SWS Ionogram Viewer

Note:Davis has lower resolution ionograms. Prev/Next and PrevHr/NextHr move inside ionogram list when started. To update ionogram list either reload the station or change the date or hr/min list selections.

• Amp Threshold
  Use the scrollbar to set the minimum echo amplitude threshold to be displayed. As you move the scrollbar the ionogram to be re-drawn with the new amplitude threshold.
• Station List (default "Casey ")
  Use this drop down list to to select the SWS station. Stations currently available are:
  • Casey
  • Davis
  • Macquarie Island
  • Mawson
  • Scott Base
• Equiv. oblique
  This shows a synthetic equivalent oblique ionogram dervied from the vertical ionogram, ie it is not a direct observation. The ionogram is displayed in a new window, which contains a drop down list of distances for the derivation of the equivalent ionogram. Note: SWS operates an oblique receiver from Auckland to Sydney. You can see the current oblique ionogram for this circuit here. You can compare the synthetic oblique ionogram for Christchurch (the nearest ionosonde to Auckland) or Sydney (set the distance for 2000km), from the above ionogram display tool, with this observed oblique ionogram.
• Prev/Next
  Use these buttons to go from the next available ionogram.At the end of the available data "Next" will take you to the start of the ionogram list for the currently selected station, ie about 30 days ago. At the beginning of the ionogram list "Prev" will take you to the end of the list, ie the latest ionogram from the selected station.
• PrevHr/NextHr
  Use these buttons to view an ionogram +/- an hour from the currently displayed ionogram hour and minute. These buttonswill produce a blank display if no such ionogram is available.
• Date/Time
  Date and Time can be set by the use of the appropriate drop down lists. A blank display indicates that no ionogram is available for the selected stations/date/time.
• Scaling
  To numerically scale ionograms click the "scale" tick box. A "SCALED DATA" window will appear. At the bottom of this window is a "Mail Address" text field. Enter your email address in this field. To scale a particular ionospheric parameter select the drop down list to the right of the "scale" tick box. The default ionospheric parameter is "fmin". A mouse click in the ionogram display will result in the numerical value of the fmin frequency to be written into the text window. A mouse click to the right of the drop down list, above the ionogram, will zero that parameter. The data can be emailed to the address in the the text field by clicking on the "Send Data" button in the "SCALED DATA" window. The "Clear" button in the "SCALED DATA" window erases the scaled data. The following ionospheric parameters can be scaled (No support is provided for descriptor/qualifyer letters).
  • fmin: The frequency (Mhz*1000) of the lowest return in the ionogram.
  • foE: The frequency (Mhz*10) of the E layer critcal frequency.
  • hE: The virtual height (km) of the E layer.
  • foEs: The highest frequency (Mhz*10) of return from the ordinary component of the sporadic E layer (ES).
  • hEs: The virtual height (km) of the Es layer.
  • foF1: The frequency (Mhz*10) of the F1 layer cusp.
  • hf: The virtual height (km) of the F1 layer.
  • foF2: The top most frequency (Mhz*10) of the ordinary component of F-layer.
  • fxI: The top most frequency (Mhz*10) of the extra-ordinary component of the F-layer.
  • hF2: The virtual height (km) of the F2 layer.
• AsImg
  If you want to print an ionogram this button will cause a printable image with a white background to be displayed in another browser window. You can then click on the printer icon in the toolbar of this window to print the image.Note that there may be some delay (particularly with the ionograms conataining amplitude information) whilst the image is generated.

Problem: IE 6 There is a grey area where the ionogram image would normally be!
The quickest way to sort this out is to download and install the latest Java Runtime Environment (JRE) from http://www.java.com

 You can check your Java Virtual Machine at: 

 http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.jsp

 1. If you see an animated dancing "Duke" in motion under
 the heading "Test your JVM" then the SWS applet should work.

 2. If no animation is visible then follow the "download and install
 instructions". On the next page click on "Download instructions"
 then select the JRE for your operating system most commonly, 
 "Windows automatic download and Installation Instructions for the 
 Java 2 Runtime Enviroment, standard edition (JRE)". 
 Follow the instructions from here on.