf A1 - Schwartz, Jay A. A1 - Serra, H. Lawrence A1 - Silver, H. Ward A1 - Skov, Tamitha Mulligan A1 - Swartz, David A. A1 - Themens, David R. A1 - Tholley, Francis H. A1 - West, Mary Lou A1 - Wilcox, Ronald C. A1 - Witten, David A1 - Witvliet, Ben A. A1 - Yadav, Nisha AB -

The amateur radio community is a global, highly engaged, and technical community with an intense interest in space weather, its underlying physics, and how it impacts radio communications. The large-scale observational capabilities of distributed instrumentation fielded by amateur radio operators and radio science enthusiasts offers a tremendous opportunity to advance the fields of heliophysics, radio science, and space weather. Well-established amateur radio networks like the RBN, WSPRNet, and PSKReporter already provide rich, ever-growing, long-term data of bottomside ionospheric observations. Up-and-coming purpose-built citizen science networks, and their associated novel instruments, offer opportunities for citizen scientists, professional researchers, and industry to field networks for specific science questions and operational needs. Here, we discuss the scientific and technical capabilities of the global amateur radio community, review methods of collaboration between the amateur radio and professional scientific community, and review recent peer-reviewed studies that have made use of amateur radio data and methods. Finally, we present recommendations submitted to the U.S. National Academy of Science Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024–2033 for using amateur radio to further advance heliophysics and for fostering deeper collaborations between the professional science and amateur radio communities. Technical recommendations include increasing support for distributed instrumentation fielded by amateur radio operators and citizen scientists, developing novel transmissions of RF signals that can be used in citizen science experiments, developing new amateur radio modes that simultaneously allow for communications and ionospheric sounding, and formally incorporating the amateur radio community and its observational assets into the Space Weather R2O2R framework. Collaborative recommendations include allocating resources for amateur radio citizen science research projects and activities, developing amateur radio research and educational activities in collaboration with leading organizations within the amateur radio community, facilitating communication and collegiality between professional researchers and amateurs, ensuring that proposed projects are of a mutual benefit to both the professional research and amateur radio communities, and working towards diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities.

VL - 10 UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2023.1184171/fullhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2023.1184171/full JO - Front. Astron. Space Sci. ER - TY - Generic T1 - The K2LNS Station at Bear Creek, PA T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Elaine Kollar A1 - Herbert G Krumich, Jr. JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Lunar Dust Particle Simulation in the (12-6) Lennard-Jones Potential Approximation T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Rachel Marie Frissell A1 - Joseph Klobusicky A1 - Argyrios Varonides A1 - Amir Zamanian AB -

We model lunar dust particles as interacting ellipsoidal dipoles by means of Lennard-Jones potentials (L-J). Lunar surface dust particles are continuously bombarded by plasma charge particles coming from the solar wind. It has been recognized that solar wind bombardment leads to strong intergrain interactions between dust particulates leading to collective effects such as attraction of charged dust particles. Formation of electrostatically ordered dust structures is believed to be due to strong attractive van der Waals-like potentials at distances in the order of interparticle separation. Dust-dust electrostatic interactions and collisions may lead to particle coalescence or dust-lumps kept together due to Coulomb forces. On the other hand, dust ionization occurs after solar wind electrons collide with grains in the plasma sheath formed on the lunar surface. Particle coalescence and to an extent condensation is feasible when an attractive potential is present. Ellipsoidal dipole condensation is possible in the presence of a Lennard-Jones (L-J) potential.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Measuring Daily Ionospheric Variability and the 2023 and 2024 Solar Eclipse Ionospheric Impacts Using HamSCI HF Doppler Shift Receivers T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Rachel Boedicker A1 - Nathaniel Frissell A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - John Gibbons A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Philip J. Erickson AB -

This project will study ionospheric variability across the continental United States (CONUS) generated by dawn/dusk transitions and two solar eclipses occurring in 2023 and 2024. Dawn and dusk produce a complex response in observed ionospheric variability that is still not completely understood. A network of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stabilized/synchronized high frequency (HF) receivers known as Grapes will be used for the study. Thirty Grape receivers will be deployed throughout North America to optimize the study of the ionospheric impacts simultaneously received from two locations. Additional stations will be funded by the HamSCI amateur radio community. This project will generate observations to answer the scientific questions: (1) How do dawn and dusk ionospheric variability vary with local time, season, latitude, longitude, frequency, distance, and direction from the transmitter? (2) Is eclipse ionospheric response symmetric with regard to the onset and recovery timing? (3) How similar is the eclipse to the daily dawn and dusk terminator passage? (4) Would multipath HF mode-splitting in the post-eclipse interval be similar to dawn events? (5) Would the response be different for two eclipses?

This project is part of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) program and will be open to volunteers who want to field instruments and contribute to scientific analysis and discussion. This project will also establish a new network of DASI instruments that, due to its low cost and operation by volunteers, has the potential to provide measurements for years to come. This project will support students (undergraduate, MS and Ph.D.).

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Observing Auroral Radio Emissions in Conjugate Hemispheres T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - James LaBelle A1 - David McGaw A1 - T. Kovacs A1 - A. Kashcheyev A1 - P.T. Jayachandran AB -

In addition to its beautiful optical displays, the aurora produces radio emissions of various types, including cyclotron harmonic emissions, auroral hiss, medium frequency burst (MFB), and auroral kilometric radiation (AKR). These emissions enable remote sensing of ionospheric processes and provide a natural laboratory for studying physics of radio emissions that also occur in planetary, solar, and astrophysical environments. Similar to the optical aurora, these radio emissions are generated separately in the northern and southern hemispheres. Nevertheless, optical aurora sometimes exhibit similar features simultaneously in the two hemispheres because aurora in both hemispheres are ultimately driven by the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere. The same should be true of radio emission. At very low frequencies (VLF), auroral hiss has previously been detected at conjugate observatories in Iceland and Antarctica, and satellite-borne radio receivers have observed AKR simultaneously emanating from conjugate sources; however, the other types of radio emission have never been studied at both ends of a magnetic field line. To accomplish this, LF/MF/HF radio receivers have recently been installed at Qikiktarjuaq and Iqaluit, Nunavut, observatories of the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network (CHAIN) which straddle the nominal magnetic conjugate point of South Pole Station, Antarctica, where Dartmouth College operates LF/MF/HF receivers. The Arctic observations employ a dedicated 10-m^2 magnetic loop antenna with active preamp, and a feed from the horizontal linear dipole antennas used for reception of CHAIN ionosonde signals. The Antarctic observations use magnetic loops of areas 2.5-40 m^2 depending on frequency range. Both systems have collected data since October, 2022. Conjugate auroral hiss events have been detected in both equinoctial and solstice conditions. In the latter case, the hiss observed in the daylit hemisphere was weaker than that in the dark ionosphere. Based on initial data, the characteristics and seasonal dependence of conjugate LF auroral hiss appears consistent with previous observations at VLF. Many hiss and cyclotron harmonic emissions have been observed in one hemisphere but not the other. Upcoming 2023 Spring equinox will bring a period of simultaneous darkness at South Pole and Qikiktarjuaq ideal for conjugate medium frequency burst and cyclotron harmonic emissions.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Project HALO: An Effort to Provide Continuous Meteorological Observations of the April 8th, 2024 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Wesley Taylor A1 - Allison Krantz A1 - Joshua Kinsky A1 - Nichole Behrenhauser A1 - Alex Colgate A1 - Melodie Martinez-Manahan AB -

Project HALO aims to provide continuous meteorological monitoring of the total solar eclipse on April 8th, 2024. The project's preliminary goals are to determine whether or not the boundary layer temperature inversion generated by the eclipse can be considered a function of latitude. To complete this endeavor, we seek to create a network of observation teams to collect data on the day of the eclipse. We hope to provide a space for a discussion on interest, logistics, and the possibility of expanding the scope of the project to potentially include the monitoring of the solar corona, atmospheric compositional dynamics, and other topics of interest. Since the project will still be in its planning phase, not all details will be determined by the time of the conference.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Statistical and Case Studies of Open Closed Boundaries (OCB) using ULF Wave Observations from Antarctic AGOs, McMurdo Station, and South Pole Station T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Rachel M. Frissell A1 - Andrew J. Gerrard A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

We present a statistical study using ground magnetometer data from the Antarctic Automated Geophysical Observatories (AGOs) to characterize open- closed boundary (OCB) behavior during geomagnetically quiet times. Knowledge of the location and dynamics of the magnetic field line OCB provides insight to space physics processes such as sub storms, particle precipitation events, and magnetospheric configuration. Prior studies have shown that determination of the OCB location can be made by examining the ULF wave power in data from a latitudinal chain of ground-based magnetometers extending from the auroral zone into the deep polar cap. In this statistical study, AGOs 1, 2, 3, and 5, along with McMurdo (MCM) and South Pole Station (SPA) were studied. The seasons chosen were centered around the four cardinal dates, March 20th, June 21st, September 22nd, and December 21st. For each season, 60 days were selected centered around the cardinal date; any days with a planetary Ap greater than 30 were discarded. Using the H- component fluxgate data from South Pole Station, McMurdo Station and the AGO systems, an average daily residual power spectra was calculated. The spectrograms for SPA, MCM, and AGO show signatures of whether the station is located in an open or closed magnetic region. We will present case studies of individual days and a climatology of ULF activity as a function of season.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Teaching Undergraduate Computer Networking with M17 T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Anthony Kapolka AB -

M17 (https://m17project.org/) is a simple, digital, open source, full stack communications protocol designed for amateur radio use. Its characteristics suggest it would make a perfect case study for a detail-oriented undergraduate computer science networking course. This presentation will introduce M17 and assess the suitability of its codebase for pedagogy, answering the question ‘How can it be used as a springboard for network protocol coding and experimentation?’ by providing examples of its utilization in lecture and lab with reference to the ACM Computing Curricula 2020 and joint ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013 guidelines.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Teaching Undergraduate Computer Networking with M17 T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Anthony Kapolka AB -

M17 (https://m17project.org/) is a simple, digital, open source, full stack communications protocol designed for amateur radio use. Its characteristics suggest it would make a perfect case study for a detail-oriented undergraduate computer science networking course. This presentation will introduce M17 and assess the suitability of its codebase for pedagogy, answering the question ‘How can it be used as a springboard for network protocol coding and experimentation?’ by providing examples of its utilization in lecture and lab with reference to the ACM Computing Curricula 2020 and joint ACM/IEEE Computer Science Curricula 2013 guidelines.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Through a Channel Dispersively with FB Copy: An Experience of fldigi Operating Modes T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - Rachel Boedicker A1 - David Kazdan AB -

