TY - CONF T1 - 2020 Solar Cycle Update and the HF Response to Ionospheric Storms and Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances T2 - Contest University Y1 - 2020 A1 - N. A. Frissell JF - Contest University PB - Contest University CY - Dayton, OH (Virtual) UR - https://www.contestuniversity.com/ ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI Distributed Array of Small Instruments Personal Space Weather Station (DASI-PSWS): Architecture and Current Status (Invited) T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2020 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - D. Joshi A1 - K. Collins A1 - A. Montare A1 - D. Kazdan A1 - J. Gibbons A1 - S. Mandal A1 - W. Engelke A1 - T. Atkison A1 - H. Kim A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - S. H. Cowling A1 - T. C. McDermott A1 - J. Ackermann A1 - D. Witten A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - W. Liles A1 - S. Cerwin A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller AB -

Recent advances in geospace remote sensing have shown that large-scale distributed networks of ground-based sensors pay large dividends by providing a big picture view of phenomena that were previously observed only by point-measurements. While existing instrument networks provide excellent insight into ionospheric and space science, the system remains undersampled and more observations are needed to advance understanding. In an effort to generate these additional measurements, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI, hamsci.org) is working with the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR, tapr.org), an engineering organization comprised of volunteer amateur radio operators and engineers, to develop a network of Personal Space Weather Stations (PSWS). These instruments that will provide scientific-grade observations of signals-of-opportunity across the HF bands from volunteer citizen observers as part of the NSF Distributed Array of Small Instruments (DASI) program. A performance-driven PSWS design (~US$500) will be a modular, multi-instrument device that will consist of a dual-channel phase-locked 0.1-60 MHz software defined radio (SDR) receiver, a ground magnetometer with (~10 nT resolution and 1-sec cadence), and GPS/GNSS receiver to provide precision time stamping and serve as a GPS disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) to provide stability to the SDR receiver. A low-cost PSWS (< US$100) that measures Doppler shift of HF signals received from standards stations such as WWV (US) and CHU (Canada) and includes a magnetometer is also being developed. HF sounding algorithms making use of signals of opportunity will be developed for the SDR-based PSWS. All measurements will be collected into a central database for coordinated analysis and made available for public access.

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Santa Fe, NM (Virtual) UR - http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2020_Workshop:MainVG ER - TY - CONF T1 - Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed using HamSCI Amateur Radio, SuperDARN, GNSS TEC, and Ionosondes T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2020 A1 - D. F. Sanchez A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - G. W. Perry A1 - W. D. Engelke A1 - A. Coster A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - J. M. Ruohoniemi A1 - J. B. H. Baker A1 - R. C. Luetzelschawb JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Santa Fe, NM (Virtual) UR - http://cedarweb.vsp.ucar.edu/wiki/index.php/2020_Workshop:MainVG ER - TY - CONF T1 - Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances Observed using HamSCI Amateur Radio, SuperDARN, and GNSS TEC T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - D. Sanchez A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - G. Perry A1 - W. D. Engelke A1 - A. Coster A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - J. M. Ruohoniemi A1 - J. B. H. Baker AB -

Large Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbances (LSTIDs) are quasi‐periodic variations in F region electron density with horizontal wavelengths > 1000 km and periods between 30 to 180 min. On 3 November 2017, LSTID signatures were detected in observations made by Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and the Weak Signal Propagation Reporting Network (WSPRNet) for the first time. The RBN and WSPRNet are two large‐scale High Frequency (HF, 3‐30 MHz) amateur (ham) radio observing networks that provide data to the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI). The LSTIDs were observed on the 7 and 14 MHz amateur radio bands, and are detected by observing changes in average propagation path length with time. LSTID period lengthened from T ~ 1.5 hr at 12 UT to T ~ 2.25 hr by 21 UT. Simultaneous LSTID signatures were present in ham radio observations over the continental United States, the Atlantic Ocean, and Europe. LSTIDs observed with amateur radio were consistent with LSTIDs observed by the Blackstone SuperDARN HF radar and in differential GNSS Total Electron Content (TEC) measurements. GNSS TEC maps were used to estimate LSTID parameters: horizontal wavelength 1100 km, phase velocity 950 km/hr, period 70 min, and propagation azimuth 135°. The LSTID signatures were observed throughout the day following ~800 nT surges in the Auroral Electrojet (AE) index at 00 and 12 UT. We will discuss potential generation hypotheses for the observed LSTIDs, including atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) sources triggered by auroral electrojet intensifications
and associated Joule heating.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Overview of the Personal Space Weather Station and Project Update T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - N. A. Frissell AB -

