In 2016, Western Kentucky University acquired a 3-meter (10-foot) diameter satellite dish with 4 GHz (7.5 cm) analog receiving elements from the family of Mrs. Jewell Hurt, deceased. Mrs. Hurt purchased the television receive-only (TVRO) system for her home in Monticello, Kentucky in the early 1980s. The Hurt family were neighbors of WKU student Stacy Hicks, who accepted their donation of the TVRO system on behalf of WKU. We are very grateful to them for their generosity.
While small compared to research-grade radio telescopes, dishes a few meters in diameter are large enough for a variety of educational radio astronomy uses. They are also much bigger than the 12 GHz (2.5 cm) digital direct-broadcast satellite TV (DBSTV) dishes that replaced most 4 GHz TVRO systems in the 1990s, so we choose to call this a "big dish" here in comparison to DBSTV systems (which we are experimenting with in our "small dish" project).
The original TVRO system was quite limited in its capabilities for astronomy and also in poor condition due to age and weather damage. We have thus undertaken a major effort to redesign and rebuild the entire system into a functioning radio telescope. A few highlight images from this effort are available, with more planned for a future photo gallery. Many useful links to related information are also provided. Please see the credits page for a list of the individuals who have helped with this ongoing project.
The following descriptions are of anticipated properties of the radio telescope once it is completed and operational. Some details may depart from those given here, but most should be reasonable approximations for the working system.
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