<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>One of the main research directions of Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC) is radio astronomy and astrophysics. The instrumental base for the centre comprised two fully steerable parabolic antennas, RT-16 and RT-32 (i.e. with the mirror diameter of 16 m and 32 m). After long reconstruction, radio telescope RT-32 is currently equipped with the receiving and data acquisition systems that allow observing in a wide frequency range from 327 MHz to 9 GHz. New Antenna Control Unit (ACU) allows stable, fast and precise pointing of antenna. Time and frequency distribution service provide 5, 10 and 100 MHz reference frequency, 1PPS signals and precise time stamps by NTP protocol and in the IRIG-B format by coaxial cable.</p><p>For the radio astronomical observations, main requirement of spatially Very Long Base Line Interferometric (VLBI) observations for the observatory is precise synchronization of the received and sampled data and linking to the exact time stamps. During October 2015, radio telescope RT-32 performance was tested in several successful VLBI experiments. The obtained results confirm the efficiency of the chosen methods of synchronization and the ability to reproduce them on similar antennas.</p></abstract>

One of the main research directions of Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC) is radio astronomy and astrophysics. The instrumental base for the centre comprised two fully steerable parabolic antennas, RT-16 and RT-32 (i.e. with the mirror diameter of 16 m and 32 m). After long reconstruction, radio telescope RT-32 is currently equipped with the receiving and data acquisition systems that allow observing in a wide frequency range from 327 MHz to 9 GHz. New Antenna Control Unit (ACU) allows stable, fast and precise pointing of antenna. Time and frequency distribution service provide 5, 10 and 100 MHz reference frequency, 1PPS signals and precise time stamps by NTP protocol and in the IRIG-B format by coaxial cable.For the radio astronomical observations, main requirement of spatially Very Long Base Line Interferometric (VLBI) observations for the observatory is precise synchronization of the received and sampled data and linking to the exact time stamps. During October 2015, radio telescope RT-32 performance was tested in several successful VLBI experiments. The obtained results confirm the efficiency of the chosen methods of synchronization and the ability to reproduce them on similar antennas.

Time and Frequency Synchronization on the Virac Radio Telescope RT-32

Engineering Research Institute “Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre” of Ventspils University College (VIRAC), 101 Inzenieru Str., Ventspils, LV-3601, LATVIA

Latvian Journal of Physics and Technical Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Time and Frequency Synchronization on the Virac Radio Telescope RT-32"}

One of the main research directions of Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre (VIRAC) is radio astronomy and astrophysics. The instrumental base for...

Time and Frequency Synchronization on the Virac Radio Telescope RT-32

Published Online: May 20, 2016

Page range: 14 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/lpts-2016-0009

Keywords
radio telescope, antenna control system, time and frequency synchronization

© 2016 V. Bezrukovs, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Time and Frequency Synchronization on the Virac Radio Telescope RT-32

Published Online: May 20, 2016

Page range: 14 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/lpts-2016-0009

Keywordsradio telescope, antenna control system, time and frequency synchronization

© 2016 V. Bezrukovs, published by De Gruyter Open

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
radio telescope, antenna control system, time and frequency synchronization