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 - Earth's Magnetic Field Migration and Its Effects on HF Propagation T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - William Liles AB -

Propagation of radio waves in Earth's ionosphere and atmosphere critically depends on the strength and orientation of Earth's background magnetic field, due to the fact that electrons move much more readily along field lines than across them.  The background magnetic field evolves continuously, driven by currents and other processes inside the planet's molten core.  In particular, since 1990, the north magnetic pole has been migrating at an increased speed relative to its rate over most of the past century, and now moves more than 40 km/year.  However, the south magnetic pole migration is considerably slower.  The combination of these two effects has caused the global configuration of the geomagnetic field to change significantly.  We will describe the sustained drift of magnetic field line locations over the last 40 years, with an emphasis on mid-latitudes where a large number of amateur radio operations take place.  We will then provide estimates of induced changes in HF propagation over that time, using multiple models, and draw conclusions regarding the general climatology of propagation in various well used bands.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH 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 - PyLap: An Open Source Python Interface to the PHaRLAP Ionospheric Raytracing Toolkit T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2023 Y1 - 2023 A1 - Devin Diehl A1 - Gerard Piccini A1 - Alexander Calderon A1 - Joshua Vega A1 - William Liles A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell AB -

PyLap is a Python interface to the ionospheric ray tracing toolkit PHaRLAP. The software allows users to generate accurate models of the ionosphere and ray tracing to make plots of radio propagation through the ionosphere. Not only does this software look, feel, and operate very similarly to how the MATLAB interface is currently used, it is also completely free alternative to the current MATLAB interface.

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 - HF Doppler Observations of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances in a WWV Signal Received with a Network of Low Cost HamSCI Personal Space Weather Stations T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Veronica Romanek A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - William Liles A1 - John Gibbons A1 - Kristina V. Collins AB -

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) are quasi-periodic variations in ionospheric electron density that are often associated with atmospheric gravity waves. TIDs cause amplitude and frequency variations in high frequency (HF, 3 30 MHz) refracted radio waves. The authors present an analysis of observations of TIDs made with Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation ( HamSCI ) Low Cost Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS) located in Northwestern New Jersey and near Cleveland, Ohio. The TIDs were detected in the Doppler shifted carrier of the received signal from the 10 MHz WWV frequency and time standard station in Fort Collins, CO. Using a lagged cross correlation analysis, we demonstrate a method for determining TID wavelength, direction, and period using the collected WWV HF Doppler shifted data.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - Generic T1 - Porting the MUSIC Algorithm to the SuperDARN pyDARN Library for the Study of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Francis Tholley A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - William Liles AB -

Medium Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (MSTIDs) are quasi-periodic variations of the F-region ionosphere with periods of 15 to 60 minutes and horizontal wavelengths of a few hundred kilometers that are often associated with atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs). Understanding differences in characteristics such as wavelength, period, and propagation direction between MSTIDs populations in the northern and southern hemisphere can lead to a better understanding of MSTID sources and upper atmospheric dynamics. Previous studies have used SuperDARN radars to observe MSTIDs and determine these characteristics using an implementation of the multiple signal classification (MUSIC) algorithm. In this presentation, we port the MUSIC implementation written in Python 2 for use with the deprecated SuperDARN Data and Visualization Toolkit python (DaViTpy) to Python 3 for use with the current pyDARN library. This implementation will be used to study the differences between MSTID populations observed by SuperDARN radars in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - Generic T1 - Preliminary Analysis of WWV Experimental Tone Signals T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - William Liles A1 - Philip J Erickson AB -

NIST Time station WWV and WWVH have recently been broadcasting a set of audio modulation signals designed by the WWV/H Scientific Modulation Group as an initial exploration of possibilities for using these powerful and ubiquitous time distribution HF transmissions as remote sensing diagnostics of the terrestrial ionosphere.  Included audio modulations include pseudorandom white noise, swept chirps, controlled amplitude sequences, and single pulses.  The first task in assessing feasibility for remote sensing is to analyze characteristics of the analog WWV transmitters themselves, in order to gauge the transfer function imposed on the original test transmission.  Using ground wave recordings from a GNSS locked receiver station maintained by Glenn Elmore N6GN, we present preliminary transmitter-centric analysis of WWV experimental tone signals, focusing on amplitude fidelity, transmission delay, cross-ambiguity examination of frequency and amplitude stability, and pseudorandom noise determinations of audio passband shape.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL ER - TY - Generic T1 - Ray Tracing in Python Utilizing the PHaRLAP Engine T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2022 Y1 - 2022 A1 - Alexander Calderon A1 - William Liles A1 - Nathaniel Frissell A1 - Joshua Vega AB -

