Airborne Cloud Radar Experiment (HICU03), 7 July -31 August 2003 Wyoming Cloud Radar Data Status Report Content: General Notes Flight Information WCR configuration Calibration Notes Quick Looks Terminology General Notes: * WCR raw data is archived and available on DVD disks. Quicklooks, dataquality, wcr flight maps and calibration data is also recorded on these disks. * WCR data acquisition system (DAQ) records time stamps from the vxi IRIG card which is slaved to the master KingAir data system IRIG card. The recorded time stamps are GPS time (currently 13 sec ahead of UTC). * The zero range gate, when at 75 m, is contaminated with the transmitter pulse leakage which appears at levels as high as -35 dBm@500ns (+13 dBZ). Data from this experiment show occasional correlation between the level of the lekage at the leakage gate with the strength of the leakage at 0 and 1st range gates. On the other hand very stong returns at this range are slightly undervalued (1 dB or less) due to receiver protection switches still residually closed. This range is in the antenna far field for the SideUp (12") antenna. Far fields for the 18" and 15" down antennas are 132 m and 91 m, respectively. Thus for the bigger antennas the first few range gates may have significant calibration errors. * When in side looking mode the noise channels, as well as some of the data range gates, are frquently contaminated from second trip echoes, mostly from ground. Caution should be exercised when analyzing side looks. * Average DSP jumps (data jumps between two consecutive profiles due to data acquisition DSP) are mostly near zero for low power returns but frequently high power return (as indicated by the leak) exhibit jumps as high as 1-2 dB and thus averaging at least two profiles is recommended to reduce calibration errors. * Mean(std) noise levels (reflectivity corresponding noise pulses averaged): 250ns: hnoise/vnoise ~ (-64:-66)/(-65:-67) dBm (std: -74:-77/-75:-78 dB) 500ns: hnoise/vnoise ~ (-69:-71)/(-69:-71) dBm (std:-78:-81/-78:-81 dB) * Problems encountered during the experiment !!! Strange(ask ProSensing): 2side500.cpas config uses 50/70/50/200 us prt with 84 averages. This comes to about 30 ms acq time. The actual time interval is 25-27 ms. Similar problem occurs for the 50/100/50/100 and least frequently for 67/67/67/67 configs. ____________________ Jun 20, Test Flight = V-ch did not work (like no DC power) in the beginning under 500 ns setting. After recycling DC power it recovered. Check (if can repeat the problem) if this is in the RF or IF unit(more likely) by swapping RFh/RFv and check wiring (particularly to 2MHz IF filter). = A couple of times Fault 1 came ON after starting cpas RUN. It recovered with simple StandBy/Reset_fault1/Radiate ____________________ Jul 13, Flight = Jeff Snider reported problems when switchin left(S1: h-ch) MW manual switch. The feeling is that it gets almost jammed once in a while (perhaps when trying to switch in turns). In noticeable problems could be found on the ground ____________________ Jul 16, Flight = Rick Damiani reported 25.6mV reading for the Tx power monitor during the second half of the flight. This is not a problem but is relatively low. Normal range I have experienced is 27-31 mV. The conversion rate is about 0.3 dB/mV ____________________ Jul 18, Flight ?????????????????????? = Rick Damiani reported acouple of cases when either h-ch or v-ch were severely attenuated. Restarting VXI resolved the problem. = 1st V-pulse in the HHVV burst is severely attenuated; 2nd V-pulse is OK (detected May 2004) ____________________ Jul 19, Flight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! = Rick reports similar attenuation problem as during Jul 18 flight (W2003-07-19-19-59-00, W2003-07-19-19-59-00) Restarting VXI resolved the problem. = At the end of the flight there are 4 files whose data is bad (looks like the VXI system or some sort of software problem caused it). After cold restart of the VXI and the EIA (most likely there was no need ofr this) the problem disappeared. ____________________ Jul 20, Flight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! = Again VXI problem by the end of the flight. Restarting VXI corrected the problem. No error messages on cpas terminal window, error messages on the DSPs monitors were not caught and no check for VXI error lights was done. File examination shows: data range gates messed up (seem around few constant levels -15:-20 dBm), noise gates for both channels appear OK, leak gate also appear fine except lower than normal for the experiment, time interval is fine. Also every other range gate is 0 value for both "ping" and "pong". ____________________ Jul 21, Flight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! = Attenuation problem. Restart VXI fixed it. = VXI (Bad data) problem (twice): restart vxi fixed it. = Weaker reflectivity for V reported by Rick (W2002-07-21-18-36-30) NI VXI/PCI interface,card and cable, were reseated. ____________________ Jul 24, Flight = One instance of EIA Fault 1 at 20:43; single reset fixed it ____________________ Jul 26, Flight = During pre-flight preparation Fault 1 persisted and it took more than 5 min at min beam voltage and resetting to settle the current below 0.5mA. After that during the flight there were no problems. Tx Max voltage was between 28 and 33 mV. ____________________ Jul 26, Flight = Tx Max voltage 31-28-29-28-27.5-26.8-26.5-29-26.8-26.5-25.9-25.6-25.9mV ____________________ Jul 31, Flight = Rick reported missing V pulses (data around 19:30) ____________________ Aug 5, Flight ?????????????????????????????????? = After about 1.2 hours from the beginning of the flight Fault 1 occured during a run and recording of radar data. Analysis of the data (W2003-08-05-21-03-03) show that the radar was not running properly (h-ch) from the start of the file (see below). A reset fixed the problem and the radar worked for a while after which Fault 1 occured again and could not be successfully cleared. Test on the ground after the flight showed unstable body current (increasing with beam voltage to more than 0.5mA) for about 5 min after which it settled at ~0.1mA. Powering down the EIA and powering it on again a couple of times always eneded up with a stable current at 0.1mA. Analysis of W2003-08-05-21-03-03 shows that from the beginning of the file until the end (which includes the Fault 1 time) V-channel 'even' profiles are fine(see ground), while V-ch 'odd' profiles are attenuated and don't show the ground (more than 40 dB drop). Questions: 1) Are the Fault 1 and the attenuated odd profiles related ? 2) Is the attenuation problem caused by the digital board (firmware?) or by problems coming from the AFG ? ____________________ Aug 8, Flight = Rick reported missing V pulses (18:46:20, 19:19:30 data) ____________________ Aug 11, Flight = Rick reported missing V pulses (21:33:41 data) ____________________ Aug 13, Flight !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! = Demian Ray reported one Fault 1 event. Reset fixed it. = It appears that there was no synch between IRIG card for the first 3 files and after that the IRIG signal was lost and WCR TFP was flywheeling (IRIG status 7); Negative time jumps occured most of the time. = Rick reported missing V pulses (20:20 data) IRIG problem was resolved. It was found that the KA data system was ran without the jamsynch option. ____________________ Aug 22, Flight = Glover reported Fault 1 on the ground (perhaps too cold) Reset fixed it after worming up for a few minutes = Gordon reported single Fault 1 during the flight. Reset fixed it. = Rick reported weird looking vel. and reflectivity data for V-ch, 20:30 ____________________ Aug 29, Flight = Gordon reported single event of Fault 1 before take off. Reset fixed it. WCR Flight Information: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flight date/ File(size name) WCR mode Status ************************************************************************** jun20: (Drew, Kelly,Haimov,Snider) Total data: 834 MB Alg Antennas Notes 5.4M W2003-06-20-17-37-11 sppm up from ground 62M W2003-06-20-17-40-23 ppm4 up from ground 7.9M W2003-06-20-18-46-14 ppm4 side,side 350M W2003-06-20-19-08-16 ppm4 up, down 105M W2003-06-20-19-40-01 ppm4 side,side 500ns, elevated noise (1st pulse h-noise and 3rd pulse v-noise samples almost clean) 17M W2003-06-20-19-49-06 ppm4 up, down Tx down(Fault 1) first 60 sec 10M W2003-06-20-19-51-10 ppm4 side,side 500ns, elevated noise (1,2 pulses h-noise and 3,4 pulses v-noise samples clean) 47M W2003-06-20-19-52-55 ppm4 up, down Tx down(Fault 1) first 45 sec 36M W2003-06-20-19-57-37 ppm4 side,side 500ns,elevated noise in 1,4 pulses h-noise samples 46M W2003-06-20-20-01-00 ppm4 side,side 250ns 68M W2003-06-20-20-09-08 ppm4 side,side 250ns,antenna calib maneuvers; elevated noise (1,2 pulses h-noise and 3,4 pulses v-noise samples almost clean) 60M W2003-06-20-20-18-38 ppm4 down,down antenna calib maneuvers ************************************************************************** jul11: (Drew,Kelly,Gordon,Snider) Total data: 298 MB Alg Antennas Notes 263M W2003-07-11-20-34-09 ppm4 up,down 13M W2003-07-11-20-56-46 ppm4 up,down 22M W2003-07-11-21-08-03 ppm4 side,side, 500ns, elevated noise,1st h-noise pulse almost clean, 3rd v-noise pulse clean The flight was aborted prematurely due to accidental shut down of the radar DC power supply ************************************************************************** jul12: (Drew, Kelly,Gordon,Snider) Total data: 1.5 GB Alg Antennas Notes 259M W2003-07-12-18-33-34 ppm4, up,down 381M W2003-07-12-18-56-01 ppm4, up,down few v-noise spikes, 19:05-19:07 precip 17M W2003-07-12-19-35-12 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1st,4th clean, v-noise clean 29M W2003-07-12-19-37-26 ppm4, up,down ? might be side,side pass, not important, WCR FILE REMOVED 19M W2003-07-12-19-40-41 ppm4, side,side, 250ns up-down conf. used noise chs clean there is enough signal in side-fore 53M W2003-07-12-19-43-01 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter in turn elevated v-noise 4th pulse 84M W2003-07-12-19-48-06 ppm4, side,side, 500ns, ground clutter, elevated noise h-noise 1st and v-noise 3rd pulses almost clean 53M W2003-07-12-19-54-52 ppm4, side,side, 500ns, elevated noise h-noise 1st and v-noise 3rd pulses almost clean 135M W2003-07-12-19-59-45 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter in turn elevated v-noise 4th pulse 104M W2003-07-12-20-12-22 ppm4, side,side almost nothing in side-fore elevated noise all noise pulses 163M W2003-07-12-20-26-13 ppm4, up,down no useful signal 79M W2003-07-12-20-43-42 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 88M W2003-07-12-20-50-42 ppm4, side,side beam calib test ************************************************************************** jul13: (Drew, Kelly,Gordon,Snider) Total data: 1.2 GB Alg Antennas Notes 269M W2003-07-13-20-05-56 