Bring a laptop with fldigi installed for the microphone/speaker soundcard
Have some small .jpg files to send.
Try different phase and frequency digital modes in noise, multipath, and dispersion, discuss the fldigi 'scope views.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2023 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Amateur Radio: An Integral Tool for Atmospheric, Ionospheric, and Space Physics Research and Operations JF - White Paper Submitted to the National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Laura Brandt A1 - Stephen A. Cerwin A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - David Kazdan A1 - John Gibbons A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - Rachel M. Frissell A1 - Robert B. Gerzoff A1 - Stephen R. Kaeppler A1 - Vincent Ledvina A1 - William Liles A1 - Michael Lombardi A1 - Elizabeth MacDonald A1 - Francesca Di Mare A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Gareth W. Perry A1 - Jonathan D. Rizzo A1 - Diego F. Sanchez A1 - H. Lawrence Serra A1 - H. Ward Silver A1 - David R. Themens A1 - Mary Lou West ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Fostering Collaborations with the Amateur Radio Community JF - White Paper Submitted to the National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey for Solar and Space Physics (Heliophysics) 2024-2033 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Laura Brandt A1 - Stephen A. Cerwin A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - Timothy J. Duffy A1 - David Kazdan A1 - John Gibbons A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - Rachel M. Frissell A1 - Robert B. Gerzoff A1 - Stephen R. Kaeppler A1 - Vincent Ledvina A1 - William Liles A1 - Elizabeth MacDonald A1 - Gareth W. Perry A1 - Jonathan D. Rizzo A1 - Diego F. Sanchez A1 - H. Lawrence Serra A1 - H. Ward Silver A1 - Tamitha Mulligan Skov A1 - Mary Lou West ER - TY - Generic T1 - Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling Studies Using the PSWS Magnetometer Network T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Sadaf Ansari A1 - Julius Madey A1 - David Witten A1 - David Larsen A1 - Scotty Cowling A1 - Nathaniel Frissell A1 - James Weygand AB -

As part of HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) project, a low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf magnetometer, which measures magnetic field strength and direction, has been developed to provide quantitative and qualitative measurements of the geospace environment from the ground for both scientific and operational purposes at a cost that will allow for crowd-sourced data contributions. The PSWS magnetometers employ a magneto-inductive sensor technology to record three-axis magnetic field variations with a field resolution of ~6 nT at a 1 Hz sample rate. Data from the PSWS network will combine these magnetometer measurements with high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio observations to monitor large-scale current systems and ionospheric disturbances due to drivers from both space and the atmosphere. A densely-spaced magnetometer array, once established, will demonstrate their space weather monitoring capability to an unprecedented spatial extent. Magnetic field data obtained by the magnetometers installed at various locations in the US are presented and compared with the existing magnetometers nearby, demonstrating that its performance is very adequate for scientific investigations.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - Generic T1 - NASA/HPD/Space Weather/Citizen Science Programs Contributions to the HamSCI Workshop T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - E. Shume A1 - J. Spann A1 - J. Woodroffe A1 - R. Friedel A1 - J. Favors A1 - W. Twetten A1 - E. MacDonald A1 - A. Rymer A1 - S. Finn A1 - J. Kozyra A1 - K. Korreck AB -

This contribution to the HamSCI 2022 Workshop will provide: A summary of the goals of the NASA’s Heliophysics Division (HPD); A summary of the strategies and activities of the space weather and citizen science programs in NASA’s HPD. The presentation will discuss the relevance of the space weather and citizen science research programs to the HamSCI community.

NASA/HPD ROSES programs solicit research proposals so that amateur radio observations could be utilized for innovative science and technology research. NASA/HPD anticipates creating opportunities to enhance participation of the HamSCI community in observations of natural events in the 2023-2024 timeframe: The Heliophysics Big Year (HBY) including the upcoming annular solar eclipse (Oct 14, 2023) and total solar eclipse (Apr 8, 2024) over North America as well as the next solar max. NASA/HPD anticipates supporting HamSCI activities through space-based observations that can be leveraged by amateur radio scientists to enhance scientific contribution of the HamSCI community.
JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - Generic T1 - Three Time-of-Flight Measurement Projects on a Common Hardware Platform T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - David Kazdan A1 - John Gibbons A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - Maxwell Bauer A1 - Evan Bender A1 - Ryan Marks A1 - Michael O'Brien A1 - Olivia O'Brien A1 - Gabriel Foss A1 - Mari Pugliese A1 - Alejandra Ramos A1 - Carolina Whitaker AB -

Three undergraduate electrical engineering project groups at Case Western Reserve University are investigating distributed ionospheric sounding through time-of-flight measurements.  All use GPS pulse-per-second signals for precise timing of received signals.  Two use as their "radar signals of opportunity" LF, MF, and HF beacons from the US Department of Commerce National Institute of Science and Technology installations north of Fort Collins, Colorado and near Kekaha, Hawaii (radio stations WWVB, WWV, and WWVH).  The third project modernizes the on-off telegraphy variant known as "coherent CW" (CCW). CCW uses amateur radio QSO or beacon transmissions as the measured signals.  It facilitates Technician-licensee participation in active HF research and in keyboard-to-keyboard digital contacts, within FCC regulations.  Using computed matched-filter techniques along the lines of FT8, CCW has a nearly optimal information-theoretic data recovery.  With transmission or lookup of station locations, it can provide automated time of flight measurements while making a contact.  The three projects use a common hardware platform for receiver or transceiver interfacing, involving synchronized analog data collection and front-end data processing with the Teensy variant of the Arduino platform.  Teensy was chosen primarily for its sampling and computing speed. WWVB’s signal can be sampled directly with the Teensy front-end and some data processing can done between sample acquisitions through timer interrupt programming.  WWV/H second ticks delay measurements use inexpensive shortwave radio audio outputs, sampled and processed by the Teensy.  The CCW sampling and matched filtering, plus synchronized Morse keying, are similarly done by the Teensy. Data presentation, user interface, and data uploading to repositories are done by minimal general purpose computers such as Raspberry Pi boards.  We will present the common hardware and interrupt strategies along with a brief overview of the three projects.  Comments and suggestions will be solicited, and of course participation in the projects is invited.  The three projects are supported by a generous grant to the Case Amateur Radio Club W8EDU from ARDC.  CARC is providing oversight of the projects and the projects use the club station as a laboratory facility.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - Generic T1 - On the Use of High Frequency Surface Wave Oceanographic Research Radars as Bistatic Single Frequency Oblique Ionospheric Sounders T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Stephen R. Kaeppler A1 - Ethan Miller AB -

We present an investigation demonstrating that passively collected high frequency coastal oceanographic radars, with suitable waveform characteristics, can be used as single frequency oblique ionospheric sounders. To our knowledge, this is one of the first demonstrations of dual purpose use of these HF coastal radars, in addition to their primary role as ocean current monitors. We present a technique for extracting the virtual height using the E-region as a time calibration; this technique is agnostic of the software defined radio used. The application of this investigation may be useful for expanding spatial coverage for traveling ionospheric disturbance studies, day-to-day variability studies, or within data-assimilation routines. Additionally, HF coastal radars may be used by the scientific community or radio amateur as an another suitable RF source. We performed an experiment in which we collected 10 days of data in March 2016 from a site in Maryland, USA (MSR) and 21 days of data collected in October 2020 from a site near Clemson, South Carolina, USA (CARL). For both experiments, we used a similar hardware setup utilizing an Ettus USRP N210 software defined radio, including the GPSDO unit. We performed radar signal processing to obtain the group delay time from the passively received signal of Coastal Ocean Dynamics Applications Radar (CODARs). Our observations for both intervals focused on one frequency band at 4.53718 MHz which included three CODAR transmitters located on the Coast of North Carolina and Virigina with callsigns: DUCK, CORE, and LISL. The digisonde located at Wallops Island, VA (WP937) was used as the diagnostic to compare and validate with the observations collected from oblique CODAR-MSR(CARL) paths.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - CONF T1 - Amateur Radio Communications as a Novel Sensor of Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (Invited) T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2021 A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. A1 - Sanchez, Diego F. A1 - Perry, Gareth W. A1 - Kaeppler, Steven R. A1 - Joshi, Dev Raj A1 - Engelke, William A1 - Thomas, Evan G. A1 - Coster, Anthea J. A1 - Erickson, Philip J. A1 - Ruohoniemi, J. Michael A1 - Baker, Joseph B. H. AB -

Amateur (ham) radio high frequency (HF) communications are routinely observed by automated receiving systems on a quasi-global scale. As these signals are modulated by the ionosphere, it is possible to use these observations to remotely sense ionospheric dynamics and the coupled geospace environment. In this presentation, we demonstrate the use of these data to observe Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (LSTIDs), which are quasi-periodic variations in F region electron density with horizontal wavelengths > 1000 km and periods between 30 to 180 min. On 3 November 2017, LSTID signatures were detected simultaneously over the continental United States in observations made by global HF amateur radio observing networks and the Blackstone (BKS) SuperDARN radar. The amateur radio LSTIDs were observed on the 7 and 14 MHz amateur radio bands as changes in average propagation path length with time, while the LSTIDs were observed by SuperDARN as oscillations of average scatter range. LSTID period lengthened from T ~ 1.5 hr at 12 UT to T ~ 2.25 hr by 21 UT. The amateur radio and BKS SuperDARN radar observations corresponded with Global Navigation Satellite System differential Total Electron Content (GNSS dTEC) measurements. dTEC was used to estimate LSTID parameters: horizontal wavelength 1136 km, phase velocity 1280 km/hr, period 53 min, and propagation azimuth 167°. The LSTID signatures were observed throughout the day following ~400 to 800 nT surges in the Auroral Electrojet (AE) index. As a contrast, 16 May 2017 was identified as a period with significant amateur radio coverage but no LSTID signatures in spite of similar geomagnetic conditions and AE activity as the 3 November event. We hypothesize that atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) sources triggered by auroral electrojet intensifications and associated Joule heating are the source of the LSTIDs, and discuss possible reasons why LSTIDs were observed in November but not May.

JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union CY - New Orleans, LA UR - https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/822746 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Coherent CW: A Technician’s HF Digital Mode T2 - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Kazdan, David A1 - Montare Aidan JF - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference PB - ARRL-TAPR CY - Virtual UR - https://youtu.be/kVY3E3e--_I?t=5168 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Construction and Operation of a HamSCI Grape Version 1 Personal Space Weather Station: A Citizen Scientist’s Perspective T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2021 A1 - Hobart, Joseph R. A1 - Farmer, James O. A1 - Mikitin, Gary A1 - Waugh, David A1 - Benedict, Robert A1 - Cerwin, Stephen A. A1 - Collins, Kristina V, A1 - Kazdan, David A1 - Gibbons, John A1 - Romanek, Veronica I. A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. AB -

Measurement of Doppler shifts of high frequency (HF) radio signals emitted by precision frequency transmitters is a well-established technique for the detection of traveling ionospheric disturbances and other perturbations in the bottomside ionosphere. Because Doppler measurements require minimal instrumentation, this technique naturally lends itself to crowdsourced data collection, and purpose-built instrumentation platforms are desirable in order to maximize consistency and repeatability. However, even the best system only has value if it is used, and a robust and engaged community of citizen scientists is vital to sustaining instrumentation platforms. The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) has developed a prototype, low-cost system for making HF Doppler shift measurements of signals from standards stations such as WWV (Fort Collins, Colorado, USA) and CHU (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). This system, known as the Personal Space Weather Station Grape Version 1, consists of a low intermediate frequency (IF) mixer board, GPS disciplined oscillator, and Raspberry Pi. In collaboration with funded project scientists and engineers, volunteer HamSCI community members developed instructions for building and operating a Grape Version 1 on the HamSCI website. In this presentation, we explain the process for constructing a Grape Version 1 and discuss the experiences of volunteers who have built and are now operating this system. We also discuss preliminary data from these stations, which show dramatic Doppler shifts during sunrise and sunset and during solar events. Concurrent data from multiple proximal stations show shared features and can be used for validation. These stations constitute the first iteration of the Personal Space Weather Station network.

JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union CY - New Orleans, LA UR - https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/845691 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Data Collection from WWV, WWVH, and WWVB: A Histoanatomy of NIST's Radio Beacon Transmissions T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Kristina V. Collins AB -

Beacon radio stations WWV, WWVH, and WWVB are maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for frequency and time of day distribution.  Their accuracy and power level are adequate to make the stations suitable for use as passive beacons in ionospheric sounding.  The signals' carriers are useful in measurements, and each of the modulation components has its own separate utility, as well. This poster describes several approaches to determining total path length rate of change from the stations to distant receivers through measurements of various signal parts. Tradeoffs for the several approaches in signal strength to noise ratio, ability to distinguish signals from multiple time standard stations, and other factors are discussed.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=65-9B-EB-D7-81-ED-65-2D-38-C6-5F-CB-F3-ED-B2-B0 ER - TY - CONF T1 - An Easily Constructed High Resolution 3 Axis Magnetometer for Backyard Citizen Science T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2021 A1 - Madey, Julius A1 - Witten, David A1 - Kim, Hyomin A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. AB -

An answer to the need of the Hamsci Personal Space Weather Station Project for a low cost easily deployed 3 Axis magnetometer for earth surface geomagnetic field measurements based on the PNI RM3100 magneto-inductive magnetometer module for $31 in single quantities, compatible with Raspberry Pi class Single Board Computer data interfaces. Development of an inexpensive housing using off the shelf (OTF) components and a simple temperature stabilization technique and recommended interface will be discussed. Magnetometer system data will be compared with an appropriate Intermagnet site demonstrating the ability of this low cost instrument to achieve near 5nT resolution and noise, opening the potential for a diverse network of Citizen Scientist sites contributing data to better understand Earth's geomagnetic field.

JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union UR - https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm21/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/997017 ER - TY - MGZN T1 - Ham Radio Creates a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network Y1 - 2021 A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Nathaniel Frissell JF - QST VL - 105 UR - https://www.arrl.org/qst IS - 8 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network JF - Eos Y1 - 2021 A1 - Collins, Kristina A1 - Kazdan, David A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel VL - 102 UR - https://eos.org/features/ham-radio-forms-a-planet-sized-space-weather-sensor-network JO - Eos ER - TY - Generic T1 - HamSCI: Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation T2 - ISWAT Meeting Y1 - 2021 A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. A1 - Sanchez, Diego A1 - Perry, Gareth W. A1 - Kaeppler, Stephen R. A1 - Joshi, Dev Raj A1 - Engelke, William D. A1 - Thomas, Evan G. A1 - Coster, Anthea J. A1 - Erickson, Philip J. A1 - Ruohoniemi, J. Michael A1 - Baker, Joseph B. H. A1 - Gerzoff, Robert JF - ISWAT Meeting PB - International Space Weather Action Team (ISWAT) CY - Virtual ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI Personal Space Weather: Architecture and Applications to Radio Astronomy T2 - Annual (Summer) Eastern Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Scott H. Cowling A1 - Thomas C. McDermott A1 - John Ackermann A1 - David Typinski A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - David R. Larsen A1 - David G. McGaw A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - David M. Witten, II A1 - Julius M. Madey A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - John C. Gibbons A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Aidan Montare A1 - Dev Raj Joshi A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Cuong D. Nguyen A1 - Stephen A. Cerwin A1 - William Liles A1 - Jonathan D. Rizzo A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Juha Vierinen A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Mary Lou West AB -

The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) project is a citizen science initiative to develop a new modular set of ground-based instrumentation for the purpose of studying the structure and dynamics of the terrestrial ionosphere, as well as the larger, coupled geospace system. PSWS system instrumentation includes radio receivers sensitive to frequencies ranging from the very low frequency (VLF) through very high frequency (VHF) bands, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver to provide Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements and serve as a precision time and frequency reference, and a ground magnetometer sensitive to ionospheric and geospace currents. Although the PSWS is designed primarily for space weather and space science, its modular and open design in both hardware and software allows for a variety of use cases. The core radio instrument of the PSWS, the TangerineSDR, is a wideband, direct sampling 100~kHz to 60~MHz field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based software defined radio (SDR) receiver with direct applicability to radio astronomy. In this paper, we describe the PSWS and TangerineSDR architecture, show examples of how the TangerineSDR could be used to observe Jovian decametric emission, and discuss the applicability of the TangerineSDR to radio astronomy in general.

JF - Annual (Summer) Eastern Conference PB - Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers (SARA) CY - Virtual UR - https://rasdr.org/store/books/books/journals/proceedings-of-annual-conference ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS): Architecture and Current Status T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2021 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Dev Joshi A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - Aidan Montare A1 - David Kazdan A1 - John Gibbons A1 - William D. Engelke A1 - Travis Atkison A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Scott H. Cowling A1 - Thomas C. McDermott A1 - John Ackermann A1 - David Witten A1 - Julius Madey A1 - H. Ward Silver A1 - William Liles A1 - Steven Cerwin A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Juha Vierinen AB -

Recent advances in geospace remote sensing have shown that large-scale distributed networks of ground-based sensors pay large dividends by providing a big picture view of phenomena that were previously observed only by point-measurements. While existing instrument networks provide excellent insight into ionospheric and space science, the system remains undersampled and more observations are needed to advance understanding. In an effort to generate these additional measurements, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI, hamsci.org) is working with the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR, tapr.org), an engineering organization comprised of volunteer amateur radio operators and engineers, to develop a network of Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS). These instruments that will provide scientific-grade observations of signals-of-opportunity across the HF bands from volunteer citizen observers as part of the NSF Distributed Array of Small Instruments (DASI) program. A performance-driven PSWS design (~US$500) will be a modular, multi-instrument device that will consist of a dual-channel phase-locked 0.1-60 MHz software defined radio (SDR) receiver, a ground magnetometer with (~10 nT resolution and 1-sec cadence), and GPS/GNSS receiver to provide precision time stamping and serve as a GPS disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) to provide stability to the SDR receiver. A low-cost PSWS (< US$100) that measures Doppler shift of HF signals received from standards stations such as WWV (US) and CHU (Canada) and includes a magnetometer is also being developed. HF sounding algorithms making use of signals of opportunity will be developed for the SDR-based PSWS. All measurements will be collected into a central database for coordinated analysis and made available for public access.

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) PB - CEDAR CY - Virtual ER - TY - Generic T1 - HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS): Fall 2021 Update T2 - TAPR-ARRL Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. A1 - Joshi, Dev Raj A1 - Collins, Kristina A1 - Montare Aidan A1 - Kazdan, David A1 - Engelke, William D. A1 - Atkison, Travis A1 - Kim, Hyomin A1 - Cowling, Scott H. A1 - McDermott, Thomas C. A1 - Ackermann, John A1 - Witten, David A1 - Madey, Jules A1 - Silver, H. Ward A1 - Liles, W. A1 - Cerwin, Stephen A. A1 - Erickson, Phillip J. A1 - Miller, Ethan S, A1 - Vierinen, Juha JF - TAPR-ARRL Digital Communications Conference PB - ARRL-TAPR CY - Virtual UR - https://youtu.be/MHkz7jNynOg?t=1990 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Implementation of a point-to-point ray tracer T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Scott Driggers A1 - Steven R. Kaeppler AB -

Most ray tracers treat the problem as a Hamiltonian optics problem given an index of refraction, i.e., the ionosphere in this case.  However, Coleman 2011 developed a method for ray tracing that used a direct variation method.  The advantage of this method is that the endpoints of the ray remained fixed, while in more standard ray tracer, rays are launched until a link is made between the transmitter and receiver.  Development of this method may provide a potentially efficient method for determining the link between a transmitter receiver pair, given a model ionosphere.  We present efforts toward implementing the methodology described by Coleman 2011.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=3A-71-3B-21-F1-51-7F-5B-44-BE-57-61-1A-79-02-6B ER - TY - Generic T1 - Plasma Bubble and Blob Events in the F-region Ionosphere T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Sovit Khadka A1 - Cesar Valladares A1 - Andrew Gerrard AB -

The equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) and plasma blobs (enhancements) are, in general, the nighttime phenomena of ionospheric plasma irregularities in the F-region ionosphere. This study presents plasma bubble and blob events identified from the SWARM satellite constellation when it flies above the American continent. We have also simultaneously examined the behavior of total electron content (TEC), its depletions, and enhancements in the equatorial/low/mid-latitude F-region ionosphere detected from ground-based Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in the American sector. The in situ observations of bubble and blob events are concurrently supported by GPS-TEC measurement from the ground. Additionally, the coordinated ground- and satellite-based observations indicate that the ground-based data show the variability of the background ionosphere prior, during, and later than the development time of the EPBs as seen by the SWARM. For this limited analysis, the plasma blob events are mostly seen at/nearby mid-latitude regions. Finally, we discuss the possible mechanism of the generation, evolution, and relationship between EPBs and plasma blobs in the F-region ionosphere.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=51-F0-AC-9D-0C-7E-D9-A3-FC-F1-2E-13-F2-6E-34-90 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Preliminary Data Analysis of PSWS Magnetometer Data T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Julius Madey A1 - David M. Witten II A1 - David Larsen A1 - Scott H. Cowling A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - James Weygand AB -

We report on the preliminary analysis of data obtained from newly developed magnetometers as part of HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) project. These systems are designed to provide quantitative and qualitative measurements of the geospace environment from the ground for both scientific and operational purposes at a cost that will allow for crowd-sourced data contributions. The PSWS magnetometers employ low-cost, commercial off-the-shelf, magneto-inductive sensor technology to record three-axis magnetic field variations with an adequate field resolution of ~10 nT at a 1 Hz sample rate. Data from the PSWS network will combine these magnetometer measurements with high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio observations to monitor large-scale current systems and ionospheric disturbances due to drivers from both space and the atmosphere. A densely-spaced magnetometer array, once established, will demonstrate their space weather monitoring capability in unprecedented spatial extent. Magnetic field data obtained by the magnetometers installed at three locations across the US are presented and compared with the existing magnetometers nearby. 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - Generic T1 - PSWS Grape Hardware: Version 1.0 and Pilot Experiments T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - John Gibbons A1 - David Kazdan AB -

One year into our NSF grant, HamSCI's Low-Cost Personal Space Weather Station is undergoing rapid development. Like its namesake, the "Grape" does its best work in bunches, and several early prototypes are already deployed and collecting Doppler data. This talk will present the Grape 1.0 hardware, the data collected by pilot stations, and the lessons this platform has taught us as we move to Grape 2.0.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - Generic T1 - PSWS Ground Magnetometer Hardware T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Julius Madey A1 - David Witten, II A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - David Larsen A1 - Scott H. Cowling A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

