Abstract
BPL is a special Chinese long-wave time service system constructed and maintained by the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Two experimental paths were designed to analyze the impact of the annular solar eclipse that occurred on June 21, 2020, on the BPL time service performance. In the first path, the receiving point was located in the ring eclipse zone, whereas in the other path, the sky-wave reflection point was located in the ring eclipse zone. The time of arrival (TOA) data during 19–23 June 2020 at the Sanya test point (sky-wave reflection point located in the ring eclipse zone) and field strength from 21 to 22 June 2020 at the Xiamen test point (receiving point located in the ring eclipse zone) were measured and analyzed. The experimental results show that under normal conditions of BPL time service signal transmission, the TOA and field strength undergo significant changes during the annular solar eclipse, the TOA data change up to 5.17 µs, and the field strength data change up to 17.72 dBμV. The data tend to increase initially and then decrease. This change is consistent with the ionospheric change caused by the annular solar eclipse. The BPL time service performance is affected at the receiving points located in the south of the BPL time service station with the great circle distance ranging from 1426 to 1844 km.
Highlights
BPL, located in Pucheng, Shaanxi province, is a special Chinese long-wave time service system constructed and maintained by the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NTSC)
Sky-wave propagation refers to the propagation of the BPL time service signal sent from the transmitting antenna to the receiving point through the ionosphere at high altitude, as shown in Fig. 2.18 The main characteristic of sky-wave propagation is that the transmission loss is small; it requires relatively less power for long-distance communication
To analyze the impact of the annular solar eclipse that occurred on June 21, 2020, on the BPL time service signal, the test team designed two paths for the experiment: in the first path, the receiving point was located in the ring eclipse zone, and in the other path, the sky-wave reflection point corresponding to the receiving point was located in the ring eclipse zone
Summary
BPL, located in Pucheng, Shaanxi province, is a special Chinese long-wave time service system constructed and maintained by the National Time Service Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NTSC). It utilizes the “Loran-C” transmission signal system, and the group repetition interval is 60 ms. The two types of BPL time service signal propagation are sky-wave and ground-wave. The errors arising from using ground-wave propagation to propagate standard time and frequency signals are small because their amplitude and phase are substantially stable. Any variation in the ionosphere affects the amplitude and phase of the BPL time service, affecting BPL sky-wave propagation of standard time and frequency signals
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
