Network
The JORN consists of two active radar stations; one near Longreach, Queensland (JOR1) and a second near Laverton, Western Australia (JOR2), a control centre in Edinburgh, South Australia (JCC), seven transponders and twelve vertical ionosondes distributed around Australia and its territories. DSTO uses a radar station near Alice Springs, Northern Territory (JFAS) for research and development and also has its own network of vertical/oblique ionosondes for research purposes. The Alice Springs radar can be patched into the JORN to provide a third active radar station.
Each radar station consists of a transmitter site and a receiver site, separated by a large distance to prevent the transmitter from interfering with the receiver. The four JORN transmitter and receiver sites are:
- the Queensland transmitter at Longreach, with 90 degree coverage (23°39′29″S 144°08′44″E / 23.658047°S 144.145432°E / -23.658047; 144.145432, also on OzGeoRFMap),
- the Queensland receiver at Stonehenge, with 90 degree coverage (24°17′28″S 143°11′43″E / 24.291095°S 143.195286°E / -24.291095; 143.195286, also on OzGeoRFMap),
- the Western Australian transmitter at Leonora, with 180 degree coverage (28°19′03″S 122°50′36″E / 28.317378°S 122.843456°E / -28.317378; 122.843456, also on OzGeoRFMap), and
- the Western Australian receiver at Laverton, with 180 degree coverage (28°19′36″S 122°00′19″E / 28.326747°S 122.005234°E / -28.326747; 122.005234, also on OzGeoRFMap).
The research and development transmitter and receiver sites are:
- the Alice Springs transmitter at Harts Range, with 90 degree coverage (22°58′03″S 134°26′53″E / 22.967561°S 134.447937°E / -22.967561; 134.447937, also on OzGeoRFMap), and
- the Alice Springs receiver at Mount Everard, with 90 degree coverage (23°31′17″S 133°40′39″E / 23.521497°S 133.677521°E / -23.521497; 133.677521, also on OzGeoRFMap).
The Alice Springs radar was the original 'Jindalee Stage B' test bed on which the design of the other two stations was based. It continues to act as a research and development testbed in addition to its operational role.
The Mount Everard receiver site contains the remains of the first, smaller, 'Jindalee Stage A' receiver. It is visible in aerial photos, behind the stage B receiver (23°31′48″S 133°41′16″E / 23.530074°S 133.68782°E / -23.530074; 133.68782). The stage A transmitter was rebuilt to become the stage B transmitter.
The high frequency radio transmitter arrays at Longreach and Laverton have 28 elements, each driven by a 20 kilowatt power amplfier giving a total power of 560 kW. Stage B transmitted 20 kW per amplifier. The signal is bounced off the ionosphere and is received at the Longreach and Laverton stations. The receiver stations use KEL Aerospace KFR35 series receivers. JORN uses radio frequencies between 5 and 30 MHz, which is far lower than most other civilian and military radars that operate in the microwave frequency band.
The JORN ionosonde network is made up of vertical ionosondes, providing a real time map of the ionosphere. Each vertical incidence sounder (VIS) is a standardized Single-Receiver "Digisonde" Portable Sounder built by Lowell for the JORN. A new ionospheric map is generated every 225 seconds. In a clockwise direction around Australia, the locations of the twelve (11 active and one test) JORN ionosondes are below.
| Location | Identifier | Coordinates | OzGeoRFMap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laverton, WA | LAV | 27°00′S 123°30′E / 27.0°S 123.5°E / -27.0; 123.5 | Jindalee Project WA Transmit Site | |
| Ajana near Geraldton, WA | AJA | 27°54′S 114°42′E / 27.9°S 114.7°E / -27.9; 114.7 | Defence Site, Ajana R/T, AJANA | |
| Boolathana station near Carnarvon, WA | CAR | 24°36′S 113°36′E / 24.6°S 113.6°E / -24.6; 113.6 | Defence Installation, CARNARVON | |
| Learmonth RAAF Base near Exmouth, WA | LEA | 22°12′S 114°06′E / 22.2°S 114.1°E / -22.2; 114.1 | Ionosonde Site, Learmonth Solar Observatory, Minilya-Exmouth Road, LEARMONTH | |
| South Hedland, WA | SHD | 20°24′S 118°36′E / 20.4°S 118.6°E / -20.4; 118.6 | Defence Installation South Hedland, PORT HEDLAND | |
| Curtin RAAF Base, Derby, WA | CUR | 17°36′S 123°48′E / 17.6°S 123.8°E / -17.6; 123.8 | Curtin RAAF via, DERBY | |
| Kalkaringi, NT | KAL | 17°24′S 130°48′E / 17.4°S 130.8°E / -17.4; 130.8 | Telstra Radio Terminal, KALKARINGI | |
| Groote Eylandt, Arnhem Land, NT | GRO | 13°54′S 136°24′E / 13.9°S 136.4°E / -13.9; 136.4 | Defence Installation, GROOTE EYLANDT | |
| Scherger RAAF Base, Weipa, QLD | SCH | 12°42′S 142°06′E / 12.7°S 142.1°E / -12.7; 142.1 | Scherger RAAF Installation, WEIPA | |
| Lynd River, QLD | LYN | 18°00′S 144°54′E / 18.0°S 144.9°E / -18.0; 144.9 | Defence, Lynd River Site, LYND RIVER | |
| Longreach, QLD | LON | 23°24′S 143°48′E / 23.4°S 143.8°E / -23.4; 143.8 | Queensland Jindalee Tx Site, via, LONGREACH | |
| JORN Coordination Centre, Edinburgh, SA | test unit | 34°42′S 138°36′E / 34.7°S 138.6°E / -34.7; 138.6 | Corner of Operations Road & Land Ave DSTO, SALISBURY |
The DSTO ionosonde network is not part of the JORN, but is used to further DSTO's research goals. DSTO uses Four-Receiver Digisonde Portable Sounders (DPS-4), also built by Lowell. During 2004 DSTO had ionosondes at the following locations.
| Location | Coordinates | OzGeoRFMap |
|---|---|---|
| Wyndham, WA | 15°24′S 128°06′E / 15.4°S 128.1°E / -15.4; 128.1 | Wyndham, WA |
| Derby, WA | 17°18′S 123°36′E / 17.3°S 123.6°E / -17.3; 123.6 | Defence Site, DERBY |
| Darwin, NT | 12°30′S 130°54′E / 12.5°S 130.9°E / -12.5; 130.9 | 11 Mile IPS Site, BERRIMAH |
| Elliott near Newcastle Waters, NT | 17°36′S 133°30′E / 17.6°S 133.5°E / -17.6; 133.5 | Elliott near Newcastle Waters, NT |
| Alice Springs, NT | 24°00′S 133°48′E / 24.0°S 133.8°E / -24.0; 133.8 | Joint Space Defence Research Facility, ALICE SPRINGS |
From west to east, the seven JORN transponders are located at Christmas Island (on OzGeoRFMap), Broome, WA (on OzGeoRFMap), Kalumburu, WA (on OzGeoRFMap), Darwin, NT (on OzGeoRFMap), Nhulunbuy, NT (on OzGeoRFMap), Normanton, QLD (on OzGeoRFMap), and Horn island, QLD (on OzGeoRFMap).
All of the above sites (and many more that likely form part of the network) can be found precisely on the Australian Geographical RadioFrequency Map, which also lists the frequencies in use at each site.
Read more about this topic: Jindalee Operational Radar Network
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