The path from candidate device for the magnetometer function of the PSWS to practical affordable working 24/7 data collection installations based on the low cost and readily available PNI RM3100 magneto-inductive sensor is discussed.  Initial support board design using i2c bus connection to the host Odroid or Raspberry Pi class microprocessors with support for remote extension of the sensor to at least 100 feet with common CAT5 networking cable will be described as well as the accompanying test and logging software.  Details of initial testing which revealed the need for temperature stabilization of the RM3100, verified remote operation to at least 500 feet, the subsequent design of an in-ground sensor housing made from common PVC water pipe and fittings and refinement of the microprocessor adapter board and remote board will be presented.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - Generic T1 - PSWS Magnetometer Science Update T2 - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Kim, Hyomin A1 - Madey, Julius A1 - Witten, David A1 - Larsen, David R. A1 - Cowling, Scott H. A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. A1 - Weygand, James JF - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference PB - ARRL-TAPR CY - Virtual UR - https://youtu.be/MHkz7jNynOg?t=4555 ER - TY - Generic T1 - RJOVER: An alternative approach using SDR technology to reduce costs for the NASA Radio JOVE citizen science effort T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Tyler Kovach A1 - Skylar Dannhoff A1 - Jared May AB -

The NASA-run citizen science project, Radio JOVE, utilizes widespread distribution of single and dual-dipole antenna receiving stations to study the magnetic interactions between Jupiter and its moon, Io. The citizen science effort has been well established and maintained since 1998, and the Radio JOVE project team has streamlined kit distribution and assembly documentation for amateur data collectors and hobbyists. The antennas, receiver, software, and related components are available for purchase in kits that range in price from depending on the level of “pre-assembly”. For instance, we estimate that the prices of un-assembled and fully assembled kit receivers are approximately $95 and $225, respectively. Establishing a Radio JOVE receiving station is no small task, and these prices are reasonable and appropriate. To further data collection accessibility and broaden the participating audience, however, we seek to further reduce these costs-- specifically that of the receiver. Our primary goal is to code, integrate, and test a software-defined radio (SDR) receiver for Radio JOVE data collection to verify whether the technology could be a less expensive alternative to the original distributed kit receiver. By coordinating with the Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Research Farm, as well as with guidance from faculty in the CWRU Electrical, Computer, and Science Engineering (ECSE) department and the Radio JOVE Project Team, we hope to establish a Radio JOVE receiving station at CWRU whereupon we can test our alternative SDR receiver for Jovian signal collection. If our alternative receiver works on a level comparable to the existing kit receiver, we can offer a cheaper, more modern and digital age approach that could appeal to a wider audience including those working with a tighter budget and those who are interested in software-defined radio, all of whom simply want to help the scientific effort. 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=8D-A5-71-AF-BD-32-32-6C-C3-71-E2-59-AB-87-B0-0D ER - TY - Generic T1 - Sources of Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed using HamSCI Amateur Radio, SuperDARN, and GNSS TEC T2 - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. A1 - Sanchez, Diego F. A1 - Perry, Gareth W. A1 - Kaeppler, Stephen R. A1 - Joshi, Dev Raj A1 - Engelke, William D. A1 - Thomas, Evan G. A1 - Coster, Anthea J. A1 - Erickson, Philip J. A1 - Ruohoniemi, J. Michael A1 - Baker, Joseph B. H. JF - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference PB - ARRL-TAPR CY - Virtual UR - https://youtu.be/MHkz7jNynOg?t=22608 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Statistical Perspectives On the Human Factor in Spot Data from RBN and WSPR Networks T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - David Campbell A1 - Deborah Kunkel AB -

The amateur radio reporting networks RBN and WSPRnet generate a wealth of data that can be used to great advantage in scientific research, and previous analyses of these data have shown that space weather events and ionospheric disturbances can be detected through patterns in the spot data. Although the spots recorded by the network undoubtedly reflect such changes in the natural environment, these patterns are confounded with the effects of human behaviors, such as the geographic dispersion of ham radio operators, time preferences among operators, and different levels of activity for different stations.  Statistical models have the potential to estimate these “human effects” and decouple them from the natural process that makes propagation possible. We will present a statistical modeling approach for these data that accounts for the non-probabilistic sampling methods that produce them.  We will also present Spot Watcher, an app that we are developing for visualization of spots using open source tools, and comment on some of the pre-processing challenges in statistical analysis of spot data.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - Generic T1 - A Survey of HF Doppler TID Signatures Observed Using a Grape in New Jersey T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Dev Joshi A1 - William Liles A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - John Gibbons A1 - David Kazdan JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=6A-B6-94-74-A1-46-CF-D2-AC-BA-F3-58-2E-71-17-97 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Toward interpretation of HF propagation data obtained by the HamSCI Community - Ray Tracers and Ionospheric Models T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Stephen R. Kaeppler A1 - Scott Driggers A1 - Andrew Wetzel A1 - Alexander Murtha A1 - Tedi Godfrey AB -

Perhaps one of the most pressing questions the Ham Sci community needs to address is how data obtained by the tangerineSDR or other platforms will be interpreted to obtain scientifically useful information.  One approach is to produce an appropriate forward model describing the ionosphere and use ray tracers to convert that model into observables that are measured using SDRs.  The purpose of this talk is to discuss these issues in general terms, but also to discuss simulation strategies that could be useful for the data collected by a network of radio amateurs.  I will also present on the development of an open source python-based 3-D Jones Stephenson Ray tracer and other developments out of my laboratory that are relevant to ray tracing, including implementation using cuda and the development of point-to-point ray tracing.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - Generic T1 - Traveling ionospheric disturbances tracked through Doppler-shifted AM radio transmissions T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Claire C. Trop A1 - James LaBelle A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Shunrong Zhang A1 - David McGaw A1 - Terrence Kovacs AB -

A comprehensive understanding of the ionosphere is critical for many technologies, particularly those that rely on the propagation of radio waves. This study shows that traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs), dawn and dusk signal divergence (terminators), and spread F can be tracked and analyzed using clear channel AM radio transmissions and a set of geographically distributed receivers. Early attempts by our research group to track TIDs by AM radio signals reflected from the F region of the ionosphere generated results in conflict with those derived from GPS/TEC mapping methods [Chilcote et al., 2015]. This study seeks to resolve those conflicts with a more sophisticated array of receivers spread throughout the northeastern United States. Specifically, the receivers form a ring around an 810 kHz AM radio station in Schenectady, New York. A minimum of four receivers have been operational from 3/19/20 to the present and Doppler-shifted signals, attributed to TID events, have been consistently visible across several radio channels with frequencies between 800 to 1600kHz. We have focused our study thus far on the terminator signals which appear to be consistent with photochemistry effects and on TID wave characteristic analysis. We have collected a set of exceptional TID events over the past nine months and have correlated our calculated wave characteristics with the data from GNSS TEC, digisonde, and SuperDARN in general finding good agreement between our technique and these established methods. While our study still seeks to clarify discrepancies in our data similar to those seen by Chilcote in the original study, the consistency with which our data typically agrees with other methods supports the validity of using AM radio transmissions to track TIDs in addition to other ionospheric phenomena such as the terminator. 

Reference: Chilcote, M., et al. (2015), Detection of traveling ionospheric disturbances by medium-frequency Doppler sounding using AM radio transmissions, Radio Sci., 50, doi:10.1002/2014RS005617.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - Generic T1 - Use of the Short Wave Radio to prove the ionosphere with students from a public school in Brazil T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Alexandre Takio Kitagawa AB -

Knowledge of the characteristics of the ionosphere is largely based on its effects on electromagnetic waves. For the teaching of the atmosphere layers, in Brazil, as public schools have textbooks, pictures and videos, however, a practical experiment is not often performed . To remedy this gap, using low-cost materials, an experiment was carried out, well known for radio amateurs using two receivers, one portable shortwave (5.950 to 6.200 MHz and 7.100 to 7.300 MHz) and the other to FM (88 to 108 MHz), where shortwave radio stations with foreign language broadcasts were randomly tuned to characterize broadcasts from abroad. It was compared with some FM radio broadcasts from neighboring municipalities, previously researched on the internet and it is reckoned that it was not possible to receive these stations. There was a surprise from the students when they heard transmissions in other languages (from other distant countries) and did not listen to FM radio stations relatively close, thus proving the existence and application of the ionosphere during science classes.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=89-49-DB-01-08-CF-69-14-C0-96-58-9C-AB-F9-C9-A3 ER - TY - Generic T1 - W3USR and The Great Collegiate Shortwave Listening Contest T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - M. Shaaf Sarwar A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Thomas Baran A1 - Jonathan Rizzo A1 - Steve Holguin A1 - Jonathan Rizzo A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - William Liles A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - David Kazdan JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/Default.aspx?s=1B-12-5C-9B-5C-AF-F5-8B-AC-62-CD-DD-D5-51-6A-9A ER - TY - Generic T1 - W8EDU: Case Amateur Radio Club from 2010 to 2021 T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - Aidan Montare A1 - David Kazdan AB -

W8EDU, 2010-2021: In ten years, the Case Amateur Radio Club has grown from a small alumni-based group to a large student organization with extensive curricular and research involvement. This poster shows some of our successful efforts in that time, and highlights how our operating, licensing, curricular and research efforts support one another. 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) UR - https://hamsci2021-uscranton.ipostersessions.com/?s=B5-39-13-BC-26-3A-2E-F1-35-30-97-99-27-96-4D-CD ER - TY - CONF T1 - Characterizing and Optimizing the behavior of a Ground-based Magnetometer for Ionospheric Space Weather Observations T2 - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2020 A1 - Witten III, David A1 - Kim, Hyomin A1 - Madey, Julius A1 - Cowling, Scotty A1 - Frissell, Nathaniel A. JF - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference PB - ARRL-TAPR CY - Virtual UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9p0FpZkxE4 ER - TY - CONF T1 - EclipseMob: Initial Planning for 2024 T2 - HamSCI Workshop Y1 - 2020 A1 - K. C. Kerby-Patel A1 - L. Lukes A1 - J. Nelson A1 - W. Liles AB -

During the lead up to the 2017 Solar Eclipse and its aftermath, the EclipseMob team learned many things about crowdsourcing technology development and data collection. We are taking those lessons along with lessons learned from other crowdsourced citizen science programs to improve the EclipseMob experience for the upcoming 2024 Solar Eclipse. One such lesson is to start planning, building, and recruiting much earlier, and we are. EclipseMob is on schedule to finalize the design and testing of a new receiver system this summer. The 2017 Solar Eclipse collection platform relied on participants’ personal smartphones, which supplied the analog to digital converter (ADC), local oscillator, time, location, web access, and computational power. Our platform for 2024 eliminates the need for a smartphone by using a Raspberry Pi (RPi), analog amplifier, ADC, and GPS, in a self‐contained unit. By eliminating the smartphone, the new design standardizes the hardware and increases economic accessibility. The 2024 platform is designed to collect WWVB signals at 60 kHz, as was the 2017 platform, but will also collect signals at lower frequencies such as the US Navy VLF transmitters. Those lower frequencies had to be ignored during the 2017 effort due to the limited bandwidth of the ADC in the smart phones. The construction process for the 2024 receiver kit has been heavily simplified, which we expect will result in increased participant success and satisfaction. In addition to modifying the data collection platform, 2024 EclipseMob is also changing its outreach approach. Instead of the centrally recruiting, training, and supporting participants, EclipseMob is switching to a train the trainer model. The EclipseMob team will work with and train a small subset of community leaders (from schools, libraries, ham radio clubs, etc.) to recruit and support participants locally. This should also increase the geospatial distribution of participants. In 2017 most participants were located in areas near the two main schools involved, which resulted in dense sampling in the Boston, MA and Fairfax, VA area. EclipseMob training materials will continue to meet the standards necessary for teacher continuing education credits and student learning.

