Evaluation of HF Radio Communications in the Arctic

This project evaluates the feasibility of using HF radio for data communications in arctic conditions. The links evaluated are the Sondrestromfjord-to-GISP 2 link in Greenland and the Fairbanks-to-Barrow link in Alaska.

Two Scientific Radio Systems (SRS) HF SSB transceivers (Model SR-370) are the radios used to meet the communications objective. The radio systems operate in a packet mode whereby data files may be automatically transferred from one machine to the other.

This report addresses the method of evaluation for the SRS radios and the experiments performed. This report also addresses issues of reliability of HF radio communications and explains how to properly operate the SRS radios. Finally are recommendations regarding improving the reliability of these specific SRS radio systems.