ppm4, up,down 218M W2003-07-13-20-30-36 ppm4, up,down v-noise spike 4th pulse 57M W2003-07-13-20-51-47 ppm4, side,side not very useful signal h-noise 1st and v-noise 4th pulses almost clean 41M W2003-07-13-20-57-04 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter in turn elevated v-noise 4th pulse 43M W2003-07-13-21-01-21 ppm4, side,side elevated noise h-noise 3rd,4th and v-noise 1st,2nd 69M W2003-07-13-21-05-30 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter in turn elevated v-noise 4th pulse 41M W2003-07-13-21-12-02 ppm4, side,side elevated noise h-noise 1st and v-noise 4th pulses almost clean 39M W2003-07-13-21-15-55 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter in turn elevated v-noise 4th pulse 41M W2003-07-13-21-19-52 ppm4, side,side 40M W2003-07-13-21-23-46 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter,there is some interference with cloud signal elevated v-noise 4th pulse 33M W2003-07-13-21-28-02 ppm4, side,side elevated noise in all noise pulses 27M W2003-07-13-21-33-58 ppm4, down,down elevated noise in h-noise 2nd,3rd 24M W2003-07-13-21-38-13 ppm4, down,down down-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter in turn elevated noise in h-noise 2nd,3rd 233M W2003-07-13-21-51-48 ppm4, up,down ************************************************************************** jul16: (Drew, Kelly,Damiani,Snider) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 266M W2003-07-16-18-56-55 ppm4, up,down 205M W2003-07-16-19-20-01 ppm4, up,down 95M W2003-07-16-19-37-43 ppm4, up,down 98M W2003-07-16-19-56-38 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1, v-noise 3,4 clean 23M W2003-07-16-20-07-25 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 elevated 26M W2003-07-16-20-09-59 ppm4, side,side 92M W2003-07-16-20-16-28 ppm4, side,side h-noise 2, v-noise 3 almost clean 42M W2003-07-16-20-24-24 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 53M W2003-07-16-20-28-37 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1, v-noise 3,4 almost clean 13M W2003-07-16-20-34-50 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 65M W2003-07-16-20-42-04 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 5.2M W2003-07-16-20-50-36 ppm4, up,down 44M W2003-07-16-20-51-36 ppm4, side,side side: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,2, v-noise 3,4 almost clean 42M W2003-07-16-20-55-36 ppm4, up,down side: 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 74M W2003-07-16-20-59-47 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1,2 kind of ok v-noise 3,4 almost clean 263M W2003-07-16-21-16-06 ppm4, up,down 66M W2003-07-16-21-45-51 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 63M W2003-07-16-21-51-48 ppm4, side,side beam calib test ************************************************************************** jul17: (Drew, Snider,Damiani,Ray) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 232M W2003-07-17-19-54-28 ppm4, up,down 303M W2003-07-17-20-17-15 ppm4, up,down spike in v-noise, 4 130M W2003-07-17-20-44-47 ppm4, side,side side: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1, v-noise 4 clean 43M W2003-07-17-20-58-50 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 107M W2003-07-17-21-03-19 ppm4, side,side side: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1, v-noise 3 almost clean 132M W2003-07-17-21-15-30 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1, v-noise 3,4 almost clean 57M W2003-07-17-21-26-46 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 234M W2003-07-17-21-32-45 ppm4, down,down down,down-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,4; v-noise 1,2,3 almost clean 240M W2003-07-17-21-56-25 ppm4, up,down 95M W2003-07-17-22-17-59 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 48M W2003-07-17-22-26-42 ppm4, side,side beam calib test ************************************************************************** jul18: (Drew, Kelly,Damiani,Lukens) Total data: 1.7 GB Alg Antennas Notes 60M W2003-07-18-18-31-42 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 50M W2003-07-18-18-37-03 ppm4, side,side beam calib test 242M W2003-07-18-18-58-31 ppm4, up,down 160M W2003-07-18-19-23-29 ppm4, up,down 43M W2003-07-18-19-38-51 ppm4, up,down 43M W2003-07-18-19-43-50 ppm4, down,down beam calib test (3km alt) attenuated vv 41M W2003-07-18-19-48-42 ppm4, side,side beam calib test (3km alt) 80M W2003-07-18-19-54-21 ppm4, side,side nothing useful 26M W2003-07-18-20-01-52 ppm4, down,down 18M W2003-07-18-20-04-15 ppm4, down,down down-fore: 2nd echo ground h-noise 2,3 elevated 84M W2003-07-18-20-06-27 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 1; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 38M W2003-07-18-20-13-48 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 elevated 55M W2003-07-18-20-17-46 ppm4, side,side nice!, 2nd echo ground h-noise 1; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 24M W2003-07-18-20-24-39 ppm4, down,down nothing 72M W2003-07-18-20-27-21 ppm4, down,down h-noise 1,4; v-noise 1,2,3 almost clean 44M W2003-07-18-20-33-35 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground 69M W2003-07-18-20-39-20 ppm4, down,down 2nd echo ground h-noise 1; v-noise 1,2,3 almost clean 43M W2003-07-18-20-45-14 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 1,2; v-noise 4 almost clean 20M W2003-07-18-20-49-15 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 elevated 43M W2003-07-18-20-58-25 ppm4, down,down beam calib test (3km alt) 48M W2003-07-18-21-04-00 ppm4, side,side beam calib test (3km alt) 222M W2003-07-18-21-11-48 ppm4, up,down 21:25-virga, h-noise 2,4 elevated 1st V pulse severely attenuated 117M W2003-07-18-21-32-40 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 47M W2003-07-18-21-42-22 ppm4, side,side beam calib test ************************************************************************** jul19: (Drew, Kelly,Damiani,Lukens) Total data: 1.5 GB Alg Antennas Notes 245M W2003-07-19-19-09-48 ppm4, up,down h-noise 2 elevated 103M W2003-07-19-19-34-37 ppm4, up,down 55M W2003-07-19-19-44-23 ppm4, up,down 17M W2003-07-19-19-59-00 ppm4, down,down attenuated hh, very weak vv, switch ? 