Undergraduate Radio Lab

This course consists of four laboratory experiments that concentrate on radio instrumentation and laboratory techniques. We will build receiving, observing, and data analysis systems for two telescopes: a single-dish 21-cm line system, and a 10.7-GHz interferometer. We will use these telescopes for astronomical observing projects including structure of the Milky Way galaxy, precise position measurement of several radio sources, and measurement of the radio brightness distributions of the sun and moon with high angular resolution. There is a heavy emphasis on digital data acquisition, software development in the Python language, and high-quality written reports.

Class Programmatics

Class Code Repository: http://github.com/AaronParsons/ugradio
Syllabus
Zoom Room: 358 760 9756
Bcourses: 1512067
Discord: https://discord.gg/54m6yjsFHN
Sign-up sheet for lab: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/selfsched?sstoken=UUhoRVItYjh2bFA3fGRlZmF1bHR8MDlkOGRkN2MzNmVlMDM1ZTYzNzJiZTcxOTRkNmY1Y2Q
Class Hours:
- Tuesday/Thursday 1:30-3:30pm
Office Hours:
- Aaron Parsons (aparsons at berkeley): TBD, or by appointment, in standard Zoom Room: 358 760 9756
- Christian Bye (chbye at berkeley): TBD or by appointment (Through Discord Office Hours Channel or Zoom: 372 207 8992)
- Mine Gokcen (minegokcen at berkeley):
- Frank Latora (fjlatora at berkeley):
Lab Groups:
- Group 1
- Group 2
- Group 3
- Group 4
- Group 5

Experiments

Getting Set Up

Getting Started in the Undergraduate Radio Lab
- Setting Up Your Raspberry Pi
- Connecting to the Lab Computers Remotely

General Skills Used Through-Out Course

Navigating Linux/Unix-like Operating Systems
- Unix Primer
- Unix Text Editors
Programming in Python
- Python Installation and Basic Programming
- Introduction to Python and Plotting
Software Engineering
Report Writing
- LaTeX

Topics by Date

Lab 1 (Exploring Digital Sampling, Fourier Transforms, and both DSB and SSB Mixers), Due Feb 8, 1:30p

Lab 1, Week 1 (Jan 18): Sampling and Power Spectra

Resources and Handouts
- Nyquist Sampling
- Fourier Transform
- Technical Skills

Demos and Tutorials
- Introduction to Python and Plotting
- Aliasing Demo (on datahub.berkeley.edu)
In class:
- Astrobaki, Syllabus, Office Hours
- Getting accounts (premade by Bill Boyd, change password with passwd command)
- Lab access (see Getting Started in the Undergraduate Radio Lab)
- Class philosophy and workflow
- Nyquist Sampling and aliasing
- Fourier Transform
- ADC Quantization
- Lab Hardware
  - PicoScope 2206a
  - Raspberry Pi + NESDR Smart
- Data Challenge
  - Secret Message
- 2022 Lecture 1 Zoom recording (2021 is here)
- Lecture 2 Zoom recording (2021 is here)

Lab 1, Week 2 (Jan 26): DSB and SSB Mixers

Theory and Background:
Demos and Tutorials
- Convolutions and Correlations
- In the Mind: Introduction to the Fourier Transform
- Mommy Fortuna's Midnight Carnival of Python Oddities
- Data Representations, with handout on Data Types and Organizational Structures
- Data Challenge
  - Secret Message 2
In class:
- Lecture 3: Discrete Fourier Transforms and the Convolution Theorem
- Lecture 4: Show and Tell
- Lecture: Introduction to DSB and SSB Mixers
- Show and Tell (10m per group)

Lab 1, Week 3 (Feb 1): More Mixers, and Lab Reports

Theory and Background
- LaTeX
- Introduction to Python and Plotting, second pass
- LaTex Template Template you may use for your lab report
  - Overleaf version of the lab template
In Class:
- Lecture: One more pass on Convolution Theorem, Heterodyne Mixers, and DFTs
- Lecture 5
- Lecture 6
- Show and Tell
- Writing Lab Reports
Lab 1 Due Feb 8, 1:30p