JF - HamSCI Workshop PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - Generic T1 - Frequency Estimation Techniques T2 - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2020 A1 - Kazdan, David JF - ARRL-TAPR Digital Communications Conference PB - ARRL-TAPR CY - Virtual UR - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9p0FpZkxE4 ER - TY - Generic T1 - The Great Collegiate Shortwave Listening Contest Y1 - 2020 A1 - Frissell, N. A. A1 - Liles, W. A1 - Collins, K. A1 - Kazdan, D ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI Distributed Array of Small Instruments Personal Space Weather Station (DASI-PSWS): Architecture and Current Status (Invited) T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2020 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - D. Joshi A1 - K. Collins A1 - A. Montare A1 - D. Kazdan A1 - J. Gibbons A1 - S. Mandal A1 - W. Engelke A1 - T. Atkison A1 - H. Kim A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - S. H. Cowling A1 - T. C. McDermott A1 - J. Ackermann A1 - D. Witten A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - W. Liles A1 - S. Cerwin A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller AB -

Recent advances in geospace remote sensing have shown that large-scale distributed networks of ground-based sensors pay large dividends by providing a big picture view of phenomena that were previously observed only by point-measurements. While existing instrument networks provide excellent insight into ionospheric and space science, the system remains undersampled and more observations are needed to advance understanding. In an effort to generate these additional measurements, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI, hamsci.org) is working with the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR, tapr.org), an engineering organization comprised of volunteer amateur radio operators and engineers, to develop a network of Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS). These instruments that will provide scientific-grade observations of signals-of-opportunity across the HF bands from volunteer citizen observers as part of the NSF Distributed Array of Small Instruments (DASI) program. A performance-driven PSWS design (~US$500) will be a modular, multi-instrument device that will consist of a dual-channel phase-locked 0.1-60 MHz software defined radio (SDR) receiver, a ground magnetometer with (~10 nT resolution and 1-sec cadence), and GPS/GNSS receiver to provide precision time stamping and serve as a GPS disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) to provide stability to the SDR receiver. A low-cost PSWS (< US$100) that measures Doppler shift of HF signals received from standards stations such as WWV (US) and CHU (Canada) and includes a magnetometer is also being developed. HF sounding algorithms making use of signals of opportunity will be developed for the SDR-based PSWS. All measurements will be collected into a central database for coordinated analysis and made available for public access.

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Santa Fe, NM (Virtual) UR - http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2020_Workshop:MainVG ER - TY - CONF T1 - Magnetometer Support for the Personal Space Weather Station and Related Projects T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - D. Witten III A1 - F. Bonte A1 - H. Kim AB -

The Personal Space Weather Station project requires the use of a high performance, yet affordable, ground based magnetometer component. Here we describe the design and testing of a magnetometer support module for that purpose. A sufficiently cost effective magnetometer offers the opportunity to capture new science by allowing construction of large and well populated grids of instruments. The module chosen makes use of sensor components based on magneto‐inductive effects. Many types of magnetometer exist, all trading cost for performance across a huge range. Our goal was to design a sensitive instrument around commercially available components that would be versatile and low enough in cost to allow its deployment in novel ways.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Neutral Winds in the Equatorial Thermosphere as Measured With the SOFDI Instrument (ePoster) T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - Sovit Khadka A1 - Andrew Gerrard A1 - John Meriwether AB -

The Second‐generation, Optimized, Fabry‐Perot Doppler Imager (SOFDI), a triple‐etalon Fabry‐Perot interferometer, is designed to measure both nighttime and daytime thermospheric winds from OI 630‐nm emission. These continual 24‐hour observations of thermospheric winds made with SOFDI under the geomagnetic equator at Huancayo, Peru, during northern summer, provide a unique data set. Results obtained from these data set are compared to the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) derived from  total electron content (TEC) and Jicamarca incoherent scatter radar (ISR) measurements of the pre‐reversal enhancement (PRE). We investigate the dynamics of the EIA asymmetry in response to measured thermospheric winds. A direct relationship between the afternoon winds and the magnitude of the PRE is also reported. The large variability of winds is observed in the afternoon which is likely caused by synoptic tidal activity modulating gravity waves. Also, a comparison between the measured neutral winds to that obtained from Horizontal Wind Model 14 is demonstrated. These results confirm the role that the thermospheric winds play in modulating equatorial dynamics and further demonstrate the need for both zonal and meridional components of the wind flow.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - A new CHAIN site in New Brunswick: low‐cost HF and GNSS instruments for Solar Eclipse 2024 T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - A. Farnham A1 - A. Kashcheyev A1 - T. Kelly A1 - P. T. Jayachandran AB -

The Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network (CHAIN) is an array of ground‐based radio instruments deployed in the Canadian Arctic and operated by the University of New Brunswick. The network consists of 25 GISTMs/GPS receivers and 9 ionosondes located in Canada at high geographic latitudes spanning between 56° and 80° and has been expanded recently with a new mid‐latitude station in New Brunswick, Canada. The coordinates of the new station (Blissville, 45.6 N, 66.54 W) make the station an ideal location to host space weather instrumentation for study of the Solar Eclipse 2024. The predicted path of the total solar eclipse is passing through the site. The Blissville station is equipped with a range of scientific grade instruments, including a multi‐constellation GNSS scintillation monitor and CADI ionosonde. Likewise, this station is hosting a low‐cost, low‐power HF‐radar and a low‐cost dual frequency GNSS receiver. The ongoing tests are showing good performance with room for potential improvements of the low‐cost devices with respect to the citizen science applications. The results of the data comparison of the scientific grade and low‐cost space weather instruments will be presented. Possibilities for collaboration with amateur radio community will be discussed.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Observations and Modeling Studies of the Effects of the 2017 Solar Eclipse on SuperDARN HF Propagation T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - M. Moses A1 - L. Kordella A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - D. Drob A1 - J. Huba A1 - J. M. Ruohoniemi AB -

The total solar eclipses offer a unique opportunity to study the dependence of the ionospheric density and morphology on incident solar radiation. Unique responses may be witnessed during eclipses, including changes in radio frequency (RF) propagation at high frequency (HF). Such changes in RF propagation were observed by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars in Christmas Valley, Oregon and in Fort Hayes, Kansas during the 2017 solar eclipse. At each site, the westward looking radar observed an increase in slant range of the backscattered signal during the eclipse onset followed by a decrease after totality. In order to investigate the underlying processes governing the ionospheric response to the eclipse, we employed the HF propagation toolbox (PHaRLAP), created by Dr. Manuel Cervera, to simulate SuperDARN data for different models of the eclipsed ionosphere. By invoking different hypotheses and comparing simulated results to SuperDARN measurements we could study the underlying processes governing the ionosphere and improve our model of the F‐Region responses to an eclipse. This method was used in three studies to: identify the cause of the increase in the distance radio waves traveled during the eclipse; evaluate different models of change in eclipse magnitude over time; and investigate the effect of the neutral wind velocity on the simulated eclipse data. This presentation will discuss observations made by SuperDARN during the 2017 eclipse, major results from our raytrace studies, and unanswered questions that may be useful to consider when planning HamSCI’s campaign and/or similar ionospheric studies for the next eclipse over the United States in 2024.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Statistical Study of Open Closed Boundaries (OCB) using ULF Wave Observations from Antarctic AGOs, McMurdo Station, and South Pole Station T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - R. M. Frissell A1 - H. Kim A1 - A. J. Gerrard AB -

We present a statistical study using ground magnetometer data from the Antarctic Automated Geophysical Observatories (AGOs) to characterize open‐closed boundary (OCB) behavior during geomagnetically quiet times. Knowledge of the location and dynamics of the magnetic field line OCB provides insight to space physics processes such as substorms, particle precipitation events, and magnetospheric configuration. Prior studies have shown that determination of the OCB location can be made by examining the ULF wave power in data from a latitudinal chain of ground based magnetometers extending from the auroral zone into the deep polar cap. In this statistical study, AGOs 1, 2, 3, and 5, along with McMurdo (MCM) and South Pole Station (SPA) were studied. The seasons chosen were centered around the four cardinal dates, March 20th, June 21st, September 22nd, and December 21st. For each season, 60 days were selected centered around the cardinal date; any days with a planetary Ap greater than 30 were discarded. Using the H‐component fluxgate data from South Pole Station, McMurdo Station and the AGO systems, an average daily residual power spectra was calculated. The spectrograms for SPA, MCM, and AGO show signatures of whether the station is located in an open or closed magnetic region. This results of the OCB is compared to the Tsyganenko Model. We will discuss the seasonal climatology as calculated from raw data and compared to a model as well as how OCB depends on seasons and magnetic latitude.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Update on the Low‐Cost Personal Space Weather Station T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - K. Collins A1 - D. Kazdan A1 - J. Gibbons JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Affordable Scientific Grade Ground Magnetometer (Demonstration) T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - Hyomin Kim JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI Magnetometer Network for Space Weather Monitoring T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

Besides auroral observations, magnetic field measurements are one of the traditional ways of observing the space weather phenomena on the ground. To that end, magnetic sensors, “magnetometer”, are typically used for space research. The instrument has a wide range of applications including metal detection, non-contact switch, non-destructive testing, oil/coal exploration, military as well as space research. Magnetometers on the ground provide critical information about how solar activities impact the earth’s magnetic fields (magnetosphere) and ionosphere. In particular, geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) due to temporal changes in magnetic fields (dB/dt) are a very important issue in space weather. A densely-spaced magnetometer array, as proposed in the HamSCI space weather station project, will demonstrate their space weather monitoring capability in unprecedented spatial extent. Here, we propose and compare three types of inexpensive, simple, mid-grade magnetometers utilizing the anisotropic magneto-resistive (AMR), magneto-inductive and fluxgate technologies. The proposed magnetometers will be designed to measure large- and medium-scale geomagnetic activities approximately from a few to hundreds of nT. Preliminary prototype test results and their design, fabrication, calibration and installation plans are presented.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - IonTV: Using WWV Timing Reference Signals to Observe Ionospheric Variation T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - William Liles A1 - J. Dusenbury A1 - K.C. Kerby-Patel A1 - Ethan Miller A1 - Gary Bust A1 - Cathryn Mitchell AB -