110M W2003-07-19-20-00-44 ppm4, down,down attenuated hh, very weak vv, switch ? down(V): 2nd echo ground clutter 11M W2003-07-19-20-10-34 ppm4, down,down down,down-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,4; v-noise almost clean 29M W2003-07-19-20-12-22 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1; v-noise 4 almost clean 46M W2003-07-19-20-15-17 ppm4, up,down down(V): 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 52M W2003-07-19-20-21-56 ppm4, down,down down-fore(H): 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,4; v-noise 1,2,3 almost clean 27M W2003-07-19-20-26-16 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter nothing useful 168M W2003-07-19-20-29-00 ppm4, down,down down,down-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,4; v-noise 1,2,3 almost clean 50M W2003-07-19-20-42-47 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1; v-noise 3 almost clean 60M W2003-07-19-20-47-20 ppm4, up,down down(V): 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 30M W2003-07-19-20-53-06 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,2; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 45M W2003-07-19-20-56-07 ppm4, down,down down,down-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,4; v-noise 1,2,3 almost clean 42M W2003-07-19-21-00-12 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1,4; v-noise 2,3 almost clean 68M W2003-07-19-21-04-05 ppm4, up,down down(V): 2nd echo ground clutter v-noise 4 elevated 49M W2003-07-19-21-14-07 ppm4, down,down beam calib test (3km alt) 43M W2003-07-19-21-20-17 ppm4, side,side beam calib test (3km alt) 15M W2003-07-19-21-28-52 ppm4, up,down, bad data (suspect VXI) 70M W2003-07-19-21-31-04 ppm4, up,down, bad data (suspect VXI) 18M W2003-07-19-21-37-58 ppm4, up,down, bad data (suspect VXI) 19M W2003-07-19-21-40-18 ppm4, up,down, bad data (suspect VXI) 95M W2003-07-19-21-44-05 ppm4, up,down ************************************************************************** jul20: (Drew, Kelly,Damiani,Lukens) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 291M W2003-07-20-18-10-11 ppm4, up,down, 18:33-precip 210M W2003-07-20-18-37-05 ppm4, up,down, 18:49-virga 26M W2003-07-20-19-01-35 ppm4, down,down 42M W2003-07-20-19-04-19 ppm4, side,side side,side-fore: 2nd echo ground clutter h-noise 1; v-noise 3,4 clean 37M W2003-07-20-19-08-16 ppm4, up,down, 49M W2003-07-20-19-12-03 ppm4, side,side nice!, 2nd echo ground h-noise 1; v-noise 3 clean 22M W2003-07-20-19-16-27 ppm4, up,down, 102M W2003-07-20-19-22-54 ppm4, down,down h-noise 1,4; v-noise 2,3 clean 31M W2003-07-20-19-31-32 ppm4, side,side wrong switch combination appears down(V) and side(h) 7.9M W2003-07-20-19-34-44 ppm4, side,side nothing useful 50M W2003-07-20-19-36-02 ppm4, down,down h-noise 2,3 spikes 173M W2003-07-20-19-44-52 ppm4, down,down h-noise 2,3 spikes 43M W2003-07-20-19-59-12 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 1,2; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 65M W2003-07-20-20-03-11 ppm4, up,down, down: 2nd echo ground v-noise 4 spikes 42M W2003-07-20-20-09-23 ppm4, down,down h-noise 2,3 elevated 27M W2003-07-20-20-13-17 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground, nothing useful h-noise 4; v-noise 4 almost clean 49M W2003-07-20-20-20-58 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 34M W2003-07-20-20-27-01 ppm4, side,side beam calib test 6.2M W2003-07-20-20-31-42 ppm4, up,down, bad data (suspect VXI) every other range gate is 0. 106M W2003-07-20-20-34-05 ppm4, up,down 20:40-virga,precip 155M W2003-07-20-20-43-11 ppm4, up,down 20:45,47,49-virga ************************************************************************** jul21: (Drew, Snider,Damiani,Lukens) Total data: 1.9 GB Alg Antennas Notes 71M W2003-07-21-17-28-42 ppm4, down,down 68M W2003-07-21-17-35-04 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1; v-noise 2,3 clean 274M W2003-07-21-17-58-00 ppm4, up,down 157M W2003-07-21-18-22-08 ppm4, up,down 147M W2003-07-21-18-36-30 ppm4, down,down ???? ~5dB weaker V (Rick) 73M W2003-07-21-18-48-51 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 2,3,4 elevated 39M W2003-07-21-18-56-57 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 elevated 30M W2003-07-21-19-00-59 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 2,3,4 elevated 13M W2003-07-21-19-05-04 ppm4, down,down bad data (suspect VXI) every 7 rg are 0. then 1 rg is no 0 75M W2003-07-21-19-07-57 ppm4, down,down 2nd echo ground h-noise 1,4; v-noise 1,4 clean 25M W2003-07-21-19-14-16 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 3,4 elevated 27M W2003-07-21-19-17-32 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 elevated 36M W2003-07-21-19-20-30 ppm4, down,down h-noise 2,3 elevated 41M W2003-07-21-19-23-52 ppm4, side,side