STARE: Technical information
The STARE system consists of two almost identical Doppler stations,
one in Hankasalmi, Finland, and the other one in Midtsandan,
Norway. Each radar has eight beams, which are formed by a "Butler
matrix".
Transmitter
- Frequency: 143.8 MHz (Hankasalmi), 140.0 MHz (Midtsandan)
- Transmitter power (with 0.25 % duty cycle): 50 kW (nominal)
- Range resolution: 50 microsecond (15 km)
Receiver
The receiver antenna consists of 18 Yagi antennas. 16 antennas are
connected to a Butler matrix providing 8 channels with slightly
different pointing directions. 2 antennas are used as outrigger
antenna forming the 9th channel. The 18 antennas are provided with
separate preamplifiers close to the antennas, which are connected to
the main receiver section in the station container.
- Antenna construction: 64 8-element Yagi antennas arranged in 16
vertical stacks
- Collection area: 360 square meters
- Gain: +26 dB
- Elevation: 6 deg. above the horizontal, covarege +- 5 deg
- Azimuth: angular coverage 58 deg.
- Lobe width: 3.2 deg at half power
- Lobe separation: 3.6 deg.
- Range: 495-1200 km
Pulse coding
The radar integration time is 20 s, during which it can perform 210
scans (measurements). Both single-pulse, double-pulse and multipulse
code sequences are used. The background noise is measured.
More information:
-
Greenwald, R.A., W. Weiss, E. Nielsen and N.R. Thomson, STARE:
A new radar auroral backscatter experiment in northern Scandinavia,
Radio Science, 13, 1021-1039, 1978.
-
Nielsen, E., et al., STARE: Observations of a field-aligned line current,
Geophysical Research Letters, 26, 21-24, 1999.
Note: some of the information herein may be inaccurate since the
radar specifications may have changed in the meantime
Pekka Janhunen (First.Last@fmi.fi), Updated 22 Dec 1999