High Resolution WSPR Transmissions for Ionospheric Research

There are currently over 4000 HAM radio stations worldwide continuously transmitting and receiving beacon signals using the WSPR RF modulation format.  WSPR is implemented in the open source WSJT-x application program authored by Nobel Laureate Joe Taylor and a large group of contributors. Recent software enhancements to WSJT-x and newly available low-cost transmit and receive hardware using GPS disciplined oscillators permit records of these transmissions (known as ‘spots’) to be used to study ionospheric events like Travelling Ionospheric Disturbances. Records of those 3 million+ receptions per day are publicly available to all researchers and citizen scientists in a SQL database which ensures access for all. In this presentation we give an introduction to WSPR, the publicly available databases where the ‘spots’ are stored.  Also included are websites with text, map and graphical outputs which allow easy queries about ’spots’ and examples of low cost research quality transmitters and receivers which are in operation.