2 Dec 2003 SEARFE Project - G. "Ñima" Warr 1

The SEARFE ProjectG. “Ñima” Warr

2-Dec-03

StudentsExploringAustralia’sRadioFrequencyEnvironment

www.searfe.atnf.csiro.au

AUSTRALIA

Canberra

Melbourne

Sydney

Narrabri

Kimba

Geraldton

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SEARFE Project Aims

Education & Outreach Raise awareness of radio-science Give students practical experience of:

the value and use of the RF spectrum the requirements of a radio-quiet site (by comparing

results from city and country areas) and why a radio-quiet site is required for the next generation radio telescopes SKA & LOFAR

Research Characterising and potential long-term

monitoring of Australia’s radio-frequency environment

Compare measurements with predictions based on the Australian Communication Authority’s database of licensed transmitters

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SEARFE Scientists & Engineers

Project Director: Anne Green (USyd)Project Coordinator:

George “Ñima” Warr (ATNF CSIRO)

Outreach Officers: Betty Jacobs (UTS)Owen Shepherd (USyd)

Software Engineer: Oliver Mather (USyd, UNSW)Web Master: Andrew Wright (ATNF CSIRO)Web Support: Vincent McIntyre (ATNF CSIRO)Project Advisors: Michelle Storey (ATNF CSIRO) – Past Coordinator

Peter Hall (ATNF CSIRO)Duncan Campbell-Wilson (USyd)

Regional Support: Western Australia: Jamie Biggs (Perth Observatory)Canberra: Duncan Campbell-Wilson (MRO, USyd)Narrabri: Bob Sault (ATCA ATNF CSIRO)Melbourne: Maurizio Toscano, Jamie Stevens,

Rachel Webster (UMelb)Sydney: Sydney SEARFE team

Astronomy on the Go:

Michael Burton (UNSW)

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SEARFE Equipment Kit RF scanning receiver

AOR AR3000A or WinRadio 1550e

IBM laptop computer Software for spectrum

acquisition and display 25-1300 MHz discone

antenna + cables Student Research

Guides and Teacher Resource Kit, including operating instructions, experimental notes and background information

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SEARFE Software: Spectrum Scanner v4.2

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Location of schools involved in the SEARFE

Project

AUSTRALIA

CanberraMelbourne

Sydney

Narrabri

Kimba

Geraldton

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

30 60 90 120 150 180 210 240 270 300

Frequency (MHz)

Rec

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d S

ign

al S

tren

gth

(S

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Abbotsleigh School (Sydney NSW) Kimba Area School (Eyre Peninsula SA)

Sydney cf Kimba (City NSW cf Country SA)

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RF Transmitters within ~200km of Sydney and

Kimba

Sydney (NSW) Kimba (SA)

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SEARFE in the Media

12-Aug-03 SEARFE Story on Channel Ten’s Totally Wild programme

4-Aug-03 Geraldton Guardian story on student’s presentation at International SKA 2003 Conference

27-Jul-03 Sun Herald article on SEARFE and radio quiet zones

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SEARFE on Display 15–24-Jul-03 IAU GA, Sydney

ASKAC stand at the Astro Expo School’s day demo by Abbotsleigh School students Poster in SS4 Education Session UNSW-lead “Astronomy on the Go” lead-up event - toured

more than a dozen schools in regional NSW and several schools in Sydney

26-Jul-03 Astronomy Day for Teachers Workshop 28–31-Jul-03 International SKA 2003 Meeting,

Geraldton 17-Aug-03 UTS stand at Science in the City, Sydney 25–28-Aug-03 UTS stand at Science in the Bush,

Tamworth Mopra

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Geraldton Students demonstrating SEARFE at International SKA2003

Conference

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“SEARFE in a Box” on tour with

Astronomy on the GoCatherine McCauley School

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“SEARFE in a Box” on tour with

Astronomy on the GoWenona School North Sydney

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Results… Narrabri and Geraldton

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Predicted Strongest RF Environment Signal Levels: 100-

2000 MHz

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Predicted Strongest RF Environment Signal Levels:

Integrated 0.1-22.2 GHz

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Earth at Night

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Forte Satellite Global Radio-Frequency Environment

Measurements29-51 & 121-146 MHz

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THE SEARFE RADIO SCIENCE & ASTRONOMY AWARENESS PROJECT

G. B. Warr [1], D. Campbell-Wilson [2], A. J. Green [2], P. J. Hall [1], B. J. Jacobs [3], O. H. Mather [2], O. L. Shepherd [2], M. C. Storey [1].

[1] Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO[2] School of Physics, University of Sydney

[3] Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology Sydney

A pilot project to raise awareness and gain practical experience in radio astronomy, radio-science and the importance of the radio-frequency (RF) spectrum is being run in several Australian high schools. Students from city and country high schools are using

computer controlled RF scanners connected to wideband discone antennas to measure RF signal levels up to 1.5 GHz in their local area

and are comparing their results via the internet. Through this the students gain an increased understanding of the value and use of the

radio frequency spectrum for communication and astronomy, practical experience in radio-science and an appreciation of the

requirements of a "radio-quiet" site for the next generation radio telescopes, the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), that Australia is bidding to host. The

effectiveness of the project is being evaluated through a number of means including standardised tests of participating student's

understanding vs a control group, feedback from teachers and from trained science communicators. Further details on the project can be

found at the SEARFE website: www.searfe.atnf.csiro.au