# Hardware parameters for Hokkaido WEST radar. # # Each radar has a distinct set of hardware parameters that are used # by the radar control software and the analysis software. These # parameters are read in a distinct order and are assumed to have # specific units. If either the order of the parameters or their units # are incorrect, the processing and analysis software will produce # incorrect answers that may not be easily identified. It is the # responsibility of the SuperDARN P.I.s to insure that the hdw.dat files # for their radars are correct and that these files are updated as # required to accurately represent the physical state of the radar and # that copies of these files are retained under revision control by Rob # Barnes. Revision controlled versions of hdw.dat files are destributed # with SuperDARN radar control software and with analysis software. # # The hardware parameters are distributed as a string of values # delineated by one or more spaces. The following table specifies the # parameters, their units, and a brief description of their meaning. # # 01) Station ID (unique numerical value). Assigned by Rob Barnes. # 02) Last year that parameter string is valid. (4 digit year). # 03) Last second of year that parameter string is valid (range 0 to # 34163999 for non-leap years). The parameter string giving the current # configuration is assumed to be valid until the last second of 2999. # 04) Geographic latitude of radar site (Given in decimal degrees to 3 # decimal places. Southern hemisphere values are negative) # 05) Geographic longitude of radar site (Given in decimal degrees to # 3 decimal places. West longitude values are negative) # 06) Altitude of the radar site (meters) # 07) Scanning boresight (Direction of the center beam, measured in # degrees relative to geographic north. CCW rotations are negative.) # 08) Beam separation (Angular separation in degrees between adjacent # beams. Normally 3.24 degrees) # 09) Velocity sign (At the radar level, backscattered signals with # frequencies above the transmitted frequency are assigned positive # Doppler velocities while backscattered signals with frequencies below # the transmitted frequency are assigned negative Doppler velocity. This # convention can be reversed by changes in receiver design or in the # data samping rate. This parameter is set to +1 or -1 to maintain the # convention.) # # Some SuperDARN radars have analog receivers whereas others have # analog front-end receivers followed by digital receivers. Analog # receivers and analog front-ends can have gain and bandwidth controls # that are identified here and corrected in the radar control software. # Digital receiver information is retained and compensated for within # the digital receiver driver. # # 10) Analog Rx attenuator step (dB) # # In order to obtain information on the vertical angle of arrival of # the backscattered signals, the SuperDARN radars include a four antenna # interferometer array in addition to the 16 antenna main array. This # second array is typically displaced from the main array along the # array normal direction and the different path length due to the # displacement and the different cable lengths between the antenna # arrays and their phasing matrices introduces a phase shift that is # dependent on the elevation angle of the returning backscattered # signal. # # 11) Tdiff (Propagation time from interferometer array antenna to # phasing matrix input minus propagation time from main array antenna # through transmitter to phasing matrix input. Units are decimal # microseconds) # 12) Phase sign (Cabling errors can lead to a 180 degree shift of the # interferometry phase measurement. +1 indicates that the sign is # correct, -1 indicates that it must be flipped.) # 13) Interferometer offset (Displacement of midpoint of # interferometer array from midpoint of main array. This is given in # meters in Cartesian coordinates. X is along the line of antennas with # +X toward higher antenna numbers, Y is along the array normal # direction with +Y in the direction of the array normal. Z is the # altitude difference, +Z up.) # # More analog receiver information # # 14) Analog Rx rise time (Time given in microseconds. Time delays of # less than ~10 microseconds can be ignored. If narrow-band filters are # used in analog receivers or front-ends, the time delays should be # specified.) # 15) Analog attenuation stages (Number of stages. This is used for # gain control of an analog receiver or front-end.) # 16) Maxinum of range gates used (Number of gates. This is used for # allocation of array storage.) # 17) Maximum number of beams to be used at a particular radar site. # (Number of beams. It is important to specify the true maximum. This # will assure that a given beam number always points in the same # direction. A subset of these beams, e.g. 8-23, can be used for # standard 16 beam operation.) # # ********************************************************************** # ==Notes== # # # ********************************************************************** # # 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13(1) 13(2) 13(3) 14 15 16 17 # # UNTIL 01/Jan/3000 05:45:36.0 #41 2999 31556736 43.540 143.6100 480.0 -30.0 3.24 1 10 0.000 1 0.0 -100.0 2.9 100.0 7 110 16 # updated 24/Oct/2014 16:13 / restarted radar 24/Oct/2014 2145:56 #41 2999 31556736 43.540 143.6100 480.0 -30.0 3.24 1 10 0.000 1 0.0 -100.0 2.9 100.0 7 110 16 # updated 29/Oct/2014 04:20 / restarted radar 29/Oct/2014 0800:00 41 2999 31556736 43.540 143.6100 479.0 -30.0 3.24 1 10 0.038 1 0.0 -100.0 2.55 100.0 7 110 16 # EOF