Vestnik КRAUNC. Fiz.-Mat. Nauki. 2025. vol. 51. no. 2. P. 122 – 141. ISSN 2079-6641

INSTRUMENTS AND METHODS OF MEASUREMENT
https://doi.org/10.26117/2079-6641-2025-51-2-122-141
Research Article
Full text in Russian
MSC 78A30

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Hardware and Software Complex and Methods of Observing VLF Radiation in Kamchatka

E. I. Malkin^{\ast}, G. I. Druzhin

Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation FEB RAS, 684034, Paratunka, Elizovo raion, Kamchakskiy kray, Russia

Abstract. The paper is devoted to the description of the hardware-software complex developed at the Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation FEB RAS and installed in the region of Karymshina river (Elizovo raion, Kamchatksiy kray, Russia). The hardware-software complex is aimed at receiving the natural electromagnetic radiation in VLF range to investigate electromagnetic radiation sources and detect the features of signal propagation along the Earth surface and during its passage though the Earth ionosphere and magnetosphere. Special attention was focused on the detection accuracy of azimuthal arrival angles of the radiation from height lightning discharges responsible for whistler occurrences observed in the VLF range. Detailed description is given for the receiving antenna complex, the method for detection of radiation arrival azimuth, VLF direction finder calibration, checking the complex operation when receiving signals from correct time radio stations and from lightning discharges recorded by the WWLLN global network. The receiving antenna complex consists of two magnetic antennas, arranged vertically with the plane in the north-southern and east-western directions, and an electric antenna. Each magnetic antenna contains 98 coils of copper wire and has the geometric square of 48 m^2. The electric rode antenna has the height of 9 m from its upper part to its basis. When receiving signals, two method for determination of VLF radiation source azimuths were applied, the amplitude and spectral ones. For the effective operation, the simplest one, the amplitude method, was applied. For the most accurate determination of the azimuth, the spectral method was developed. It takes more time to make calculations by it but it allows one to improve the accuracy of azimuth determination by more than one order compared to the amplitude method. Application of the spectral method made it possible to investigate the relation of height lightning strokes with the activity of thunderstorms of meteorological and volcanic origin and showed that height lightning discharges are the sources of whistlers. A software complex was developed to record and store the data. It includes client and server ends. The server processes the data flow from the ADC and makes correct time referencing. The client end is responsible for full archive organization and its storage. Magnetic antennas are calibrated by sending noise and sinusoidal signals on magnetic and electric antennas.

Key words: atmospherics registration, direction, electromagnetic pulses, VLF direction finder lightning.

Received: 03.06.2025; Revised: 17.09.2025; Accepted: 18.09.2025; First online: 19.09.2025

For citation. Malkin E. I., Druzhin G. I. Hardware-software complex and method of VLF radiation observations in Kamchatka. Vestnik KRAUNC. Fiz.-mat. nauki. 2025, 51: 2, 122-141. EDN: YIHWLI. https://doi.org/10.26117/2079-6641-2025-51-2-122-141.

Funding. The work was supported by IKIR FEB RAS State Task (Reg. No. NIOKTR 124012300245-2)

Competing interests. There are no conflicts of interest regarding authorship and publication.

Contribution and Responsibility. All authors contributed to this article. Authors are solely responsible for providing the final version of the article in print. The final version of the manuscript was approved by all authors.

^{\ast}Correspondence: E-mail: malkin@ikir.ru

The content is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

© Malkin E. I., Druzhin G. I., 2025

© Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation, 2025 (original layout, design, compilation)

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Information about the authors

Malkin Evgeny Ilyich – Researcher at the Laboratory of Electromagnetic Radiation, Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Paratunka, Russia, ORCID 0000-0001-8037-1335.

Druzhin Gennady Ivanovich – Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher at the Laboratory of Electromagnetic Radiation, Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Paratunka, Russia, ORCID 0000-0002-1009-1044

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