For decades, an AM modulated time signal has been broadcast at multiple HF frequencies by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  Shortwave radio stations WWV in Colorado and WWVH in Hawaii use these frequencies for the broad dissemination of accurate coordinated universal time information.  As the HF signal traverses the ionosphere, propagation effects ensue, and the high temporal precision of the original transmitted signal provides an attractive potential for wide-sense monitoring of ionospheric variations.  We present the results of an ongoing set of data collections and statistical analysis of the received variation in WWV timing signals aimed at extracting ionospheric propagation effects.  The work includes design of a software defined receiver (SDR) for processing the amplitude modulated dual sideband (AM-DSB) timing signal. By observing the time shift between consecutive seconds of the 10MHz WWV timing signal, reflected from the ionosphere, the change in the effective height of the ionosphere can be estimated.  Simultaneous measurements taken from different observation angles allow a more accurate sensing of ionospheric electron density variability as projected into refractive effects.  The project also has a goal of creating a straightforward and reliable way for hobbyists and citizen scientists to demodulate and process their own NIST timing data. We describe a sample analysis of several blocks of WWV received data, both on remote paths and locally through groundwave propagation near the Colorado transmit array, including simultaneous collects. To process the timing data, several approaches will be described, including a heterodyne SDR with a digital phase-locked-loop (PLL).  Carrier offset tracking using PLL techniques produce Doppler shifts that are associated with traveling ionospheric disturbances and inherent electron density variability.  Demodulation and amplitude/phase analysis of the 100 Hz subcarrier of WWV can also provide precise delta-time information on ionospheric propagation through examination of variability in arrival of the leading edge of 1 pulse-per-second ticks.  Results to date suggest that variation between consecutive second markers is a uniformly distributed Gaussian random variable with at least some of this variation due to ionospheric factors, although systematics must be addressed.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - IonTV: Using WWV Timing Reference Signals to Observe Ionospheric Variation T2 - Hamvention HamSCI Forum Y1 - 2019 A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - William Liles A1 - J. Dusenbury A1 - K.C. Kerby-Patel A1 - Ethan Miller A1 - Gary Bust A1 - Cathryn Mitchell AB -

For decades, an AM modulated time signal has been broadcast at multiple HF frequencies by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  Shortwave radio stations WWV in Colorado and WWVH in Hawaii use these frequencies for the broad dissemination of accurate coordinated universal time information.  As the HF signal traverses the ionosphere, propagation effects ensue, and the high temporal precision of the original transmitted signal provides an attractive potential for wide-sense monitoring of ionospheric variations.  We present the results of an ongoing set of data collections and statistical analysis of the received variation in WWV timing signals aimed at extracting ionospheric propagation effects.  The work includes design of a software defined receiver (SDR) for processing the amplitude modulated dual sideband (AM-DSB) timing signal. By observing the time shift between consecutive seconds of the 10MHz WWV timing signal, reflected from the ionosphere, the change in the effective height of the ionosphere can be estimated.  Simultaneous measurements taken from different observation angles allow a more accurate sensing of ionospheric electron density variability as projected into refractive effects.  The project also has a goal of creating a straightforward and reliable way for hobbyists and citizen scientists to demodulate and process their own NIST timing data. We describe a sample analysis of several blocks of WWV received data, both on remote paths and locally through groundwave propagation near the Colorado transmit array, including simultaneous collects. To process the timing data, several approaches will be described, including a heterodyne SDR with a digital phase-locked-loop (PLL).  Carrier offset tracking using PLL techniques produce Doppler shifts that are associated with traveling ionospheric disturbances and inherent electron density variability.  Demodulation and amplitude/phase analysis of the 100 Hz subcarrier of WWV can also provide precise delta-time information on ionospheric propagation through examination of variability in arrival of the leading edge of 1 pulse-per-second ticks.  Results to date suggest that variation between consecutive second markers is a uniformly distributed Gaussian random variable with at least some of this variation due to ionospheric factors, although systematics must be addressed.

JF - Hamvention HamSCI Forum PB - Dayton Amateur Radio Association CY - Xenia, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - A Low-Cost Citizen Science HF Doppler Receiver for Measuring Ionospheric Variability T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2019 A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - David Kazdan A1 - John Gibbons A1 - Aidan Montare A1 - Skylar Dannhoff A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

Advancement in understanding short term and small spatial scale ionospheric variability requires global high time and spatial resolution measurements. Professional ionospheric sounding networks are extensive and capable, yet more measurements are still needed due to the strongly magnetized nature and large extent of the ionosphere. High Frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio signals are refracted by the ionosphere, and therefore are modulated by processes such as traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) and geomagnetic storms. By measuring the amplitude and Doppler shift of trans-ionospheric HF signals, it is possible to detect signatures of ionospheric absorption and changes in propagation path length. We present a design for a low-cost citizen science HF multi-band receiver that measures the amplitude and Doppler shift of reference signals of opportunity from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology station WWV and the Canadian Institute for National Measurement Standards station CHU. The receiver will make 1 s cadence measurements on nine HF beacon frequencies and subsequently upload the results to a central server for scientific analysis. The local user will be able to review data daily, both locally and in aggregate on a web server, and participate in discussion of the ionospheric measurements. This receiver forms one component of the low-cost version of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS), and is designed with the intention of distribution to hundreds to thousands of citizen science observers. Preliminary results from the prototype receiver will be presented.

JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union CY - San Francisco, CA UR - https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm19/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/602677 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Plans for EclipseMob 2024 T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - J. Ayala A1 - K. C. Kerby-Patel A1 - William Liles A1 - H. McElderry A1 - J. Nelson A1 - L. Lukes AB -

During the 2017 solar eclipse, the EclipseMob project conducted a collaborative effort to crowdsource a large-scale geographically distributed measurement of LF radio wave propagation. Do-it-yourself antenna and receiver kits were distributed to libraries, schools, and citizen scientists across the United States, paired with a smartphone app that provided data recording and software-defined radio functionality. While the data collection was ultimately not successful because of a problem with the receiver-smartphone interface, the EclipseMob crowdsourced measurement model still has the potential to make a valuable contribution to the study of the iono- sphere. The availability of low-cost electronic components and modern GPS-based location services presents an opportunity to coordinate nationwide radio measurements that can be performed by hobbyists, students, educators and other citizen scientists. At present, EclipseMob is actively planning for the 2024 eclipse in the eastern United States. The EclipseMob kit will be redesigned for the 2024 eclipse, both to address the previous kit’s issues and to accommodate recent changes in smartphone technology such as the elimination of the headphone jack on many newer phone models. EclipseMob also envisions a much larger data collection effort in 2024, so outreach, recruitment, and training efforts will need to be conducted on a much larger scale. This talk will discuss how we plan to address some of the logistical and outreach challenges faced by the new, expanded incarnation of EclipseMob.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - PSWS Science Requirements Panel Discussion (Panel) T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - John Ackermann A1 - Scotty Cowling A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Hyomin Kim A1 - William Liles A1 - Thomas McDermott A1 - Ward Silver AB -

Moderator: Ward Silver, N0AX

  1. Phil Erickson, W1PJE, MIT Haystack Observatory, Radio, Ionospheric, & Magnetospheric Science
  2. Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, NJIT, Radio, Ionospheric, & Magnetospheric Science
  3. Hyomin Kim, KD2MCR, NJIT, Magnetospheric Physics
  4. Bill Liles, NQ6Z, VLF Science
  5. John Ackermann, N8UR, TAPR, Radio Engineering
  6. Scotty Cowling, WA2DFI, TAPR, Radio Engineering
  7. Tom McDermott, N5EG, TAPR, Radio Engineering
JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - Sounding the Ionosphere with Signals of Opportunity in the High-Frequency (HF) Band T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Gary S. Bust A1 - Gareth W. Perry A1 - Stephen R. Kaeppler A1 - Juha Vierinen A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - A. A. Knuth A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Romina Nikoukar A1 - Alexander T. Chartier A1 - P. Santos A1 - C. Brum A1 - J. T. Fentzke A1 - T. R. Hanley A1 - Andrew J. Gerrard AB -

The explosion of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) education- and consumer-grade hardware supporting software-defined radio (SDR) over the past two decades has revolutionized many aspects of radio science, bringing the cost and calibration of traditionally complex receiver hardware within the grasp of even advanced amateur experimenters. Transmission has now become the limiter of access in many cases, particularly through spectrum management and licensing considerations. Fortunately, several classes of signals endemic to the HF band lend themselves to processing for ionospheric characteristics: time and frequency standard broadcasters, surface-wave oceanographic radars, amateur radio transmissions, and ionospheric sounders.

This presentation is a tour of these signals of opportunity and techniques for collecting and processing them into ionospheric characteristics, with emphasis on distributed receivers collecting on a small number (four or fewer) of coherent channels. Receiving techniques will be discussed for near-vertical (“quasi-vertical”) incidence skywave (NVIS or QVI), long-distance oblique soundings, and transionospheric sounding. Soundings will be demonstrated from space-based, ground-based, and maritime platforms.

Binary, Doppler, delay, cone angle of arrival, and polarization observations will be exploited, depending on the signal type and capability of the collector. Each of these techniques conveys different, but not always “orthogonal,” information about the ionospheric skywave channel. The information content of each datum will be discussed with respect to the implications for inverting the local or regional ionosphere from the observations. More importantly than inverting the full ionosphere, some of these techniques are sensitive indicators of ionospheric irregularities, structures, and instabilities, that might otherwise be difficult to study due to limited geographic coverage with larger, more exquisite instrumentation.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - WWV Doppler Receiver (Demonstration) T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - Kazdan, David JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - WWV Doppler Shift Observations T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2019 Y1 - 2019 A1 - David Kazdan A1 - Skylar Dannhoff A1 - Aidan Montare A1 - John Gibbons JF - HamSCI Workshop 2019 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - Initial Results of HamSCI Ham Radio 21 August 2017 Eclipse Ionospheric Experiments T2 - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting Y1 - 2018 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - D. Bern A1 - F. Ceglia A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. Gerzoff A1 - P. Gladstone A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - S. W. Rose A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - P. Smith A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - M. L. West A1 - R. Williams AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse will cause the shadow of the moon to traverse the United States from Oregon to South Carolina in just over 90 minutes. The sudden absence of sunlight due to the eclipse, especially solar UV and x-rays, provides an impulse function to the upper atmosphere that modifies the neutral dynamics, plasma concentrations, and related properties. Despite more than 60 years of research, questions remain regarding eclipse-induced ionospheric impacts. Ham radio operators’ advanced technical skills and inherent interest in ionospheric science make the amateur radio community ideal for contributing to and and participating in large-scale ionospheric sounding experiments. We present initial results from three amateur radio experiments designed to study the 2017 total solar eclipse: the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP), the HF Wideband Recording Experiment, and the Eclipse Frequency Measurement Test (FMT). These experiments are coordinated by HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, a citizen science organization that connects the amateur radio community to the professional space science research community for mutual benefit.

JF - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting PB - American Meteorological Society CY - Austin, TX UR - https://ams.confex.com/ams/98Annual/webprogram/Paper337094.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Modeling Amateur Radio Soundings of the Ionospheric Response to the 2017 Great American Eclipse JF - Geophysical Research Letters Y1 - 2018 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - M. L. West A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - W. Liles A1 - H. W. Silver AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse traversed the continental United States and caused large‐scale changes in ionospheric densities. These were detected as changes in medium and high frequency radio propagation by the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP) citizen science experiment organized by the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (hamsci.org). This is the first eclipse‐ionospheric study to make use of measurements from a citizen‐operated, global‐scale HF propagation network and develop tools for comparison to a physics‐based model ionosphere. Eclipse effects were observed ±0.3 hr on 1.8 MHz, ±0.75 hr on 3.5 and 7 MHz, and ±1 hr on 14 MHz and are consistent with eclipse‐induced ionospheric densities. Observations were simulated using the PHaRLAP raytracing toolkit in conjunction with the eclipsed SAMI3 ionospheric model. Model results suggest 1.8, 3.5, and 7 MHz refracted at h ≥ 125 km altitude with elevation angles θ ≥ 22°, while 14 MHz signals refracted at h < 125 km with elevation angles θ < 10°.

