Meteor Radar Observations
The Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar (CMOR)
The Upgraded Canadian Meteor Orbit Radar CMOR II
In May, 2009, the main CMOR orbital radar system (29.85 MHz) was replaced with an equivalent, but more modern system. The upgraded system features twice the transmit power (12 kW instead of 6 kW) and a high stability reference crystal. The original CMOR system is now used as a (powered down) backup for the main system.
With the new high stability timing present, it is now possible to perform absolute, high temporal precision comparisons with similarly equipped remote stations. As part of the CMOR II upgrade, three more remote sites with identical high stability timing crystals were deployed. The new sites complement the existing two (Thames and Gerber) UHF linked sites.
A major advantage of using these three additional sites is improvement in velocity measurement precision and allowing for the first time estimates of deceleration and complete ionization profiles where for some echoes up to six points (corresponding to echoes where reflections are received at all six stations) have electron line density measurements.
Each new remote site consists of a 29.85 MHz receive antenna mounted on a roof connected to a receiver/digitizer/GPS remote unit.