Provision of High-Frequency Raytracing Laboratory for Propagation (PHaRLAP) is an ionospheric ray tracing library developed by the Australian Department of Defence (DOD). PHaRLAP is freely available as a MATLAB toolbox downloadable from an Australian DOD website. PHaRLAP is capable of numerically ray tracing radio propagation paths using 2D and 3D algorithms through model ionospheres, most typically the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI). In an effort to make PHaRLAP available to a wider user community we are porting the PHaRLAP MATLAB toolbox to the open source Python 3 language while retaining the original core PHaRLAP computational engine. In this presentation, we describe the architecture of the new Python 3 PHaRLAP interface and demonstrate examples of 2D ray traces using the new interface.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2022 PB - HamSCI CY - Huntsville, AL 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 - CONF T1 - HF Doppler Observations of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances in a WWV Signal Received with a Network of Low-Cost HamSCI Personal Space Weather Stations T2 - Annual (Summer) Eastern Conference Y1 - 2021 A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Dev Raj Joshi A1 - William Liles A1 - Claire C. Trop A1 - Kristina V. Collins A1 - Gareth W. Perry AB -

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) are quasi-periodic variations in ionospheric electron density that are often associated with atmospheric gravity waves. TIDs cause amplitude and frequency variations in high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) refracted radio waves. One way to detect TIDs is through the use of a Grape Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS). The Grape PSWS successfully detected TIDs in the Doppler shifted carrier of the received signal from the 10 MHz WWV frequency and time standard station in Fort Collins, CO. This paper will present an explanation of how the Grape PSWS was used to collect data, and how scientist can use this data to further investigate the ionosphere.

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 - HF Doppler Observations of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances in a WWV Signal Received with a Network of Low-Cost HamSCI Personal Space Weather Stations T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2021 A1 - Veronica I. Romanek A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Dev Joshi A1 - William Liles A1 - Clair Trop A1 - Kristina Collins A1 - Gareth Perry AB -

Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) are quasi-periodic variations in ionospheric electron density that are often associated with atmospheric gravity waves. TIDs cause amplitude and frequency variations in high frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) refracted radio waves. We present observations of TIDs made with a network of Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Low-Cost Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS) with nodes located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio. The TIDs were detected in the Doppler shifted carrier of the received signal from the 10 MHz WWV frequency and time standard station in Fort Collins, CO. Using a lagged cross correlation analysis, we demonstrate a method for determining TID wavelength, direction, and period using the collected WWV HF Doppler shifted data.

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) PB - CEDAR CY - Virtual ER - TY - Generic T1 - Mid-latitude Irregularities in the Early Results from the Ionospheric Sounding Mode Using Chirp Ionosondes of Opportunity for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Dev Joshi A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - William Liles A1 - Juha Vierinen A1 - Ethan S. Miller AB -

The objective of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS) project is to develop a distributed array of ground-based multi-instrument nodes capable of remote sensing the geospace system. This system is being designed with the intention of distribution to a large number of amateur radio and citizen science observers. This will create an unprecedented opportunity to probe the ionosphere at finer resolution in both time and space as all measurements will be collected into a central database for coordinated analysis. Individual nodes are being designed to service the needs of the professional space science researcher while being cost-accessible and of interest to amateur radio operators and citizen scientists. At the heart of the HamSCI PSWS will be a high performance 1 – 50 MHz software defined radio (SDR) with GNSS-based precision timestamping and frequency reference. This SDR is known as the TangerineSDR and is being developed by the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio (TAPR) amateur radio organization. The primary objective of PSWS system is to gather observations to understand the short term and small spatial scale ionospheric variabilities in the ionosphere-thermosphere system. These variabilities are important for understanding a variety of geophysical phenomena such as Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs), Ionospheric absorption events, geomagnetic storms and substorms. We present early results suggesting signatures of Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (TIDs) from an ionospheric sounding mode that we intend to implement on the PSWS system, currently implemented on an Ettus N200 Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) using the open source GNU Chirpsounder data collection and analysis code.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER - TY - CONF T1 - Observations of Mid-latitude Irregularities Using the Oblique Ionosonde Sounding Mode for the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2021 A1 - Dev Joshi A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - William Liles A1 - Juha Vierinen AB -

