About the SRT
The small radio telescope, housed at the Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences, was obtained by the Daytona Beach Section of the IEEE under the leadership of Dr. Hugh Ward with funding by the IEEE Life Member Committee (LMC.)
The purpose of this telescope is for use in teaching radio astronomy, electronics, communications, antenna theory, and data processing at the middle school, high school, and university levels. In its location at the Museum of Arts and Sciences, it also serves as a demonstration of available technology to the general public and as a teaching aid for various homeschool science and technology education activities.
Current Telescope Image
We are currently experiencing intermittent internet connectivity problems. We apologize if the image displayed is not current.
The Small Radio Telescope
The Small Radio Telescope (SRT), originally developed by the MIT Haystack Observatory, is an instrument capable of continuum and spectral line observations in the L-Band (1.42 GHz). Engineers, educators, and scientists associated with the Daytona Section of the IEEE have modified the original SRT to have a larger beamwidth, and are working to improve the software to enable usage by even the most novice of astronomers, with the ultimate goal of enabling usage in middle school classrooms.
Currently, the instrument is undergoing its final stages of in-location acceptance testing, including final noise calibration, boundary testing, supplementary hardware installation, and organizational procedures for operation. At this time, use is available to the general public through the Australian Method, in which an end-user requests a scan be performed, and one of the project volunteers runs the scan and returns the data. This can be requested through a form under the "Antenna Use" tab of the website.
About this Website
This website is in the preliminary stages of development. Please contact the webmaster with any suggestions or queries.
The equipment for SRT itself was purchased through a generous donation by the IEEE Life Members Committee.
Installation, maintenance, and improvements to the equipment and supporting technology are made possible through the volunteer efforts and continued donations of the IEEE Daytona Section.
The Daytona Museum of Arts and Sciences provides the location for the antenna, as well as technical support on-location.