RECEPTOR SATELITAL DE BAJO COSTO
abstract
To deploy expensive astronomical instrumentation, in order to guarantee its major utility and benefit, the determination of the astronomical features of the geographic site where it will be installed it is essential, both for radio and optical observations. The historical Quito astronomical observatory (founded in 1873) in the Republic of Ecuador, leads the project for the construction of the New National Astronomical Observatory, where large instruments will be installed and will be operating right on the line equator. As part of this project the physical characterization of the possible sites must be performed. On the basis of meteorological data provided by the network of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Institute of Ecuador (INAMHI), a primary estimation of cloudiness and the number of clear night has been done in the 70`s by a Russian team of collaborators to determine the suitable site for astronomical proposes, in the Ecuadorian territory. The results of these preliminary studies conducted to choose the plain of Jerusalem Park, an ecologic reserve, located in Malchingui parish. The major advantage of this plateau is its localization right over the line equator, making of this site, from the point of view of astronomy, very interesting. Nowadays, we decided to carry out further characterization of the Jerusalem site, using satellite signals. For that, two instruments have been used; a broadband satellite tuner designed in our institution the Astronomical Observatory of Quito (OAQ), and a commercial one, able to sense satellite signals in the range of 54 MHz to 1.3 GHz. Within this range, there are a number of frequencies used to transmit images and data by educational and meteorological research satellites