interesting !, 2nd echo ground h-noise 2; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 33M W2003-07-21-19-27-37 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground v-noise 4 spikes 61M W2003-07-21-19-31-00 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 2; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 60M W2003-07-21-19-36-31 ppm4, down,down down-fore: 2nd echo ground h-noise 2,3 elevated 31M W2003-07-21-19-41-49 ppm4, side,side 2nd echo ground h-noise 1; v-noise 3,4 almost clean 112M W2003-07-21-19-44-50 ppm4, up,down down: 2nd echo ground v-noise 4 elevated 65M W2003-07-21-19-55-02 ppm4, side,side nice!,2nd echo ground h-noise 1; v-noise 3 almost clean 32M W2003-07-21-20-00-51 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 spike 65M W2003-07-21-20-04-10 ppm4, down,down h-noise 2,3 spikes 5.3M W2003-07-21-20-15-13 ppm4, down,down attenuated vv, hh is ok 10M W2003-07-21-20-17-52 ppm4, down,down attenuated vv, hh is ok 61M W2003-07-21-20-21-55 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 58M W2003-07-21-20-26-57 ppm4, side,side beam calib test 13M W2003-07-21-20-32-01 ppm4, up,down bad data (suspect VXI) 0 in every other rg for hh 0 in 5/1 conseq. rg for vv 244M W2003-07-21-20-34-25 ppm4, up,down ************************************************************************** jul24: (Fagerstrom, Snider,Glover,Lukens) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 68M W2003-07-24-19-19-07 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 68M W2003-07-24-19-27-33 ppm4, side,side beam calib test 35M W2003-07-24-19-53-21 ppm4, down,down 310M W2003-07-24-19-57-32 ppm4, up,down not much! 131M W2003-07-24-20-23-55 ppm4, up,down some nice stuff! 55M W2003-07-24-20-35-09 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3,4: almost clean 138M W2003-07-24-20-40-32 ppm4, up,down 21:41,46 precip 134M W2003-07-24-20-53-30 ppm4, down,down nice! 94M W2003-07-24-21-06-16 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1,2 and v-noise 3,4: almost clean 98M W2003-07-24-21-14-44 ppm4, down,down 21:20:30 nice! h-noise 2,3 elevated 35M W2003-07-24-21-23-22 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1,2 and v-noise 3,4: almost clean 62M W2003-07-24-21-32-19 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3,4: almost clean 72M W2003-07-24-21-38-08 ppm4, up,down v-noise 4 elevated 227M W2003-07-24-21-50-01 ppm4, up,down ************************************************************************** jul25: (Fagerstrom, Snider,Glover,Lukens) Total data: 1.4 GB Alg Antennas Notes 28M W2003-07-25-18-28-06 ppm4, up,down 97M W2003-07-25-19-02-58 ppm4, down,down beam calib test 65M W2003-07-25-19-12-00 ppm4, side,side beam calib test 348M W2003-07-25-19-28-13 ppm4, up,down 241M W2003-07-25-19-58-37 ppm4, up,down 132M W2003-07-25-20-19-31 ppm4, up,down 112M W2003-07-25-20-33-14 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 27M W2003-07-25-20-46-54 ppm4, up,down 48M W2003-07-25-20-50-20 ppm4, side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 132M W2003-07-25-20-55-54 ppm4, side,side interesting! h-noise 1 and v-noise 2,3: almost clean 15M W2003-07-25-21-06-31 ppm4, side,side 129M W2003-07-25-21-15-43 ppm4, up,down ************************************************************************** jul26: (Fagerstrom, Snider,Glover,Lukens) Total data: 930 MB Alg Antennas Notes 254M W2003-07-26-19-37-16 ppm4 up,down 47M W2003-07-26-20-01-30 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 2,3: almost clean 52M W2003-07-26-20-06-23 ppm4 up,down 70M W2003-07-26-20-11-58 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 44M W2003-07-26-20-20-01 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 2,3: almost clean 41M W2003-07-26-20-25-30 ppm4 up,down 81M W2003-07-26-20-31-59 ppm4 side,side interesting! h-noise 1 and v-noise 2,3: almost clean 333M W2003-07-26-20-41-38 ppm4 up,down 20:58-21:02 precip, 21:05-21:08 !! h-noise 2 elevated ************************************************************************** jul28: (Fagerstrom, Snider,Glover,Ray) Total data: 1.4 GB Alg Antennas Notes 62M W2003-07-28-17-32-35 ppm4 down,down beam calib test 66M W2003-07-28-17-38-50 ppm4 side,side beam calib test 70M W2003-07-28-17-53-20 ppm4 down,down nothing!, used 2side250 config 46M W2003-07-28-18-01-38 ppm4 down,down 250ns,used 2side250 config,18:06! 43M W2003-07-28-18-07-20 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1, v-noise 1,2,3: almost clean 32M W2003-07-28-18-12-35 ppm4 up,down 500ns,used 2side500 config 46M W2003-07-28-18-18-50 ppm4 up,down 500ns,used 2side500 config 38M W2003-07-28-18-25-39 ppm4 side,side nice! h-noise 1, v-noise 2,3: almost clean 35M W2003-07-28-18-30-24 ppm4 up,down 500ns,used 2side500 config 29M W2003-07-28-18-35-03 ppm4 side,side interesting! h-noise 1, v-noise 1,2,3: almost clean 35M W2003-07-28-18-40-08 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1, v-noise 1,2,3: almost clean 54M W2003-07-28-18-44-46 ppm4 up,down 123M W2003-07-28-18-51-20 ppm4 down,down nothing! 107M W2003-07-28-19-03-27 ppm4 up,down 57M W2003-07-28-19-12-38 ppm4 side,side nice! h-noise 1, v-noise 2,3: almost clean 67M W2003-07-28-19-18-10 ppm4 up,down 37M W2003-07-28-19-24-55 ppm4 side,side nice!! h-noise 1, v-noise 2,3: almost clean 23M W2003-07-28-19-28-48 ppm4 up,down 66M W2003-07-28-19-31-53 ppm4 side,side huge!, h-noise 1, v-noise 1,2: clean 80M W2003-07-28-19-38-08 ppm4 up,down 252M W2003-07-28-19-46-01 ppm4 up,down h-noise spike(small,19:57) ************************************************************************** jul30: (Fagerstrom, Snider,Gordon, Glover) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 81M W2003-07-30-17-36-21 ppm4 down,down beam calib test, DSP1:16ms ACQ time:22ms ?! 