Frequently Asked Questions

Our signal is degrading. Could our coax cable be too long? answer

To what extend do I need to worry about nearby power lines causing interference problems? answer

Why do the sunrise and sunset signatures have such strange shapes? answer

Sometimes my monitor picks up solar flares as decreases in signal strength rather than increases (i.e. my graph goes down instead of up). Why? answer

What is the correct resistance (10 Ohm) with respect to the size of the square holding the Antenna wires. Is 20'' the square diagonal, side-length, or total length ? answer

Could I see the the schematics for the SID Monitor and frequency board? answer

Why a new antenna design? answer

I am setting up my antenna. Is the antenna looking at the variation in the magnetic field? Should the normal to the plane of the antenna loop point perpendicular to the line-of-sight from the monitor to the transmitter? answer

Can the 'customer' re-tune/trim the receiver easily? answer

How do you handle timekeeping? answer

How do I arrange for accurate timekeeping on my system? answer

Concerning the SID monitor calibration, is there any reason to worry that our daytime data are near the -3.5 range and can get as low as -4.5 at the sunrise/sunset dips? Do the monitors have a linear response throughout the range? answer

Why the +/- 5 V Power Supply? answer

What is the DAC (DATAQ) answer

How does your circuit differ from the simple circuit used by AAVSO (i.e. "CAP's design")? answer

What is the temperature and supply drift of the circuit? answer

How does the circuit react to pulse inputs? answer

Do you use well regulated low noise DC supplies? answer

Can the Stanford SID detect Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs)? answer