Parkes RFI Links

The Parkes Radiotelescope, like many other radioastronomy observatories, suffers from radio-frequency interference (RFI). The RFI can be generated locally, through unwanted emissions from the numerous items of equipment at the observatory site, or from off-site, through licensed (and sometimes unlicensed) terrestrial and space-borne transmitters. These sources may produce signals, related harmonics, and other out-of-band emissions, that may fall within the protected radioastronomy bands, and into other regions of the spectrum, sometimes used for radioastronomy, The Parkes RFI Special Projects Group, exists to minimize the impacts of RFI on radioastronomy observations, from on-site, and off-site sources, where possible, through a mitigation plan, involving, site characterization of on-site, and off-site sources of RFI, through measurements, using screened structures to contain worst case emissions, and by utilizing the resources of the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) database of licensed transmitters, to identify potential interferers, for off-site sources.

In order to fully characterize, and mitigate RFI at the observatory, a number of projects, software applications, and tools have been developed. The Parkes RFI Web portal, provides useful information pertaining to RFI, here at the observatory, and to other sites, through the links below:

• How does RFI affect radioastronomy data? provides a brief description to RFI, and it's affects on radioastronomy.
• The ATNF RFI Characterization page provides a link to the ATNF on-site, terrestrial, and orbital interference characteriztion web page, giving graphical information regarding RFI levels for the various ATNF sites.
• The Parkes RFI Mitigation Plan page provides information regarding the current projects, and processes, to measure, control, and mitigate RFI at the observatory.
• The Parkes RFI Studies page provides information pertaining to current RFI studies, ongoing RFI issues, and other information on site specific RFI issues.
• The Parkes RFI Surveys page provides information regarding site characterization measurements of RFI around the observatory, from recent RFI surveys. Plots and displays are updated regularly.
• The Parkes RFI Equipment Signature Book provides a list of equipment RFI signatures, used to track and monitor local RFI at the observatory. The folder is located in the offices of Mal Smith - RFI Mitigation/Special Projects.
• The What's New page provides the latest up to-date information on RFI at the observatory.