Speaker
Description
The Probing Extreme PeVatron Sources (PEPS) project aims to measure galactic gamma rays above 1 PeV. It will deploy a water-Cherenkov detector array over 2 km² (Phase 1), to be extended to 10 km² (Phase 2), co-located with the Pierre Auger Observatory. Each station will reuse decommissioned Auger electronics. The legacy communication system—custom 915 MHz “Leeds Radio” for access and a microwave backbone for backhaul—faces spectral congestion and component obsolescence. A key constraint for modernization is to preserve the existing hierarchical topology and timing requirements of the detector electronics.
We compare two 2.4 GHz ISM-band options: a turnkey Ubiquiti airMAX solution with high throughput but prohibitive power draw for solar stations, and a low-power prototype based on SX1280 transceivers driven by ESP32 in Fast Long-Range Communication (FLRC) mode.
In non-line-of-sight indoor tests with strong co-channel Wi-Fi interference, using 2 dBi antennas at both ends, FLRC configurations from 260 kbps to 1 Mbps achieve PER ≈ 1% at RSSI ≈ −80 dBm. We further performed outdoor line-of-sight measurements over distances exceeding 700 m, observing comparable PER performance. Under a 36 dBm EIRP limit, a 2 km free-space link at 2.45 GHz is expected to deliver ≈ −70 dBm at the receiver, corresponding to a >15 dB link margin relative to the measured operating point when using directional receive antennas under LOS conditions.
These preliminary results support the feasibility of kilometer-scale LOS links for burst-mode waveform readout and motivate follow-up outdoor and topology-representative measurements.
| Minioral | Yes |
|---|---|
| IEEE Member | No |
| Are you a student? | No |