A High-Resolution Total-Power Radio Meter Using SAW Compressive Receivers

A total-power radiometer is being developed to measure parameters of the atmosphere from a Spacelab platform. Channelization for the high-resolution data is implemented by SAW compressive receivers. Two resolution levels are obtained from the same SAW device: twenty-five 2-MHz channels are defined across a 50-MHz instantaneous bandwidth; thirty 100-KHz channels are taken from a 3-MHz window in the center of the larger band. This paper describes the realization of the radiometer using RAC devices. A description is also included of a prototype compressive receiver that has been delivered to the experimenters for the generation of performance data.