The Plasma Frequency Tracker: An Instrument for Probing the Frequency Structure of Narrow-Band MF/HF Electric Fields

Measurement Techniques in Space Plasmas: Fields, p. 169, American Geophysical Union, Washington, 1998.

Reprints available upon request

The Plasma Frequency Tracker (PFT) is a rocket-borne instrument designed to make measurements of narrow-band MF/HF electric fields with high resolution in both frequency and time. The PFT is capable of covering a band 140 kHz wide (extendable to over 200 kHz) with a dynamic range of 60 dB. The center frequency of the passband is changed during flight in order to track a characteristic frequency of the ambient plasma such as the plasma frequency, upper hybrid frequency, or electron gyrofrequency. The PFT is designed to use real-time data from another instrument and/or a preprogrammed model to set the passband frequency during flight. Telemetry can be either FM/FM or PCM. We present PFT data in which artificially stimulated upper hybrid waves are observed on the Auroral Turbulence sounding rocket.

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