Drone-based calibration of wide-field radio instruments.

Many modern radio arrays have very wide fields of view. The antenna directional response can be difficult to characterize. High redshift 21cm experiments like EDGES, OVRO LWA or HERA are particularly sensitive to unexpected systematics in beam response. With a transmitter mounted to a drone we can provide a known signal at a known location. Such measurements also support a wider range of science applications including stellar activity, exoplanets, planetary magnetospheres, and cosmic ray observatories. Learn More

The method paper answers many common questions. (Jacobs et al 2017, journal, arxiv preprint)

ECHO at HERA GB mk7 chiropter beam 2017
Beam mapping campaign, recent drone setup, and an example map

Open Source Hardware project

Software, hardware specs, 3d printable models etc on Github

ECHO is supported by the National Science Foundation, and the Low frequency Cosmology lab at Arizona State University