50M W2003-07-30-17-42-46 ppm4 side,side beam calib test 251M W2003-07-30-18-05-37 ppm4 up,down 226M W2003-07-30-18-27-19 ppm4 up,down 134M W2003-07-30-18-46-46 ppm4 up,down 110M W2003-07-30-18-59-21 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean DSP1/2:25/27ms ACQ time:30ms ?! 48M W2003-07-30-19-09-09 ppm4 up,down 55M W2003-07-30-19-13-19 ppm4 up,down 157M W2003-07-30-19-18-43 ppm4 side,side nice!, h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 57M W2003-07-30-19-32-01 ppm4 up,down 72M W2003-07-30-19-36-40 ppm4 up,down 47M W2003-07-30-19-43-20 ppm4 side,side nice!, h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 37M W2003-07-30-19-47-58 ppm4 up,down 62M W2003-07-30-19-51-59 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 186M W2003-07-30-19-57-56 ppm4 up,down ************************************************************************** jul31: (Fagerstrom, Snider,Haimov,Glover) Total data: 1.9 GB Alg Antennas Notes 89M W2003-07-31-17-48-10 ppm4 down,down beam calib 32M W2003-07-31-17-55-59 ppm4 side,side beam calib 32M W2003-07-31-17-59-06 ppm4 side,side beam calib 834M W2003-07-31-18-10-25 ppm4 down,down 500ns; good cases, few noise spikes 69M W2003-07-31-19-17-32 ppm4 side,side h-noise 1 and v-noise 3 almost clean 81M W2003-07-31-19-23-38 ppm4 up,down ???? missing V pulses (Rick) 101M W2003-07-31-19-31-03 ppm4 side,side nice!,19:34:30 interesting! h-noise 1 and v-noise 3,4: almost clean 633M W2003-07-31-19-41-39 ppm4 up,down ************************************************************************** aug05: (Drew, Vali,Gordon,Glover) Total data: 794 MB Alg Antennas Notes 47M W2003-08-05-20-00-02 ppm4 down,down 20:01 virga/precip 316M W2003-08-05-20-05-24 ppm4 up,down last minute(20:28) h-noise 2,3,4 spikes 227M W2003-08-05-20-31-41 ppm4 up,down h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 130M W2003-08-05-20-50-47 ppm4 up,down 55M W2003-08-05-21-03-03 ppm4 down,down Fault 1 after 21:04:55 h-,v-noise ~0.5dB elevated during Fault 1 ************************************************************************** aug07: (Drew, Vali,Gordon,Lukens) Total data: 1.4 GB Alg Antennas Notes 392M W2003-08-07-19-11-23 ppm4 up,down 210M W2003-08-07-19-46-32 ppm4 down,down 19:48,57,58, 20:02 nice! 19:58 h-noise 2,3: elevated 21M W2003-08-07-20-04-11 ppm4 side,side 20:04 nice! 20:05 v-noise 4: elevated 22M W2003-08-07-20-06-30 ppm4 down,down 20:06-08 relcal 20:06 h-noise 2,3: spike 91M W2003-08-07-20-08-49 ppm4 up/sd,down 20:13 side,interesting 20:13 h-noise elevated 82M W2003-08-07-20-19-46 ppm4 up,down 404M W2003-08-07-20-32-07 ppm4 up,down 20:48 try relcal, 20:54 nice 82M W2003-08-07-21-02-10 ppm4 down,down beam calib 58M W2003-08-07-21-09-51 ppm4 side,side beam calib 56M W2003-08-07-21-15-08 ppm4 side,down lake returns 211705-211724 side@45deg/335m, 211903-211916 down@45deg/320m h-noise 2,3,4: spikes ************************************************************************** aug08: (Drew, Vali,Damiani,Lukens) Total data: 1.4 GB Alg Antennas Notes 58M W2003-08-08-16-57-59 ppm4 up,down 217M W2003-08-08-17-06-47 ppm4 up,down 17:20 h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 27M W2003-08-08-17-23-31 ppm4 side,side 97M W2003-08-08-17-30-56 ppm4 up/sd,down 17:37 h-noise 2,3: spikes 18M W2003-08-08-17-39-56 ppm4 side,side 17:41 nice! 17:40 h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 61M W2003-08-08-17-42-33 ppm4 up,down 9.2M W2003-08-08-17-49-20 ppm4 up,down 23M W2003-08-08-17-52-40 ppm4 up/sd,down 161M W2003-08-08-17-57-58 ppm4 down,down 17:58,18:01/04 precip, 18:06 h-noise 2,3 v-noise 4: spikes 18:08 h-noise 2 v-noise 4 elevated 102M W2003-08-08-18-17-31 ppm4 down,down 18:19,23 h-noise 2 v-noise 4: spikes 48M W2003-08-08-18-26-23 ppm4 up,down 54M W2003-08-08-18-33-32 ppm4 up,down 293M W2003-08-08-18-46-20 ppm4 up,down 19:09 h-noise 2,3,4: spikes ???? missing V pulses (Rick) 45M W2003-08-08-19-12-34 ppm4 side,side 19:13 h-noise 2,3,4 v-noise 1,4: spikes 21M W2003-08-08-19-17-04 ppm4 down,down 65M W2003-08-08-19-19-38 ppm4 up,down ???? missing V pulses (Rick) 51M W2003-08-08-19-30-21 ppm4 side,down lake,virga/precip, h-noise 2,3,4: spikes ************************************************************************** aug11: (Drew, Vali,Gorden,Lukens) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 90M W2003-08-11-20-14-16 ppm4 up,down v-noise 4: spikes 55M W2003-08-11-20-22-41 ppm4 down,down 95M W2003-08-11-20-27-52 ppm4 side,side 20:34:30; h-noise 1, v-noise 3 almost clean 525M W2003-08-11-20-36-34 ppm4 up,down 101M W2003-08-11-21-22-25 ppm4 side,side 21:28:30; h-noise 1, v-noise 3 clean 22M W2003-08-11-21-31-14 ppm4 down,down 21:32:00 232M W2003-08-11-21-33-41 ppm4 up,down ???? missing V pulses (Rick) 247M W2003-08-11-21-52-47 ppm4 up,down 109M W2003-08-11-22-14-43 ppm4 up,down h-noise 2,3 elevated 71M W2003-08-11-22-23-59 ppm4 down,down beam calib 64M W2003-08-11-22-29-57 ppm4 side,side beam calib ************************************************************************** aug13: (Drew, Vali,Lukens,Ray) Total data: 1.3 GB Alg Antennas Notes 74M W2003-08-13-19-00-16 ppm4 up,down nothing!, 1-s neg.timejumps 44M W2003-08-13-19-07-57 ppm4 down,down ground return only, IRIG 6, 1-s neg.timejumps 