Repoman-rfcap

A curated repository of radio frequency signals for research

In the course of our research on interference mitigation techniques, we have acquired a large quantity of time-domain Nyquist-rate data containing bona fide communications signals. We have begun organizing and documenting this data so that it may be used by others. This web site explains what's available and how to get it.

The data

Datasets presently available:

20240407a: INMARSAT 4-F3 (geostationary satellite) captured at 1530-1565 MHz (10 MSPS I/Q)
20240331: GOES-16 (geostationary weather satellite) captured at 1694.1 MHz (10 MSPS I/Q)
20210102b: 1525-1557 MHz satellite downlinks (2.048 MSPS I/Q)
20210102a: L-band Iridium (2.048 MSPS I/Q)

These data were collected using a variety of instruments; see the associated READMEs for details. Not yet available but in the queue are US DTV (ATSC), 162 MHz NOAA weather radio (data used in Appendix B of this paper), 137 MHz LEO satellite downlinks, and a variety of L-band observations of radio astronomy continuum sources afflicted with interference.

How to get the data

These datasets are gigantic (many files; each file may be as large as 10s of GB) so we must moderate access. If you are interested in any of the datasets listed above, please send an e-mail request to the point of contact indicated below and we will respond with a URL through which you can browse and download the associated data. Generally we will allow access to only one dataset at a time, and access to the resource will expire in 7 days. Other than that, we impose no restrictions on who may request access or what is downloaded.

How to use the data

Each dataset has a README including a description of the instrumentation used to collect the data and the data format. If the data was collected using GQRX, then you can use GQRX to preview the data. If the data was collected using "rtl_sdr" commands, then you may be able to find software that reads these files and are suitable for your purpose. Either Octave scripts (typically compatible with MATLAB) or C source code may be included; these can be used to preview the data and learn the data format. No other software is provided.

How to cite the data

If you use this data in a publication of any kind, please include the following citation (for example):

Repoman-rfcap 20240407a [Dataset], Virginia Tech Radio Astronomy Interference Mitigation project, https://ellingsonvt.info/rfcap/, Downloaded May 2, 2024.

Of course you would replace the dataset ID "20240407a" with the correct one. Notification of your preprint or submission would be appreciated and would be help us justify our continued efforts in making this data available.

Access requests, questions, feedback, etc.

Email Steve Ellingson (ellingson@vt.edu). Please begin subject line with "[RFCAP]".

This work is supported in part by National Science Foundation Grant ECCS-2029948

This site is: https://ellingsonvt.info/rfcap/
Last update: May 2, 2024.