EISCAT 3D demonstrator array

Last Friday I visited EISCAT Ramfjordmoen to collect some data from the HF radar campaign. I also happened to come across some activity happening at the EISCAT 3D demonstrator array, which will be the prototype for the larger installation that will be built in Skibotn, Karesuvanto, and Kaisenniemi during the next few years. Some folks from EISCAT and Ettus Research were installing digital receiver equipment and power amplifiers into the housing.

The EISCAT 3D demonstrator panel, with 91 crossed dipoles on top and housing for the electronics below.

Harri Hellgren and Robert Juhlin from EISCAT Scientific Association populating the racks inside the demonstrator unit housing. Top left: Ettus Octoclock clock distribution units, which are synchronized using White Rabbit, Bottom left: Twelve rack mounted USRP N3x0 units, with custom 16 channel ADC inputs, Right: Mitshubishi power amplifiers. 

Derek Kozel from Ettus Research, who was installing the custom N3x0 units, which can provide inputs for up to 32 channels per rack unit. The Mitshubishi power amplifiers on the right.  

Top: blue cables going into a network switch, which communicates with the management interface of the USRP N3x0 devices. Middle: The White Rabbit clock distribution unit, which distributes clocks via ethernet cables. Bottom: The compute server, to which up to 10 beamformed streams of digital signals arrive at.  

The back panel for the USRP N3x0 units. The configuration is similar to e.g., LOFAR, where signals are propagated from one unit to another to perform summation (digital beamforming).