Calibration Data

During the Fall semester of 2016, I began developing a calibration technique for the telescope's receiver. Using a calibrator that emits a radio signal, I took 12 measurements of varying angles and distances while toggling the power to the calibrator.

This week I took the data and plotted it. I compared the measurements of corresponding angles to see the relationship between signal strength and distance from the receiver. The following plots represent the difference in signal from when the calibrator is turned on and when it is turned off. The specific parameters of the measurements are indicated in the title.

                             

The data seems to be fairly inconsistent. When comparing the signal of similar angles but different distances, The 180 and 90 degree measurements indicate that the closer the calibrator is, the stronger the signal. This is intuitive and makes sense. However, the 45 degree measurement indicates the opposite and thus the data is inconsistent. This could be due to a small data set as well as not taking careful enough measurements. There were people coming in and out of the room who would walk in the view of the receiver and this could easily cause problems. In addition there does not seem to be any correlation with the signal strength and the angle. I plan to retake the measurements more carefully and try to find a pattern that will enable us to discover the best method for calibration.