The Chatanika radar system

A 1290-MHz incoherent-scatter radar has been operated by SRI in Chatanika, Alaska since 1971. The radar antenna location was carefully chosen to avoid ground-clutter returns from distant mountains. The radar transmitter and receiver are similar to those of other incoherent-scatter facilities. Special-purpose digital hardware (a subintegrator, single-pulse and multipulse autocorrelators, and a integrator) performs the various digital processing functions. The experimental control, monitoring, and reporting are performed by an on-line computer. One general-purpose program accomodates a wide variety of operating modes. The basic measurements of the plasma density, temperatures, and velocities are interpreted with careful attention to the effect of the ratio of Debye length to wavelength. The statistical uncertainties of the radar measurements have been evaluated. (Auth.)