News

ARAE IN CORNWALL...........
In December 2001, ARAE delivered the first 1420 MHz microwave
telescope to a school in the UK. Mr Brian Sheen, representing
St Austell College, Cornwall, received the complete system into
the physics department.

The system consists of a high gain 1420 MHz yagi antenna,
a 1.2 metre parabolic dish with feed dipole, a low noise
1420 MHz preamplifier, a 1420 to 151 MHz frequency converter,
a main wide bandwidth 151 MHz IF receiver, and a
Pico Technology 12-bit ADC-42 with PicoScope and PicoLog software.

Mr Brian Sheen obtained 'first light' January 2002 and the
telescope is portable enough for it to be displayed and used
around observatories and sites in Cornwall.
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ARAE'S ORIGINS, THE TRAO, GO EAST................
TRAO and AMORA will be moving to a new location near Bedford,
Cambridgshire in September 2004.

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AFTER SOLAR WATCH 2000
WATCH THIS SPACE
FOR NEWS OF SKY WATCH 2005!!

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ARAE's SOLAR WATCH 2000................
ARAE’s first national project was called Solar Watch 2000 and
involved providing 61 schools with a simple 151 MHz full power
(280kHz bandwidth) telescope. It responded to VHF solar flare
emissions from the sun and was timed to coincide with the
11-year solar maximum in 2000. ARAE anticipated a high fall out
rate of participants. In the end, 6 of the telescopes remained
operational, amounting to a 90% fall out rate. The establishment
of the radio telescope and interest it generated in the schools was
very much part of the intention, rather than just the end result of
observing solar flares.

ARAE was surprised however by the high fallout rate, but attribute
this to the following:

1. The VHF yagis employed were large and cumbersome.
They were difficult to mount successfully in schools and for
long periods of time (vandals, health and safety, planning
permission, teachers’ skill base, and facilities available)

2. The school curriculum was seriously disrupted at this time
by the introduction of national AS Levels. Teachers and pupils
were hard pressed for time with the introduction of new courses
and coursework. There was (and remains) more emphasis on
examination results and the completion of syllabuses and content
and less on the exploration of the subject, in and out of the classroom.

3. The system had to be set up and then left, until the sun flared.
It was not known if the system was actually working, since it was
difficult to know exactly when the sun was flaring. Signal generators were
not available to test systems. There was thus an anti-climax.
In a school, once something is set up, pupils immediately ‘want to see
it do something’!

4. The unique software provided on a floppy disk was unwieldy.
Floppy disks were (and still are) impractical and unreliable in
a school environment.

There were some other interesting lessons and observations
from Solar Watch 2000:

1. Communication via e-mail was very successful, for problem
solving, the transfer of photographs, feedback, exchange of results etc.

2. There needed to have been a focus with a regularly updated
website, producing more of a corporate feeling and group effort.
All, including sponsors, could then view progress of the project.

3. Low cost ADCs and software started to appear in schools (eg Pico)
and this revolutionised data capture. They now exist in most schools.
Laptops are also appearing more.