4.5 Meter Radio Telescope
Description and Status
Dinky dish is a 4.5 meter radio telescope for instructional purposes, located
on the roof of Van Allen Hall. It has
working receivers at 5.0 and 1.4 GHz. Plans for the future include development
of a 12-15.0 GHz system.
A mechanical switch has been installed in the 5 GHz front end, together with
switching electronics, to convert the 5 GHz receiver into a Dicke radiometer.
A Labview virtual instrument has also been written by J. Wurster and B. Nellermoe
to process the switched data. The instrument is working and evaluation
observations are currently underway. The Dicke radiometer appears to have
substantially increased the sensitivity of DinkyDish, and should permit
reliable detection of other radio sources, as well as atmospheric propagation
phenomena.
SRS 02-06-97