96M W2003-08-13-19-22-36 ppm4 up,down almost nothing!, 1-s neg.timejumps 57M W2003-08-13-19-32-49 ppm4 side,side almost nothing!, IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 132M W2003-08-13-19-38-20 ppm4 up,down IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 120M W2003-08-13-19-50-36 ppm4 up,down IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 121M W2003-08-13-20-01-57 ppm4 up/sd,down IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 68M W2003-08-13-20-13-40 ppm4 down,down IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 93M W2003-08-13-20-20-34 ppm4 up,down IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps ???? missing V pulses (Rick) 40M W2003-08-13-20-28-17 ppm4 side,side 20:28-30 nice!, IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 23M W2003-08-13-20-32-42 ppm4 down,down 20:33:30 - virga/precip,IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 285M W2003-08-13-20-35-34 ppm4 up,down IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps 69M W2003-08-13-21-01-11 ppm4 side,down notes say side,side; lake returns IRIG 7, 1-s neg.timejumps ************************************************************************** aug22: (Fagerstrom, Vali,Gordon,Glover) Total data: 1.6 GB Alg Antennas Notes 65M W2003-08-22-20-01-12 ppm4 up,down 44M W2003-08-22-20-10-06 ppm4 up,down 200M W2003-08-22-20-15-01 ppm4 down,down 1.2G W2003-08-22-20-32-12 ppm4 up/sd,down missing signal: 1st V pulse odd profs 20:47-49 h-noise 1,3,4: spikes 20:53- h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 21:53-58 h-noise all: spikes ************************************************************************** aug23: (Fagerstrom, Damiani,Gordon,Glover) Total data: 251 MB Alg Antennas Notes 251M W2003-08-23-19-05-18 ppm4 up,down ************************************************************************** aug26: (Fagerstrom, Damiani,Gordon,Glover) Total data: 1.7 GB Alg Antennas Notes 125M W2003-08-26-17-16-52 ppm4 up/sd,down 17:24 h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 71M W2003-08-26-17-28-42 ppm4 side,side 17:29:30,17:32 nice!! (some atten.) h-noise 1, vnoise 3,4 - almost clean 86M W2003-08-26-17-35-16 ppm4 down,down 17:38:30 precip 102M W2003-08-26-17-44-17 ppm4 down,down 17:45,47 nice! (17:45 virga/precip) 29M W2003-08-26-17-53-56 ppm4 side,side 17:55 nice!(not enough sensitivity) 17:53-54 h-noise 2,3,4, v-noise 1 elevated 333M W2003-08-26-17-57-01 ppm4 down,down very nice! (17:58-18:01 relcal) 150M W2003-08-26-18-24-49 ppm4 side,side interesting! h-noise 2,3,4, v-noise 1,4: spikes 236M W2003-08-26-18-37-35 ppm4 up/sd,down h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 131M W2003-08-26-18-58-43 ppm4 side,side 19:05,08 interesting! h-noise 2,3,4, v-noise 1,2: spikes 86M W2003-08-26-19-09-59 ppm4 up/sd,down h-noise 2,3: spikes 201M W2003-08-26-19-21-48 ppm4 up/sd,down 106M W2003-08-26-19-43-45 ppm4 up/sd,down 19:49 h-noise 2: spikes 26M W2003-08-26-19-53-31 ppm4 side,side not enough sens.in side-slant 19:53 h-noise 2: elevated ************************************************************************** aug27: (Fagerstrom, Damiani,Gordon,Glover) Total data: 957 MB Alg Antennas Notes 86M W2003-08-27-18-08-36 ppm4 down,down beam calib 76M W2003-08-27-18-19-07 ppm4 side,side beam calib 178M W2003-08-27-18-34-02 ppm4 up/sd,down 18:47 h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 40M W2003-08-27-18-49-57 ppm4 side,side 18:49 h-noise 2,3,4, v-noise 1,2,4: spikes 96M W2003-08-27-18-57-47 ppm4 up/sd,down 19:03-05 h-noise 2,3,4: spikes 43M W2003-08-27-19-06-50 ppm4 down,down 210M W2003-08-27-19-13-42 ppm4 down,down 19:20 virga, 19:25 precip 45M W2003-08-27-19-43-14 ppm4 side,down rel calib, 250ns 19:43 h-noise 2,3,4: elevated 23M W2003-08-27-19-47-30 ppm4 down,down rel calib, 250ns 36M W2003-08-27-19-50-08 ppm4 side,side rel calib, 250ns 19:50 h-noise 2,3,4, v-noise 4: elevated 122M W2003-08-27-19-53-48 ppm4 side,down should have been up,down; ccn run ************************************************************************** aug29: (Fagerstrom, Vali,Gordon,Glover) Total data: 694 MB Alg Antennas Notes 220M W2003-08-29-18-06-56 ppm4 up,down 44M W2003-08-29-18-26-41 ppm4 down,down relcal 278M W2003-08-29-18-31-09 ppm4 up/sd,down side/down rel cal. 18:48-51 h-noise 2 elevated 150M W2003-08-29-19-00-23 ppm4 up,down ****************************************************************************** WCR configuration: WCR was installed on UWKA with a dual-antenna configuration: Antenna 1,2,3 and 4; modes 1,3,4,5,6 and 7, http://www-das.uwyo.edu/wcr/mmradar.modes.html; H-receiver (channel) is associated with Ant. 1 and 3, V-receiver (channel) is associated with Ant 2 and 4; the transmission is linearly polarized 250/500 ns pulses; Ant.1 and Ant.4, while in side-looking direction, transmit H-polarized pulses. Cross-channels (HV and VH channels) have no meaning for this configuration. Ant. 1 uses UWKA radar mirror wing to direct the radar beam side or up. Ant. 2 is permanently directed near nadir. Ant. 3 is permanently directed about 30 deg side-fore and Ant. 4 is pointed down-fore (~30 deg down forward). Only 2 active antennas can be used at any given time. Ant. 1 and 4, attached to H-channel, and Ant. 2 and 4, attached to V-channel are switched manually using two wave guide switches. Switch change events are not recorded electronically. The radar mirror events are recorded in the King Air data files. Mirror switching times are extracted in ascii