Lab 2 (Astronomy with the 21cm Line; Some Microwave Electronics), due Mar 1, 1:30p

Lab 2, Week 1 (Feb 8): 21cm Line and Waveguides

Theory and Background:
Demos and Tutorials
- Python Tutorial Part 3: Functions, Modules, and Objects
- Matrix Math with Numpy
- Doppler Corrections, ugradio.doppler
In class:
- Introduction to Horn and Receiver
- Time
- Coordinates
- Lecture 7
- Lecture 8

Lab 2, Week 2 (Feb 15): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
Demos and Tutorials
- Central Limit Theorem and Averaging
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Waveguides, Transmission Lines, and Rope
- Fitting Gaussians and Polynomials, ugradio.gauss
- Lecture 9
- Lecture 10

Lab 2, Week 3 (Feb 22): Write Lab Report

Theory and Background
- Least-Squares and Chi-Square for the Budding Aficionado: Art and Practice
In Class:
- Chi-Square Jupyter Notebook
- Show and Tell
- Least Squares Part 2
- Lecture 11
Lab 2 Due Mar 1, 1:30p

Lab 3 (Radio Interferometry at X Band), due Apr 5, 1:00p

Lab 3 Week 1 (Mar 1): Interferometer

Theory and Background
- Coordinates
- Basic Interferometry
In Class:
- Tour of Rooftop Interferometer
- Exercise Ball Coordinates
- Interferometry with Strings
- Lecture 12
- Lecture 13

Lab 3 Week 2 (Mar 8): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
- Measurement Equation
- Telescope Field of View/Resolution
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Controlling the Telescope
- Tracking the Sun
- Scheduling Observations
Lecture Links
- Lecture 14
- Lecture 15

Lab 3 Week 3 (Mar 15): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
- Basic Interferometry II
- Least Squares
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Linear Least-Squares in Python
- Minimizing Chi-Square]
- Noise in Observations
Lecture Links
- Lecture 16
- Lecture 17

No class (Mar 23, 26)

Lab 3 Week 4 (Mar 29): Write Lab Report

Theory and Background
- - Correlators
  - Units of radiation
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- Photon bucket demo
Lecture Links
- Lecture 18
- Lecture 19
Lab 3 Due Apr 6, 1:30p

Lab 4 (Mapping the HI Line: the Galaxy and Supershells), due May 3, 1:30p

Useful Links

Link to Observing Calendar

Leuschner WebCam

Lab 4 Week 1 (Apr 5): Leuschner Dish

Theory and Background
In Class:
- Trip to Leuschner: Class will go later than usual
- drive mechanism (how the dish moves)
- feed (notice probes) and cables
- IF setup (one channel for OH, one for HI)
- interacting with a CASPER spectrometer
- pointing control
- spatial sampling with dish
Lecture Links
- Lecture 20
- Lab 4 Lecture 2 (Thursday 4/9/20)

Lab 4 Week 2 (Apr 12): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- spatial sampling with a dish
- interpolation
- projection
Lecture Links
- Lab 4 Lecture 3 (Tuesday 4/14; access v7*1$5k7)
- Lab 4 Lecture 4 (Thursday 4/16; access G7*##+1O)

Lab 4 Week 3 (Apr 19): Collect and Analyze Data

Theory and Background
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- close-out plan
- computing doppler width for a line of sight (assuming circular motion)
- calibrating spectra
- converting spectra to hydrogen
Lecture Links
- Lab 4 Lecture 5 (Tuesday 4/21; access 7f!o&=J9)
- Lab 4 Lecture 6 (Thursday 4/23): share day; no recording

Lab 4 Week 4 (Apr 26): Write Lab Report

Theory and Background
- Calibrating the Intensity and Shape of Spectral Lines (Carl Heiles)
In Class:
- Show and Tell
- displaying information in image form
- Lab 4 Due May 3, 1:30p
Lecture Links
- Lab 4 Lecture 7 (Tuesday 4/28; access 3h=j11*@ )
- Lab 4 Lecture 8 (Thursday 4/30; access 5V$.3i8$ )