Design of a mobile RFI monitoring station for DSA-2000 candidate sites surveys

Abstract

The DSA-2000 radio telescope is currently being designed to become the fastest and most sensitive astronomical survey instrument. An important factor in this design is the future Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) environment of the telescope. A careful site selection and RFI risks assessment are important to ensure that the specifications of the telescope are met. To this end, a mobile RFI survey station has been developed to provide an accurate picture of the RFI environment of a candidate telescope site. This paper presents this monitoring station and preliminary results captured at the Owens Valley Radio Observatory.

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