PHOENIX-2: A New Broadband Spectrometer for Deci- metric and Microwave Radio Bursts – First Results

Abstract

A broadband radio spectrometer has been put into operation at Bleien, Switzerland, to register the flare emission of the full Sun. In the frequency range of operation, 0.1 to 4.0 GHz, both modes of circular polarization are recorded continuously. The new system, Phoenix-2, has been developed from the experience with the previous Phoenix spectrometer. Improved, computer-controlled focal hardware allows now a complete daily calibration, a more sophisticated calibration procedure, and monitoring of all essential instrumental and environmental parameters. Calibrated data are now usually available the day after observation and are accessible through the Internet. The scientific improvements include a larger frequency range of observation, a larger number of completely recorded events due to full-day registration, more accurate measurements, particularly in circular polarization, and more reliable operation. First observations are presented and quantitative results comparing the calibration with single frequency instruments are reported.