Results from a Very Short Distance Dynamic Diversity Experiment

The objective of this experiment is to carry out a study of the rapid fading and enhancement (scintillations), simultaneously experienced by two Ka-Band receivers 9 metres apart monitoring a 20.7 GHz satellite beacon at 30 degrees of elevation. The experimental set up [1] permitted to analyse the dynamics of the wave front amplitude fluctuations, aiming to add a new insight into the early observations of microwave scintillations above about 10 degrees of elevation. As regards results, statistical information obtained from the analysis of the single time series is briefly presented and compared with the results of previous experiments. New results of the dual time series analysis (cross-correlation) are then presented along with the main conclusions obtained from the statistical processing and the correlation (and comparison) with ground based meteorological variables. This article introduces the experiment and briefly describes the dual receiver and data acquisition system specifications. The signal processing and the experimental results, including single and dual receiver analyses, are explained and finally the main conclusions reached are summarised.