UKRAA is pleased to announce that a 10GHz Signal Source is now available to purchase. It is compact and easy to use with just a single push button to operate it. At the heart of the signal source is an HB100 Doppler Radar Module which generates a steady 10GHz signal that can be detected by a satellite dish. The signal source has a basic application for testing that your dish is functional but can also be used to determine the signal strength profile of your dish and identify any problems in your signal chain, particularly with cabling.
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UKRAA is pleased to announce that the first batch of our new cosmic ray muon detectors will soon be available for sale on our website. We launched the detector at the Practical Astronomy Show in Kettering on Saturday where it generated a lot of interest.
We will be introducing three versions of the detector plus an enclosure:
- A kit for self-assembly. This involves the soldering of small surface mounted devices (SMD).
- A finished device. This will be tested and working with the operating software loaded.
- An extruded aluminium enclosure suitable for a single device.
The kits include all the components including a polished drilled and tapped 5cm x 5cm x 1cm scintillator block. This block is BC-412 grade scintillator material which is optically matched to a large 6mm X 6mm silicon photo multiplier (SiPM) chip. This gives a 25cm3 collecting volume. Using a solid-state detector eliminates the high voltage needed for vacuum tube GM detectors and also gives six times the detection volume.
As supplied the detector will detect β, ϒ, and cosmic muons. To eliminate the random β and ϒ two detectors are required working in coincidence mode. Muon events are output as a CSV file on a micro-SD card or can be connected to a PC via USB.
A discount of 7.5% will be applied to purchases of a pair detectors.
For ongoing support there is a forum - https://groups.io/g/muondetector/messages where discussion, questions and ideas can be shared.
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The UK Radio Astronomy Association was established in 2008 as a registered charity (registration no 1123866).
UKRAA’s objectives are to promote the science of radio astronomy and all branches of radio astronomical research.
UKRAA is a not for profit business. Any surplus income funds the development of new products and our outreach activities. To keep our prices low UKRAA relies on the contributions of volunteers. We need more volunteers who can contribute in these areas of expertise:
- Precision wood working to make up antenna kits and assembled antennas.
- Machining and mechanical assembly to make up the enclosures.
- Electronic assembly both through-hole and surface mount components.
- Software development.
- Digital and analogue circuit design and PCB layout experience.
- IT and Website support.
- Writers for articles and manuals Stock control, book keeping and customer service.
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UKRAA is pleased to announce that a new assembled version of the E-field Active Antenna Amplifier Kit is available for purchase. Three versions of the kit are available to purchase from our online shop:
- An SMD component kit comprising the PCB and all SMD components can be purchased here from our online store.
- An assembled module with the SMD components mounted and tested can be purchased here from our online store.
- A fully assembled module with the RF and power connectors mounted can be purchased here from our online store.
This kit won the Construction category at the RSGB Construction Competition 2016 and its usefulness was highlighted by John Rogers and David Lauder at this year's RSGB convention RFI Clinic.
In addition, one of UKRAA’s Trustees has looked at how to produce a simple low cost enclosure for the antenna and a short note on the E-Field probe Antenna Housing is available to download.
