Base band data for testing interference mitigation algorithms

Digital signal processing is one of many valuable tools for suppressing unw anted signals or interference. Building hardware processing engines seems t o be the way to best implement some classes of interference suppression but is, unfortunately, expensive and time-consuming, especially if several mit igation techniques need to be compared. Simulations can be useful, but are not a substitute for real data. CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facili ty has recently commenced a 'software radio telescope' project designed to fill the gap between dedicated hardware processors and pure simulation. In this approach. real telescope data are recorded coherently. then processed offline. This paper summarises the cur-rent contents of a freely available database of base band recorded data that can be used to experiment with sig nal processing solutions, It includes data from the following systems: sing le dish, multi-feed receivers single dish with reference antennae and an ar ray of six 22 m antennas with and without a reference antenna. Astronomical sources such as OH masers, pulsars and continuum sources subject to interf ering signals were recorded. The interfering signals include signals from t he US Global Positioning System (GP) and its Russian equivalent (GLONASS), television, microwave links, a low-Earth-orbit satellite, various other tra nsmitters, and signals leaking from local telescope systems with fast clock s. The data are available on compact disk, allowing use in general purpose computers or as input to laboratory hardware prototypes.