VL - 45 UR - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077324 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Modeling Amateur Radio Soundings of the Ionospheric Response to the 2017 Great American Eclipse T2 - Fall AGU Y1 - 2018 A1 - Frissell, N. A. A1 - Katz, J. D. A1 - Gunning, S. W. A1 - Vega, J. S. A1 - Gerrard, A. J. A1 - Earle, G. D. A1 - Moses, M. L. A1 - West, M. L. A1 - Huba, J. D. A1 - Erickson, P. J. A1 - Miller, E. S. A1 - Gerzoff, R. B. A1 - Liles, W. A1 - Silver, H. W. KW - Amateur Radio KW - Citizen Science KW - Ham Radio KW - HF propagation KW - ionosphere KW - solar eclipse AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse traversed the continental United States and caused large-scale changes in ionospheric densities. These were detected as changes in medium- and high-frequency radio propagation by the Solar Eclipse QSO Party citizen science experiment organized by the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (hamsci.org). This is the first eclipse-ionospheric study to make use of measurements from a citizen-operated, global-scale HF propagation network and develop tools for comparison to a physics-based model ionosphere. Eclipse effects were observed ±0.3 hr on 1.8 MHz, ±0.75 hr on 3.5 and 7 MHz, and ±1 hr on 14 MHz and are consistent with eclipse-induced ionospheric densities. Observations were simulated using the PHaRLAP raytracing toolkit in conjunction with the eclipsed SAMI3 ionospheric model. Model results suggest 1.8, 3.5, and 7 MHz refracted at h≥125 km altitude with elevation angles θ≥22°, while 14 MHz signals refracted at h < 125 km with elevation angles θ < 10°.

JF - Fall AGU PB - American Geophysical Union Meeting CY - Washington, DC UR - https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/418915 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Analysis of the August 2017 Eclipse’s Effect on Radio Wave Propagation Employing a Raytrace Algorithm T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - S. Burujupali A1 - K. Brosie A1 - S. Dixit A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - L. Kordella A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - C. Chitale AB -

The upcoming total solar eclipse over the continental United States on August 21 offers an unique opportunity to study the dependence of the ionospheric density and morphology on incident solar radiation. There are significant differences between the conditions during a solar eclipse and the conditions normally experienced at sunset and sunrise, including the west-to-east motion of the eclipse terminator, the duration of the event, the solar zenith angle, and the continued visibility of the corona. Taken together, these factors imply that unique ionospheric responses may be witnessed during eclipses, as measured by changes in radio frequency (RF) propagation. High Frequency (HF) propagation varies greatly depending on ionospheric conditions. Hence, our analysis will include data collected during the eclipse by several HF systems shown in Figure 1 including SuperDARN, temporary radio transceiver sites, and amateur radio networks such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Network (WSPRNet). The data analysis will be guided by raytrace models of HF propagation through an eclipsed ionosphere employing the HF propagation toolbox, PHaRLAP (created by Dr. Manuel Cervera).

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - Anthropogenic Space Weather T2 - HamSCI-UK Y1 - 2017 A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - T. I. Gombosi A1 - D. N. Baker A1 - A. Balogh A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - L. J. Lanzerotti A1 - J. C. Foster A1 - J. M. Albert A1 - J. F. Fennell A1 - E. V. Mishin A1 - M. J. Starks A1 - A. N. Jaynes A1 - X. Li A1 - S. G. Kanekal A1 - C. Kletzing JF - HamSCI-UK PB - HamSCI-UK CY - Milton Keynes, UK ER - TY - CONF T1 - Collaborative Use of Solar Eclipses to Study the Ionosphere T2 - HamSCI-UK Y1 - 2017 A1 - W. C. Liles A1 - C. N. Mitchell A1 - K. C. Kerby-Patel A1 - J. Nelson A1 - L. Lukes JF - HamSCI-UK PB - HamSCI-UK CY - Milton Keynes, UK ER - TY - CONF T1 - Developing a Solar Eclipse Simulation for Greater Good T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - J. D. Huba AB -

This paper presents our methodology for simulating the upcoming total solar eclipse that will be taking place on August 21, 2017. By taking advantage of a high-performance distributed computing cluster as well as a number of third-party scientific computing libraries we were able to efficiently simulate a large number of HF amateur radio contacts before, during, and after the upcoming eclipse. The data generated from the simulations allows us to peek into how the amateur radio community and radio propagation as a whole will be affected in preparation for the actual eclipse.

JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - Effects of the 2017 Solar Eclipse on HF Radio Propagation and the D-Region Ionosphere: Citizen Science Investigation T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2017 A1 - C. D. Fry A1 - L. Rawlins A1 - L. H. Krause A1 - R. M. Suggs A1 - J. K. McTernan A1 - M. L. Adams A1 - D. L. Gallagher A1 - S. Anderson A1 - R. Allsbrooks IV AB -

August 21, 2017 provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of the total solar eclipse on high frequency (HF) radio propagation and ionospheric variability. In Marshall Space Flight Center’s partnership with the US Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) and Austin Peay State University (APSU), we engaged students and citizen scientists in an investigation of the eclipse effects on the mid-latitude ionosphere. The Amateur Radio community has developed several automated receiving and reporting networks that draw from widely-distributed, automated and manual radio stations to build a near-real time, global picture of changing radio propagation conditions. We used these networks and employed HF radio propagation modeling in our investigation. A Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) collaboration with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ensured that many thousands of amateur radio operators would be “on the air” communicating on eclipse day, promising an extremely large quantity of data would be collected. Activities included implementing and configuring software, monitoring the HF Amateur Radio frequency bands and collecting radio transmission data on days before, the day of, and days after the eclipse to build a continuous record of changing propagation conditions as the moon’s shadow marched across the United States. Our expectations were the D-Region ionosphere would be most impacted by the eclipse, enabling over-the-horizon radio propagation on lower HF frequencies (3.5 and 7 MHz) that are typically closed during the middle of the day. Post-eclipse radio propagation analysis provided insights into ionospheric variability due to the eclipse. We report on results, interpretation, and conclusions of these investigations.

JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union CY - New Orleans, LA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Faraday Rotation of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Signals as a Method of Ionospheric Characterization JF - Radio Sci. Y1 - 2017 A1 - Cushley, A. C. A1 - Kabin, K. A1 - Noël, J.-M. KW - 2443 Midlatitude ionosphere KW - 2447 Modeling and forecasting KW - 2467 Plasma temperature and density KW - 2494 Instruments and techniques KW - Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcst (ADS-B) KW - electron density KW - Faraday rotation KW - ionosphere KW - total electron content (TEC) AB -

Radio waves propagating through plasma in the Earth's ambient magnetic field experience Faraday rotation; the plane of the electric field of a linearly polarized wave changes as a function of the distance travelled through a plasma. Linearly polarized radio waves at 1090 MHz frequency are emitted by Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) devices that are installed on most commercial aircraft. These radio waves can be detected by satellites in low Earth orbits, and the change of the polarization angle caused by propagation through the terrestrial ionosphere can be measured. In this manuscript we discuss how these measurements can be used to characterize the ionospheric conditions. In the present study, we compute the amount of Faraday rotation from a prescribed total electron content value and two of the profile parameters of the NeQuick ionospheric model.

VL - 52 SN - 1944-799X UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2017RS006319 IS - 10 JO - Radio Science ER - TY - CONF T1 - Fitting Ionospheric Models Using Real-Time HF Amateur Radio Observations T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - F. Ceglia A1 - D. Pascoe A1 - N. Sinanis A1 - P. Smith A1 - R. Williams A1 - A. Shovkoplyas JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - M. Hirsch A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. R. Kaeppller A1 - R. W. McGwier A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. Perry A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - RBN Team JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - HamSCI-UK Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - W. Engelke A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - J. S. Vega JF - HamSCI-UK PB - HamSCI-UK CY - Milton Keynes, UK ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - 2017 Annual Meeting of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - M. L. West A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - H. W. Silver JF - 2017 Annual Meeting of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section PB - American Physical Society CY - Newark, NJ ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - M. L. West A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - R. Gerzoff A1 - H. Ward Silver JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union CY - New Orleans, LA ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (Experiment Description) T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - M. Hirsch A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - M. D. Suhar A1 - D. Bern AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse will cause the shadow of the moon to traverse the United States from Oregon to South Carolina in just over 90 minutes. The sudden absence of sunlight due to the eclipse, especially solar UV and x-rays, provides an impulse function to the upper atmosphere that modifies the neutral dynamics, plasma concentrations, and related properties. In spite of more than 60 years of research, open questions remain regarding eclipse-induced ionospheric impacts. Ham radio operators’ advanced technical skills and inherent interest in ionospheric science make the amateur radio community ideal for contributing to and and participating in large-scale ionospheric sounding experiments. This pa- per describes the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP), the HF Wideband Recording Experiment, and the Eclipse Frequency Measurement Test (FMT), three amateur radio experiments designed to study the 2017 total solar eclipse. These experi- ments are coordinated by HamSCI, the Ham radio Science Citizen Investigation, a citizen science organization that connects the amateur radio community to the professional space science research community for mutual benefit.

JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (First Results) T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - W. Engelke A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI: The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (Banquet Presentation) T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - J. Dzekevich A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - M. Hirsch A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. R. Kaeppler A1 - R. W. McGwier A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. Perry A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - RBN Team JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - The H.A.R.C. Database and Visualization Utilities T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - W. Engelke A1 - N. A. Frissell AB -

HamSCI’s goal is to construct a symbiotic relationship between the formal research community and the Amateur Radio community. To facilitate this transfer of knowledge HamSCI must pioneer technologies that allow scientists to easily obtain and understand Amateur Radio data. This task necessitates the creation of warehousing and visualization facilities that allow scientists to easily understand and make use of our data sets. We are currently testing a database and visualization toolkit designed to handle our existing 2 billion-record long QSO log. This data set represents a compiled version of data gathered by the Reverse Beacon Network, WSPRNet, and PSKReporter. Our goal is to build a robust, fast, and queryable front end to the massive, and currently underuti- lized, data sources created by Amateur Radio operators.

JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - Ionospheric Impacts of the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - Dayton Hamvention Y1 - 2017 A1 - Magalina Moses A1 - Gregory Earle A1 - Sushma Burujupalli A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Lee Kordella A1 - Snehal Dixit A1 - Charudatta Chitale A1 - Xiayou Han JF - Dayton Hamvention CY - Xenia, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - Ionospheric Simulations of the 2017 Solar Eclipse QSO Party T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. West A1 - F. Ceglia A1 - D. Pascoe A1 - N. Sinanis A1 - P. Smith A1 - R. Williams A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - The Solar Eclipse QSO Party: Ionospheric Sounding Using Ham Radio QSOs T2 - Dayton Hamvention Y1 - 2017 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Joshua D. Katz A1 - Andrew J. Gerrard A1 - Magdalina Moses A1 - Gregory D. Earle A1 - Robert W. McGwier A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Stephen Kaeppler A1 - H. W. Silver AB -

The 2017 Total Solar Eclipse is expected to temporarily induce profound changes on ionospheric structure, dynamics, and radio propagation. The ARRL and HamSCI are sponsoring a Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP) that will be used to generate to assist in imaging ionospheric changes before, during, and after the eclipse. Data will be collected through participant submitted logs and the use of automated tools such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), PSKReporter, and WSPRNet. SEQP rules and a prediction of results will be presented.