An overview of the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station and general project update.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - Update on the Golden Ears Project T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2020 Y1 - 2020 A1 - G. Perry A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - B. D. Blain A1 - R. Reif A1 - N. A. Frissell AB -

The Radio Receiver Instrument (RRI), part of the Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (e‐POP) science payload on the Cascade, Smallsat and Ionospheric Polar Explorer (CASSIOPE) spacecraft, has recorded continuous wave (CW; Morse code) transmissions during the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Field Day exercises since 2015. Perry et al. (2018) demonstrated the value of such transmissions to radio science. By identifying a handful of hams in the RRI data collected during the 2015 Field Day and inputting their transmitting locations into a high frequency (HF) ray tracing model, Perry et al. were able to accurately estimate foF2 over a portion of the midwestern United States. They were also able to diagnose the periodic fading in the amplitude of one ham’s transmission as a multipath propagation effect unique to transionospheric propagation.

One lesson from the Perry et al. analysis was that decoding the transmissions using CW “skimmers”, software capable of decoding large bands of CW signal, was not feasible with the RRI data. This is likely due to the fact that the signals disperse and degrade as they transit from the ground, through the ionosphere, and up to the spacecraft. As a result, the Perry et al. transmissions had to be decoded aurally by the article’s co‐authors. Since 2015, RRI has collected several hours of ARRL Field Day transmissions, necessitating a more organized decoding effort, rather that the ad hoc methodology employed thus far.

Accordingly, the “Golden Ears Project” was initiated following the RRI operations for the 2019 ARRL Field Day. The goal of the project is straightforward: use members of the ham community with a distinct aptitude for aurally decoding CW signals (i.e., individuals with “Golden Ears”) to decode data collected by RRI in thorough and organized way. In this presentation we will disseminate the first project’s first results from 2019 Field Day operations. We will describe the experimental setup, methodology used to prepare the data from the decoders, discuss their results, and outline the future directions of the project.

Perry, G. W., Frissell, N. A., Miller, E. S., Moses, M., Shovkoplyas, A., Howarth, A. D., & Yau, A. W. (2018). Citizen Radio Science: An Analysis of Amateur Radio Transmissions With e‐POP RRI. Radio Science, 933–947. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017RS006496

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2020 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station: A New Tool for Citizen Science Geospace Research T2 - USNC–URSI National Radio Science Meeting Y1 - 2019 A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard AB -

Recent advances in geospace remote sensing have shown that large-scale distributed networks of ground-based sensors pay large dividends by providing a big picture view of phenomena that were previously observed only by point-measurements. Notable examples include the improved understanding of traveling ionospheric disturbance (TID) sources based on observations from the high frequency (HF) Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) radars and GNSS-based total electron content remote sensing networks. While these existing networks provide excellent insight into TID science, the system remains undersampled (especially at HF) and more observations are needed to advance understanding. Additionally, previous measurements have revealed that characteristics of medium scale traveling ionospheric disturbances (MSTIDs) observed on the bottomside ionosphere using oblique HF sounding by SuperDARN differ from integrated ionospheric measurements of MSTIDs made using GNSS-TEC. These differences have yet to be accounted for, and additional observations could aid in understanding the propagation of MSTIDs from the bottom to the top of the ionosphere. In an effort to generate these additional measurements, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI, hamsci.org) is working with the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR, tapr.org), an engineering organization comprising of volunteer amateur radio operators and engineers, to develop a network of Personal Space Weather Stations that will provide scientific-grade observations of signals-of-opportunity across the HF bands from volunteer citizen observers. These measurements will play a key role in the characterization of ionospheric variability across the geographic regions in which these stations are deployed. We will describe concepts, key software patterns for radio science, and proposed timelines for the Personal Space Weather Station project. A particular focus will be assembling the proper metadata for science grade observations, and strategies for lightweight calibration of radio sensors. Initial project efforts concentrate on a wideband receiving station and backing software data distribution system.

