The preliminary design and system simulation of an 18 - 45 GHz radio astronomy receiver is presented, planned for installation on the 26 m radio telescope at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in South Africa. The receiver utilizes a sideband separating architecture with two local oscillator settings to cover the full frequency range. The receiver will deliver a 4-11 GHz output IF for each sideband. An analysis of the frequency plan and simulated performance using off-the-shelf components and target custom design specifications are discussed. A discussion on multi-chip module (MCM) and full monolithic integration towards miniaturized packaged ultra- wideband receivers for radio astronomy is also given. System simulations show ultra-wideband operation using two LO settings with the largest spurious signal at -40 dBc relative to the fundamental and an average noise figure of 1.8 dB at room temperature within the IF band. The simulated results show a minimum image rejection between the sidebands of 12 dB at the band edge of the IF.
Water vapour radiometers (WVRs) are critical to both site surveying and site management in microwave and mm-wave very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). We report on the first two years of progress made towards improving the state of water vapour radiometry at HartRAO, South Africa, and the LMT in Mexico, under a SAMexico bilateral programme. We report on progress in the development of low-cost site surveying instruments, multi-purpose cooled receivers, as well as refurbishment and upgrades to existing 22/31 GHz and 215 GHz tipping radiometers.
The 50-meter Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) operating on the Sierra Negra in Mexico is the largest single- dish millimeter-wave telescope in the world. Although designed to work in the 3 mm and 1 mm bands, there is significant potential for LMT observations at centimeter wavelengths. Here, we summarize the scientific case and operational arguments for a K-band receiver system on the LMT, describe several of the unique technical challenges that the proposed installation would entail, and mention some possible solutions to these challenges.
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