astronomy.network The Website of Lichfield Radio Observatory (LRO)

astronomy.network The Website of Lichfield Radio Observatory (LRO)

Andrew Thornett, Lichfield, England, M6THO, andrew (at) thornett (dot) net

Equipment List at Lichfield Radio Observatory

Updated 30/8/2025.

TELESCOPES AT LICHFIELD RADIO OBSERVATORY:

  • Dell D10u (LRO-PC-15)
  • Dell Latitude 3400 Laptop (LRO-LAP-04)
  • Dell M4800 (andrew-lap-05)
  • Dell M6800 (andrew-lap-02)
  • HP Prodesk 400 G4 mini (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-21) – GUI
  • HP Prodesk 400 G4 mini (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-21) – SSH
  • HP Prodesk 400 G4 mini 32GB RAM (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-22) – GUI
  • HP Prodesk 400 G4 mini 32GB RAM (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-22) – SSH
  • HP Prodesk 600 G3 (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-23) – GUI
  • HP Prodesk 600 G3 (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-23) – SSH
  • HP Prodesk 600 G3 mini (LRO-PC-13)
  • HP Prodesk 600 G4 mini (LRO-PC-10)
  • HP Prodesk G4 mini 40S (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-20) – GUI
  • HP Prodesk G4 mini 40S (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-20) – SSH
  • HP Prodesk G4 mini 40S (Win 11) (LRO-PC-11)
  • LRO-CASA1 – Dell OptiPlex 3050 USFF (Win 11) (LRO-PC-14)
  • LRO-CASA2 – Dell OptiPlex 3050 USFF (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-17) – GUI
  • LRO-CASA2 – Dell OptiPlex 3050 USFF (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-17) – SSH
  • LRO-DOB1 – Orion Optics 10″ Dobsonian Telescope.
  • LRO-DOB2 – 8″ David Lukehurst Dobsonian Telescope.
  • LRO-H1 – Ptarmigan Array H-Line 1420MHz (LRO-LAP-03) – Based on ex-military 86cm x 86cm 4×4 dipole array, this telescope is involved in mapping the Milky Way at 1420MHz (hydrogen).
  • LRO-H2 – Solar Cooker H-Line 1420MHz Radio Telescope (LRO-PC-08) – Aerial is 150cm parabolic dish sold on ebay as a solar cooker. Also involved in hydrogen line observations of Milky Way.
  • LRO-H3 – Alex Pettit Disc Yagi H-Line 1420MHz (LRO-PC-05) – Disc Yagi Aerial constructed for hydrogen line observations by Alex Pettit.
  • LRO-H4 – ezRA H-Line 1420MHz Data Processing (LRO-PC-02)
  • LRO-INP1 – INSPIRE Receiver for monitoring lightning in area of several hundred km around Lichfield – currently not in use.
  • LRO-INT1 – RSPDuo Interferometer–HP Prodesk 600 G3 mini (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-18) – GUI
  • LRO-INT1 – RSPDuo Interferometer–HP Prodesk 600 G3 mini (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-18) – SSH
  • LRO-INT2 – RSPDuo Interferometer–HP Prodesk 600 G3 mini (Win 11) (LRO-PC-16)
  • LRO-JUP1 – Radio Jove – currently not in use.
  • LRO-JUP2 – Radio Jove – currently not in use.
  • LRO-MAG1 – Magnetometer monitoring Earth’s magnetic field in Lichfield (LRO-PC-01)
  • LRO-MET1 – Meteor radio scatter experiment using UKRAA receiver at 143.049MHz (log cabin) (LRO-PC-04)
  • LRO-MET2 – Second meteor radio scatter experiment UKRAA receiver. Currently not in use.
  • LRO-MU1 – Linux Ubuntu Grafana Dashboard Cosmic Watch Muon Detectors – LRO-M93p (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-09) – GUI
  • LRO-MU1 – Linux Ubuntu Grafana Dashboard Cosmic Watch Muon Detectors – LRO-M93p (Ubuntu) (LRO-PC-09) – SSH
  • LRO-MU2 – Cosmic Watch Muon Detectors MIT Software (Windows) (House)(LRO-PC-06)
  • LRO-MU3 – PicoMuon Pi (Raspberry Pi) – GUI
  • LRO-MU3 – PicoMuon Pi (Raspberry Pi) – SSH
  • LRO-PHOTO1 – Deep sky astrophotography setup, with Sky Watcher Espirit 100mm OTA, Sky Watcher AZ-EQ6 mount, Atik 16200M mono camera.
  • LRO-PHOTO2 – Deep sky mobile astrophotography setup, with ZWO Seestar S50 automatic telescope.
  • LRO-SID1 – UKRAA Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) detector, monitoring solar flares, at 23.4 KHz (house)(LRO-PC-07)
  • LRO-SID2 – UKRAA Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance (SID) detector, monitoring solar flares, at 23.4 KHz (log cabin) (LRO-PC-03)
  • LRO-SID3 – SuperSID Windows 10 (Lenovo ThinkCentre M900) (LRO-PC-19)
  • LRO-SID4 – SuperSID Windows 11 (Lenovo ThinkCentre M900) (LRO-PC-12)
  • LRO-SOL1 – Solar observation and photography using Daystar Quark Hydrogen Filter.
  • LRO-SOL2 – Solar observation and photography using Daystar Quark Calcium Filter.
  • LRO-SOL3 – Solar observation and photography using Daystar Quark Sodium Filter.
  • LRO-SOL4 – Solar observation and photography using Daystar Quark Magnesium Filter.

RADIO FREQUENCY FILTERS AT LICHFIELD RADIO OBSERVATORY:

SAWB = Nooelec SAWBird H1 filter and duel cascaded amplifier.
1418-22MCav = 1418-1422 MHz WT Microwave Cavity Filter.
1420-7MCav = 1420-1427 MHz WT Microwave Cavity Filter.

DATA NAMING CONVENTIONS FOR LRO HYDROGEN TELESCOPES:

Where filters are listed, these are serial from the aerial on left to radio on right (hence LRO-H1(Ptarmigan)_1418-22MCav+SAWB_ indicates that LRO-H1 used 2 serial filters for this data file, order being aerial –> 1418-1422 MHz WT Microwave Filter –> SAWBird H1 LNA –> Radio –> Computer).

LRO-H2(SCRT)1420-7MCav+SAWB_
LRO-H1(Ptarmigan)_
LRO-H2(SCRT)_
LRO-H1(Ptarmigan)1418-22MCav+SAWB_
LRO-H2(SCRT)1418-22MCav+SAWB_
LRO-H1(Ptarmigan)SAWB_
LRO-H2(SCRT)SAWB_
LRO-H2(SCRT)_SDR#IFAV_1418-22MCav+SAWB_50OhmCalib_
LRO-H1(Ptarmigan)_SDR#IFAV_1418-22MCav+SAWB_50OhmCalib_

For each data file, elevation and azimuth are added. For example, with an elevation of 33.6 degrees and azimuth pointing direction of 163 degrees, data files might be as follows:

LRO-H2(SCRT)_SDR#IFAV_1418-22MCav+SAWB_50OhmCalib_El_78-3_Az_163
LRO-H1(Ptarmigan)_SDR#IFAV_1418-22MCav+SAWB_50OhmCalib_El_33-6_Az_163