JF - USNC–URSI National Radio Science Meeting PB - U.S. National Committee for URSI CY - Boulder, CO UR - https://nrsmboulder.org/ ER - TY - MGZN T1 - Solar Eclipse QSO Party Wrap-Up Y1 - 2019 A1 - N. A. Frissell JF - National Contest Journal VL - 47 UR - http://ncjweb.com/features/janfeb19feat.pdf IS - 1 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Initial Results of HamSCI Ham Radio 21 August 2017 Eclipse Ionospheric Experiments T2 - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting Y1 - 2018 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - D. Bern A1 - F. Ceglia A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. Gerzoff A1 - P. Gladstone A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - S. W. Rose A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - P. Smith A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - M. L. West A1 - R. Williams AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse will cause the shadow of the moon to traverse the United States from Oregon to South Carolina in just over 90 minutes. The sudden absence of sunlight due to the eclipse, especially solar UV and x-rays, provides an impulse function to the upper atmosphere that modifies the neutral dynamics, plasma concentrations, and related properties. Despite more than 60 years of research, questions remain regarding eclipse-induced ionospheric impacts. Ham radio operators’ advanced technical skills and inherent interest in ionospheric science make the amateur radio community ideal for contributing to and and participating in large-scale ionospheric sounding experiments. We present initial results from three amateur radio experiments designed to study the 2017 total solar eclipse: the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP), the HF Wideband Recording Experiment, and the Eclipse Frequency Measurement Test (FMT). These experiments are coordinated by HamSCI, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation, a citizen science organization that connects the amateur radio community to the professional space science research community for mutual benefit.

JF - American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting PB - American Meteorological Society CY - Austin, TX UR - https://ams.confex.com/ams/98Annual/webprogram/Paper337094.html ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Modeling Amateur Radio Soundings of the Ionospheric Response to the 2017 Great American Eclipse JF - Geophysical Research Letters Y1 - 2018 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - M. L. West A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - W. Liles A1 - H. W. Silver AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse traversed the continental United States and caused large‐scale changes in ionospheric densities. These were detected as changes in medium and high frequency radio propagation by the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP) citizen science experiment organized by the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (hamsci.org). This is the first eclipse‐ionospheric study to make use of measurements from a citizen‐operated, global‐scale HF propagation network and develop tools for comparison to a physics‐based model ionosphere. Eclipse effects were observed ±0.3 hr on 1.8 MHz, ±0.75 hr on 3.5 and 7 MHz, and ±1 hr on 14 MHz and are consistent with eclipse‐induced ionospheric densities. Observations were simulated using the PHaRLAP raytracing toolkit in conjunction with the eclipsed SAMI3 ionospheric model. Model results suggest 1.8, 3.5, and 7 MHz refracted at h ≥ 125 km altitude with elevation angles θ ≥ 22°, while 14 MHz signals refracted at h < 125 km with elevation angles θ < 10°.

VL - 45 UR - https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077324 ER - TY - CONF T1 - Analysis of the August 2017 Eclipse’s Effect on Radio Wave Propagation Employing a Raytrace Algorithm T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - S. Burujupali A1 - K. Brosie A1 - S. Dixit A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - L. Kordella A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - C. Chitale AB -

The upcoming total solar eclipse over the continental United States on August 21 offers an unique opportunity to study the dependence of the ionospheric density and morphology on incident solar radiation. There are significant differences between the conditions during a solar eclipse and the conditions normally experienced at sunset and sunrise, including the west-to-east motion of the eclipse terminator, the duration of the event, the solar zenith angle, and the continued visibility of the corona. Taken together, these factors imply that unique ionospheric responses may be witnessed during eclipses, as measured by changes in radio frequency (RF) propagation. High Frequency (HF) propagation varies greatly depending on ionospheric conditions. Hence, our analysis will include data collected during the eclipse by several HF systems shown in Figure 1 including SuperDARN, temporary radio transceiver sites, and amateur radio networks such as the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) and Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Network (WSPRNet). The data analysis will be guided by raytrace models of HF propagation through an eclipsed ionosphere employing the HF propagation toolbox, PHaRLAP (created by Dr. Manuel Cervera).

JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - Developing a Solar Eclipse Simulation for Greater Good T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - J. D. Huba AB -

This paper presents our methodology for simulating the upcoming total solar eclipse that will be taking place on August 21, 2017. By taking advantage of a high-performance distributed computing cluster as well as a number of third-party scientific computing libraries we were able to efficiently simulate a large number of HF amateur radio contacts before, during, and after the upcoming eclipse. The data generated from the simulations allows us to peek into how the amateur radio community and radio propagation as a whole will be affected in preparation for the actual eclipse.

JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - Fitting Ionospheric Models Using Real-Time HF Amateur Radio Observations T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - F. Ceglia A1 - D. Pascoe A1 - N. Sinanis A1 - P. Smith A1 - R. Williams A1 - A. Shovkoplyas JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - 2017 Annual Meeting of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - M. L. West A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - H. W. Silver JF - 2017 Annual Meeting of the APS Mid-Atlantic Section PB - American Physical Society CY - Newark, NJ ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - M. L. West A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - R. Gerzoff A1 - H. Ward Silver JF - American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting PB - American Geophysical Union CY - New Orleans, LA ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - HamSCI-UK Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - W. Engelke A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - J. S. Vega JF - HamSCI-UK PB - HamSCI-UK CY - Milton Keynes, UK ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - M. Hirsch A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. R. Kaeppller A1 - R. W. McGwier A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. Perry A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - RBN Team JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (Experiment Description) T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - J. D. Huba A1 - M. Hirsch A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - M. D. Suhar A1 - D. Bern AB -

On 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse will cause the shadow of the moon to traverse the United States from Oregon to South Carolina in just over 90 minutes. The sudden absence of sunlight due to the eclipse, especially solar UV and x-rays, provides an impulse function to the upper atmosphere that modifies the neutral dynamics, plasma concentrations, and related properties. In spite of more than 60 years of research, open questions remain regarding eclipse-induced ionospheric impacts. Ham radio operators’ advanced technical skills and inherent interest in ionospheric science make the amateur radio community ideal for contributing to and and participating in large-scale ionospheric sounding experiments. This pa- per describes the Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP), the HF Wideband Recording Experiment, and the Eclipse Frequency Measurement Test (FMT), three amateur radio experiments designed to study the 2017 total solar eclipse. These experi- ments are coordinated by HamSCI, the Ham radio Science Citizen Investigation, a citizen science organization that connects the amateur radio community to the professional space science research community for mutual benefit.

JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI and the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse (First Results) T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - W. Engelke A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - J. S. Vega JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - HamSCI: The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (Banquet Presentation) T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. R. Ackermann A1 - J. Dzekevich A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - P. J. Erickson A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - R. B. Gerzoff A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - M. Hirsch A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - S. R. Kaeppler A1 - R. W. McGwier A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. Perry A1 - S. E. Reyer A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - RBN Team JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - The H.A.R.C. Database and Visualization Utilities T2 - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference Y1 - 2017 A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - W. Engelke A1 - N. A. Frissell AB -

HamSCI’s goal is to construct a symbiotic relationship between the formal research community and the Amateur Radio community. To facilitate this transfer of knowledge HamSCI must pioneer technologies that allow scientists to easily obtain and understand Amateur Radio data. This task necessitates the creation of warehousing and visualization facilities that allow scientists to easily understand and make use of our data sets. We are currently testing a database and visualization toolkit designed to handle our existing 2 billion-record long QSO log. This data set represents a compiled version of data gathered by the Reverse Beacon Network, WSPRNet, and PSKReporter. Our goal is to build a robust, fast, and queryable front end to the massive, and currently underuti- lized, data sources created by Amateur Radio operators.

JF - ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference CY - St. Louis, MO UR - https://www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html ER - TY - CONF T1 - Ionospheric Simulations of the 2017 Solar Eclipse QSO Party T2 - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell A1 - J. S. Vega A1 - J. D. Katz A1 - M. L. Moses A1 - G. D. Earle A1 - S. W. Gunning A1 - A. J. Gerrard A1 - E. S. Miller A1 - M. L. West A1 - F. Ceglia A1 - D. Pascoe A1 - N. Sinanis A1 - P. Smith A1 - R. Williams A1 - A. Shovkoplyas A1 - H. W. Silver JF - NSF CEDAR (Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions) CY - Keystone, CO ER - TY - CONF T1 - What is HamSCI? T2 - Dayton Hamvention Y1 - 2017 A1 - N. A. Frissell AB -

A brief overview of HamSCI’s mission, people, and projects are presented.

JF - Dayton Hamvention CY - Xenia, OH ER -