A little off topic but I observed upper atmosphere Doppler during an
experiment made with HAARP several years ago.
For those unaware, HAARP is an experimental high altitude scientific
installation located about 250 miles East of Anchorage, AK. It was
built by the Federal Gov't and run by joint USAF/USN Research labs to
investigate use of high altitude ionospheric effects on long range
communication. It was offered for use by the scientific community
free of charge.
I learned about it in 1998 and wrote the director who happened to be
a ham. I wondered if we could try an experiment where the HAARP
facility irradiated the Ionosphere with high energy HF at 180 million
watts which causes artificial heating (exciting free electrons in the
ionosphere and causes structures called FAI = Field Aligned Irregularities).
Our idea was to have a couple 144-MHz eme stations run full power
pointed at the 90km high area over HAARP while they "heated it", and
a couple high quality 2m satellite equipped stations attempt to see
reflections of the 2m signal. I was one of the receiving
stations. We used a precursor to sw like spectran that displays a
waterfall spectrum.
We could not get any receiving station set up in time in Whitehorse,
YT so both transmit and receive stations were in southcentral AK (but
separated by over 100km). Signals received were backscatter.
Well not only did we see the reflected signal but it displayed
Doppler indicating high velocity movement in the ionosphere up to
700mph. That was an unexpected result that had UAF scientist quite
excited. Some hams said that all we were seeing was aircraft echoes,
which it might be. But the signal started and stopped in direct
correlation with when HAARP turned on and off their transmission. The
experiment was repeated in 1999.
This involved about 10-12 AK hams and was published by ARRL, plus I
was invited to display our experiment results at an Int'l Symposium
on high altitude physics held in NM.
HAARP consists of 180 HF turnstyle antennas (360 individual dipoles)
tunable from 2.8-12 MHz with 360 4CX10,000A transmitters each feeding
its own dipole but able to be phase shifted for steering the beam
over a 30-degree angle from vertical. The turnstyle are above a
ground plane and beam vertically.
HAARP recently passed ownership from USGovt to UofAlaska, so will
continue upper atmospheric science.
Sorry for the long message but thought maybe of interest.
73, Ed - KL7UW
---------------------------------------------
On 11/23/2016 12:51 PM, Richard Lamont wrote:
> There are errors at the TX end, errors at the RX end and errors in the
> middle: ionospheric doppler shift.
Doppler shifts are 1 Hz or less at these frequencies.
Look to rig calibration as the major source. Many guys don't calibrate
their rigs. Being 100 Hz off is quite reasonable.
73 de Brian/
73, Ed - KL7UW
http://www.kl7uw.com
"Kits made by KL7UW"
Dubus Mag Business e-mail:
dubus...@gmail.com
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