JF - Dayton Hamvention CY - Xenia, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - On the use of solar eclipses to study the ionosphere T2 - 15th International Ionospheric Effects Symposium IES2017 Y1 - 2017 A1 - W. Liles A1 - C. Mitchell A1 - M. Cohen A1 - G. Earle A1 - N. Frissell A1 - K. Kirby-Patel A1 - L. Lukes A1 - E. Miller A1 - M. Moses A1 - J. Nelson A1 - J. Rockway AB -

Exploring the effects of solar eclipses on radio wave propagation has been an active area of research since the first experiments conducted in 1912. In the first few decades of ionospheric physics, researchers started to explore the natural laboratory of the upper atmosphere. Solar eclipses offered a rare opportunity to undertake an active experiment. The results stimulated much scientific discussion.
Early users of radio noticed that propagation was different during night and day. A solar eclipse provided the opportunity to study this day/night effect with much sharper boundaries than at sunrise and sunset, when gradual changes occur along with temperature changes in the atmosphere and variations in the sun angle.
Plots of amplitude time series were hypothesized to indicate the recombination rates and re- ionization rates of the ionosphere during and after the eclipse, though not all time-amplitude plots showed the same curve shapes. A few studies used multiple receivers paired with one transmitter for one eclipse, with a 5:1 ratio as the upper bound. In these cases, the signal amplitude plots generated for data received from the five receive sites for one transmitter varied greatly in shape.

JF - 15th International Ionospheric Effects Symposium IES2017 CY - Alexandria, VA ER - TY - CONF T1 - VLF/LF and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - Dayton Hamvention Y1 - 2017 A1 - William Liles A1 - L. Lukes A1 - J. Nelson A1 - K. Kerby-Patel AB -

Previous solar eclipse studies have observed different propagation effects at VLF/LF frequencies (3-300 kHz) compared with those observed at HF (3-30 MHz) frequencies. These differences are primarily due to the much longer wavelengths at lower frequencies in concert with ionospheric D layer interactions. To better understand the unusual eclipse-induced effects at VLF/LF frequencies, we present EclipseMob, a crowdsourced collection effort that will use smart phones as simple VLF/LF software defined radio (SDR) receivers to record changes in propagation from known transmitters during the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse.

JF - Dayton Hamvention CY - Xenia, OH ER - TY - CONF T1 - Characterizing the Ionosphere Using a Commercial Off the Shelf Software Defined Radio System T2 - Fall 2016 American Geophysical Union Y1 - 2016 A1 - Magdalina L. Moses A1 - S. Dixit A1 - Gregory D. Earle A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Lee Kordella A1 - Xiaoyu Han A1 - Charudatta Chitale AB -

On August 21, 2017, there will be a total solar eclipse over the continental United States (US). Solar eclipses offer a way to study the dependence of the ionospheric density and morphology on incident solar radiation. There are significant differences between the conditions during a solar eclipse and the conditions normally experienced at sunset and sunrise, including the east-west motion of the eclipse terminator, the speed of the transition, and the continued visibility of the corona throughout the eclipse interval. Taken together, these factors imply that unique ionospheric responses may be witnessed during eclipses including variations in the density and altitude of the F2 peak. In order to study these changes, we will establish four temporary field stations along the path of totality to track the maximum usable frequency (MUF) across the US over the course of the eclipse. Each field station shall consist of a commercial off the shelf (COTS) software defined radio (SDR) transceiver, a laptop computer running automatic link establishment (ALE) software, a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver for timing, and a COTS antenna. Custom ALE software will automate the sites’ operation during the experiment to determine the MUF. As a validation test prior to the eclipse, we established three sites along the east coast to confirm that the SDRs are capable of inferring ionospheric conditions. The preliminary results characterize the effects of the sunrise/sunset terminator on our system’s measurements as well as the change in foF2 during different seasons and under different geomagnetic conditions.

JF - Fall 2016 American Geophysical Union PB - American Geophysical Union CY - San Francsico UR - http://hamsci.org/sites/default/files/publications/2016_AGU_Moses.pdf ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI: The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation T2 - Fall 2016 American Geophysical Union Y1 - 2016 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Magdalina L. Moses A1 - Gregory Earle A1 - Robert W. McGwier A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Steven R. Kaeppler A1 - H. Ward Silver A1 - Felipe Ceglia A1 - David Pascoe A1 - Nicholas Sinanis A1 - Peter Smith A1 - Richard Williams A1 - Alex Shovkoplyas A1 - Andrew J. Gerrard AB -

Amateur (or “ham”) radio operators are individuals with a non-pecuniary interest in radio technology, engineering, communications, science, and public service. They are licensed by their national governments to transmit on amateur radio frequencies. In many jurisdictions, there is no age requirement for a ham radio license, and operators from diverse backgrounds participate. There are more than 740,000 hams in the US, and over 3 million (estimated) worldwide. Many amateur communications are conducted using transionospheric links and thus affected by space weather and ionospheric processes. Recent technological advances have enabled the development of automated ham radio observation networks (e.g. the Reverse Beacon Network, www.reversebeacon.net) and specialized operating modes for the study of weak-signal propagation. The data from these networks have been shown to be useful for the study of ionospheric processes. In order to connect professional researchers with the volunteer-based ham radio community, HamSCI (Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, www.hamsci.org) has been established. HamSCI is a platform for publicizing and promoting projects that are consistent with the following objectives: (1) Advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities. (2) Encourage the development of new technologies to support this research. (3) Provide educational opportunities for the amateur community and the general public. HamSCI researchers are working with the American Radio Relay League (ARRL, www.arrl.org) to publicize these objectives and recruit interested hams. The ARRL is the US national organization for amateur radio with a membership of over 170,000 and a monthly magazine, QST. HamSCI is currently preparing to support ionospheric research connected to the 21 Aug 2017 Total Solar Eclipse by expanding coverage of the Reverse Beacon Network and organizing a large-scale ham radio operating event (“QSO Party”) to generate data during the eclipse.

JF - Fall 2016 American Geophysical Union PB - American Geophysical Union CY - San Francisco UR - http://hamsci.org/sites/default/files/publications/2016_AGU_Frissell_HamSCI.pdf ER - TY - CONF T1 - Experiment Design to Assess Ionospheric Perturbations During the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - Fall AGU - Poster Presentation Y1 - 2015 A1 - Magdalina Moses A1 - Gregory Earle A1 - Nathaniel Frissell A1 - Stephen Kaeppler AB -

On August 21, 2017, there will be a total solar eclipse over the United States traveling from Oregon to South Carolina. Solar eclipses offer a way to study the dependence of the ionospheric density and morphology on incident solar radiation. There are significant differences between the conditions during a solar eclipse and the conditions normally experienced at sunset and sunrise, including the east-west motion of the eclipse terminator, the speed of the transition, and the continued visibility of the corona throughout the eclipse interval. Taken together, these factors imply that unique ionospheric responses may be witnessed during eclipses. These include changes in the ionospheric electric fields, changes in the Total Electron Content (TEC) along paths through the eclipsed region, and variations in the density and altitude of the F2 peak. Several studies over the past century investigated these effects; however, some of the results from these studies are contradictory. These contradictions and the studies’ limited spatial resolution leave many fundamental questions unanswered. The advent of several mid-latitude Global Positioning System (GPS) and radar networks in the past few decades, such as the Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) system and the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radar system, have enabled ionospheric observations with hitherto unprecedented spatial resolution. Also, the establishment of several nationwide amateur radio reporting systems, such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) that monitors radio wave propagation on the high frequency (HF) bands, offers the potential for evaluating changes in ionospheric conditions with unprecedented spatial resolution. We propose to study the effects of the total solar eclipse on the ionosphere using a combination of GPS receivers, the SuperDARN radar system, HF band amateur radio, and plasma modeling. The overall objectives of this study are to characterize the changes in F-region plasma morphology during the eclipse over a larger spatial domain than any previous eclipse experiment. In addition, the amateur radio component of our study offers a unique opportunity to further engage the amateur radio community nationwide in a scientific study.

JF - Fall AGU - Poster Presentation PB - American Geophysical Union CY - San Francisco, CA ER - TY - CONF T1 - The Ionosphere's Pocket Litter: Exploiting Crowd-Sourced Observations T2 - Fall AGU - Oral Presentation Y1 - 2015 A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - Nathaniel Frissell A1 - Stephen Kaeppler A1 - Robert Demajistre A1 - Andrew Knuth AB -

One of the biggest challenges faced in developing and testing our understanding of the ionosphere is acquiring data that characterizes the latitudinal and longitudinal variability of the ionosphere. While there are extensive networks of ground sites that sample the vertical distribution, we have rather poor coverage over the oceans and in parts of the southern hemisphere. Our ability to validate the ionospheric models is limited by the lack of point measurements and those measurements that essentially constitute characterization of horizontal gradients. In this talk, we discuss and demonstrate the use of various types of crowd-sourced information that enables us to extend our coverage over these regions. We will discuss new sources of these data, concepts for new experiments and the use of these data in assimilative models. We note that there are new, low cost options for obtaining data that broaden the participation beyond the aeronomy/ionospheric community.

JF - Fall AGU - Oral Presentation PB - American Geophysical Union CY - San Francisco, CA ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Ionospheric Sounding Using Real-Time Amateur Radio Reporting Networks JF - Space Weather Y1 - 2014 A1 - Frissell, N. A. A1 - Miller, E. S. A1 - Kaeppler, S. R. A1 - Ceglia, F. A1 - Pascoe, D. A1 - Sinanis, N. A1 - Smith, P. A1 - Williams, R. A1 - Shovkoplyas, A. KW - Instruments and techniques KW - ionosphere KW - Ionospheric effects on radio waves KW - Solar effects AB -

Amateur radio reporting networks, such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), PSKReporter, and the Weak Signal Propagation Network, are powerful tools for remote sensing the ionosphere. These voluntarily constructed and operated networks provide real-time and archival data that could be used for space weather operations, forecasting, and research. The potential exists for the study of both global and localized effects. The capability of one such network to detect space weather disturbances is demonstrated by examining the impacts on RBN-observed HF propagation paths of an X2.9 class solar flare detected by the GOES 15 satellite. Prior to the solar flare, the RBN observed strong HF propagation conditions between multiple continents, primarily Europe, North America, and South America. Immediately following the GOES 15 detection of the solar flare, the number of reported global RBN propagation paths dropped to less than 35% that of prior observations. After the flare, the RBN showed the gradual recovery of HF propagation conditions.

VL - 12 UR - http://hamsci.org/sites/default/files/publications/2014_SpaceWeather_Frissell_RBN.pdf ER -