Medium Frequency radioholds significance in modern society as it supportsbroadcasting and individual communications in the
public, government, and military sectors.Enhancingthe availability and quality of these communications
is only possible by enhancing theunderstanding ofmedium frequency propagation. While traditional
methods of radio wave propagation research can have a high material demand and
cost, software defined radio presents itself as a versatile and low-cost
platform for medium frequency signal reception and data acquisition. This paper
details a research effort that utilizes software defined radio to help
characterize medium frequency signal strength in relation to ionospheric and
solar weather propagation determinants.Signal strength data from seven medium frequency
stations of unique transmission locations and varying transmission powers were
retrieved in 24-hour segments via a receiving loop antenna, Airspy HF+
Discovery software defined radio, and SDR Sharp software interface network.
Retrieved data sets werevisualized and analyzed in MATLAB for the
identification of signal strength trends, which were subsequently compared to
historical ionospheric and space weather indices in pursuit of a quantifiable
correlation between such indices and medium frequency signal strengths. The
results of the investigation prove that software defined radio, when used in
conjunction with a receiving antenna and data analysis
References
[1]
Frissell, N.A., Miller, E.S., Kaeppler, S.R., Ceglia, F., Pascoe, D., Sinanis, N., Smith, P., Williams, R. and Shovkoplyas, A. (2014) Ionospheric Sounding Using Real-Time Amateur Radio Reporting Networks. Space Weather, 12, 651-656.
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014SW001132
[2]
Levis, C.A., Johnson, J.T. and Teixeira, F.L. (2010) Radiowave Propagation: Physics and Applications. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BB03015333
[3]
Hepburn, W. (2023) LW Radio Beacons. https://www.dxinfocentre.com/ndb.htm
[4]
NIST (2023) Radio Station WWV.
https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/time-distribution/radio-station-wwv
[5]
Federal Communications Commission. AM Station Classes, and Clear, Regional, and Local Channels.
https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/am-clear-regional-local-channels
[6]
Crane, R.K. (1981) Fundamental Limitations Caused by RF Propagation. Proceedings of the IEEE, 69, 196-209. https://doi.org/10.1109/PROC.1981.11952
[7]
Hanbali, S.B.S. (2023) Low-Cost Software-Defined Radio for Electrical Engineering Education. IEEE Potentials, 42, 13-19. https://doi.org/10.1109/MPOT.2022.3223788
[8]
NOAA/NWS Space Weather Prediction Center. Global D-Region Absorption Prediction Documentation.
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/global-d-region-absorption-prediction-Documentation
[9]
Reinisch, B.W. and Galkin, I.A. (2011) Global Ionospheric Radio Observatory (GIRO). Earth, Planets and Space, 63, 377-381.
https://doi.org/10.5047/eps.2011.03.001
[10]
Sinha, D., Verma, A. and Kumar, S. (2016) Software Defined Radio: Operation, Challenges and Possible Solutions. 10th International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Control (ISCO), Coimbatore, 7-8 January 2016, 1-5.
https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCO.2016.7727079
[11]
Akeela, R. and Dezfouli, B. (2018) Software-Defined Radios: Architecture, State-of- the-Art, and Challenges. Computer Communications, 128, 106-125.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2018.07.012
[12]
Cruz, P., Carvalho, N.B. and Remley, K.A. (2010) Designing and Testing Software-Defined Radios. IEEE Microwave Magazine, 11, 83-94.
https://doi.org/10.1109/MMM.2010.936493
[13]
Diaz-Ortiz, F., Roman, F., Lopez, J. and Gomez, C. (2016) High-Speed Data Acquisition System for Radio Atmospheric Signals Measuraments Based on Software Defined Radio. 2016 33rd International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP), Estoril, 25-30 September 2016, 1-4.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7791426
[14]
Breed, G. (2007) Basic Principles of Electrically Small Antennas. High Frequency Electronics, 6, No. 2.
https://www.highfrequencyelectronics.com/Feb07/HFE0207_tutorial.pdf
[15]
Airspy.com. Try Our Award Winning HF/VHF Receiver!
https://airspy.com/airspy-hf-discovery/
[16]
Poole, I. (1999) Radio Waves and the Ionosphere.
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/pdf/119962.pdf
[17]
Poole, I. (2002) Understanding Solar Indices. QST ? ARRL, 38-40.
https://www.arrl.org/files/file/Technology/tis/info/pdf/0209038.pdf
[18]
Otsuka, Y., Jin, H., Shinagawa, H., Hosokawa, K. and Tsuda, T. (2023) Ionospheric Variability. In: Kusano, K., Ed., Solar-Terrestrial Environmental Prediction, Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7765-7_7
[19]
Murase, K., et al. (2023) Atmospheric Ionizations by Solar X-Rays, Solar Protons, and Radiation Belt Electrons in September 2017 Space Weather Event. Space Weather, 21, e2023SW003651. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023SW003651
