Developments for Implementation of a Low-Cost Low-Power Ionosonde

The ionosphere is a region of the atmosphere characterized by both ions and electrons. It is highly active and experiences changes in parameters such as electron density at different altitudes, based on the energy absorbed from the sun. Ionosondes are a type of radar used to gather data about the height of the ionosphere by transmitting a signal towards the ionosphere. This signal is refracted back to the Earth’s surface and received in such a manner that return echoes can be timed to calculate the height profile of the bottomside ionosphere. Traditional ionosondes require large antenna systems and high amounts of power. Recent advancements in software defined radio (SDR) technology, advanced digital signal processing (DSP), and computational efficiency enable the size, cost, and power demands of an ionosonde system to be reduced. In this poster, we present our recent efforts to implement a low-cost, low power ionosonde. Two systems are currently used in this project: the Ettus N200 Universal Radio Peripheral (USRP) and the new Red Pitaya SDRlab 122-16. In the following months, the system will target observations that sound the ionosphere during the upcoming solar eclipses later in 2023 and in 2024. Currently GNU radio code is being developed for the system to use. As the weather warms, setting up of the antenna and transmitting tests will begin.