files and placed under their corresponding flight day directories (file names: KAyyyymmdd.hhmmss_hhmmss.mirror) When the mirror file is not present a single positon (up or side) has been used. If the KA* file is not present only UP or SIDE position was used during the flight. Calibration notes: * Final Calibration constants for this experiment as of 2 Sep 2003. Calibration constants (250 ns pulse, 5 MHz IF filter, dynamic range > 70 dB; for 500 ns pulse subtract 3.5 dB): Ant. 1 (side/up), HHcal1 = 48.5 Ant. 2 (nadir), VVcal2 = 50.5 Ant. 3 (side_slant), VVcal3 = 55.5 (to be used for Doppler velocities only) Ant. 4 (down_slant), HHcal4 = 54.5 (to be used for Doppler velocities only) Calibration constant precision over the whole dynamic range is about +-0.5 dB for h-channel and +-1.0 for v-channel The absolute accuracy of the calibration constants for side/up and nadir antennas is estimated to be around +-2.5 dB (based on the overall variability of the calibration constants and the expected drift in the receivers and transmitted power). Transmitted power drift is estimated to be less than 1 dB for less than 2 hour flight and no more than 1.5 dB for longer flights. Receiver gain drift is estimated to be less than 1 dB. The calibration constants for slanted antennas (side-forward and down-forward) are not very accurate. They could not be calibrated using CR (for logistic reasons). The weather data used for relative calibration were not very suitable for this purpose and the observed spread in the numbers was significant. The estimated uncertainty for side-forward and down-forward w.r.t. the side and nadir antennas, respectively, is no less than 2 dB. The relative calibration error between side/up and nadir antenna is around +-1.5 dB Cross-channel Isolation > 50 dB (not important since cross-channels have no meaning in this 2-antenna configuration) Antenna Coupling Separation: antenna coupling not detected (OMT not installed) **************************************************************************** * Side/up channel (h-channel) calibration Data from Aug 25, 2003: hhcal @ 250ns = 48.5 +- 0.75 (all dynamic range) Data from July 02, 2003: hhcal @ 250ns = 48.0 +- 0.50 (for -30 to +10 dBZ) = 48.5 +- 0.50 (for +10 to +46 dBZ) **************************************************************************** * Nadir channel (v-channel) calibration Data from Aug 25, 2003: light wind, Tx_temp: ~85F, max voltage: 30-32 mV CR at dt=1.22us/183 m vvcal@Max = 50.0dB to 52.0dB with slight uptrend vvcal@mean = 51.5dB to 52.5dB with uptrend Data from July 9, 2003: wind: calm, Tx_temp: from 85F to 96F, 29-32 mV, CR at dt=1.24us/186m vvcal@Max = 45dB to 48dB with uptrend vvcal@mean = 49dB to 52dB with uptrend For Jul 9 there is a significant fading in the signal from the CR after maxing it. At this point the only explanation I can come up with is side lobes interference (1st side lobe for this antenna is at -17 dB, while for the side/up antenna is at -31 dB). Therefore the max values are not very reliable. Mean values should be more reliable assuming random constructive/destructive interference from the side lobes. Assuming that the mean is more reliable (perhaps slightly underestimated) values it appears that nadir channel is about 1 to 2 dB weaker then sideup channel. If the max values are correct than nadir channel is 1-2 dB stronger The final calibration value will depend on good data from homogeneous, stratiform (preferably water) clouds taken simultaneously with both sideup and nadir channels **************************************************************************** * Calibration constants used for quick look images: Ant. 1 (side/up), HHcal = 48 @ 250ns Ant. 2 (nadir), VVcal = 48 @ 250ns Ant. 3 (side_slant),VVcal = 54 @ 250ns Ant. 4 (down_slant),HHcal = 53 @ 250ns **************************************************************************** Quick Looks: Quick look images of co-pol reflectivity for all the flights are stored in their corresponding directories(mmmDD) as pdf files. Terminology: Terminology used to acknowledge data quality for each data file reported under Flights indormation. 1) SPIKES are defined as short lasting (less than a few secs), large excursions in positive or negative direction (higher than 2-3 dB). 2) ELEVATED NOISE (including short spikes) is defined as occasional change in the mean noise that exceeds 2-3 dB and lasts from fraction of a second to more than a minute. It is usually associated with ground hits and/or multi-trip echoes. It is observed for side looking mode only. 3) NOISE JUMPS/SPIKES (up to 10-20 sec). Probably some sort of short interference not necessarily in both channels and in some cases associated with the mirror position change or A/C radio communications at freqs close to 120MHz 3) NOISE DRIFT is up to 2dB slow drift in the noise channel; likely due to drift in the receivers gain. Usually it does not exceed 0.5 dB. 4) BAD DATA refer to corrupted data or improbable data behavior. 5) DATA SHIFT means that all data channels are shifted one range gate to the right for one or both of the DSPs. 6) DATA GAPS: gaps between profiles exceeding several times the average time interval between profiles 7) TIME STAMP ERROR: known fixed shift in the time stamps. 8) TIME JUMPS: sync problem in the time which results in time stamps jumps including negative jumps 9) DATA DISCONTINUITY: unexpected jumps in reflectivity occurring thru all range gates from one profile to another.