The spread in the echoes of high-frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio waves from the F-region of the ionosphere has been the earliest indication of plasma density irregularities in the mid-latitude F region ionosphere. Although mid-latitude spread F has been widely studied, the plasma instability mechanisms for these irregularities are still largely unknown. This phenomenon can cause radio wave scintillation effects that degrade the performance of man-made technologies such as satellite communications and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Understanding these irregularities so that they can be anticipated and mitigated are important aspects of space weather research. The occurrence climatology and variability can also be helpful in modeling efforts of these irregularities. Here, we present signatures of mid-latitude irregularities observed in oblique ionograms received near Scranton, PA transmitted by the Relocatable Over-the-Horizon Radar (ROTHR) in Chesapeake, Virginia. These observations are collected with the GNU Chirpsounder2 software, an open-source software package capable of creating ionograms from frequency modulated (FM) chirp ionosondes. This ionospheric sounding mode will be implemented in the currently under development Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Personal Space Weather Station (PSWS), a ground-based multi-instrument system designed to remote-sense the ionosphere using signals of opportunity.

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) PB - CEDAR CY - 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 - 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 - CONF T1 - HamSCI: Space Weather Operational Resources and Needs of the Amateur Radio Community T2 - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting Y1 - 2020 A1 - Nathaniel A. Frissell A1 - Philip J. Erickson A1 - Ethan S. Miller A1 - William Liles A1 - H. Ward Silver A1 - R. Carl Luetzelschwab A1 - Tamitha Skov AB -

The amateur (ham) radio community is a global community of over 3 million people who use and build radio equipment for communications, experimentation, and science. By definition, amateur radio is a volunteer service, with the operators required to hold government-issued licenses that are typically earned by passing knowledge tests covering radio regulations and practices, radio theory, and electromagnetic theory. In the United States, there are about 750,000 licensed hams, ranging in age from very young to very old, and ranging in experience from neophyte to people with advanced degrees in radio engineering and science. Amateur radio operators are licensed to transmit on bands spread across the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, from very low frequency (VLF) up to hundreds of gigahertz. The purpose of these communications range from mission-critical emergency and public service communications to social contacts to highly competitive contests and achievement award programs. Many of these communications rely on trans-ionospheric paths, and therefore are heavily influenced by conditions in near-Earth space, or space weather.
Amateurs today obtain space weather and propagation prediction information from sources such as the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC), spaceweather.com, the Voice of America Coverage Analysis Program (VOACAP), amateur radio propagation columnists (ARRL, RSGB, and CQ Magazine), and spaceweatherwoman.com (Dr. Tamitha Skov). In order to predict success for their communications efforts, hams often use parameters such as smoothed sunspot number, 10.7 cm wavelength solar flux proxy, and the planetary Kp and Ap indices as inputs to predict radio propagation performance. Traditionally, these predictions focus on the driving influence of space conditions and the sun’s output. However, frontier research in the space sciences community has revealed that for improved predictive success, much more information needs to be provided on neutral atmosphere dynamics from the lower atmosphere and its coupled effects on the ionosphere, and predictions need to be available at higher temporal and spatial resolution. Lower atmospheric influences include atmospheric gravity waves that can couple to traveling ionospheric disturbances that can dramatically alter radio propagation paths. Tropospheric phenomena such as temperature inversions and wind shear also affect VHF and UHF propagation. To be most useful, the ham community needs operational products that provide real time nowcasts and multi-day forecasts which predict how space weather through the whole atmosphere affects radio wave propagation on global scale and at all operational wavelengths.
To help with this effort, hams can provide data with unique spatial and temporal coverage back to the research and forecast community. The amateur radio community has already started this process with the creation of multiple global-scale, real-time propagation reporting systems such as the Weak Signal Propagation Reporting Network (WSPRNet), PSKReporter, and the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN). Studies by the Ham radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) have shown that data from these systems, if applied correctly, can effectively be used to study ionospheric space weather events. Experienced amateurs keep detailed records of verified point-to-point contacts and have extensive experience operating under a wide variety of geophysical conditions and locations, both of which can provide unique insights when shared with the professional research community. In this presentation, we will describe efforts led by the HamSCI collective to provide this research community feedback through active HamSCI community email lists and annual HamSCI workshops. We will also describe strategies with good initial success at amateur-professional collaboration, including a HamSCI-led amateur radio community - professional research community partnership to create a network of HamSCI Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS), which will allow citizen scientists to make science-grade space weather observations from their own backyards.

JF - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting PB - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting CY - Boston, MA UR - https://ams.confex.com/ams/2020Annual/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/370904 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 - 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 - 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 - 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 -