A new procedure for obtaining vertical total electron content from two frequency LEOS beacons

• Midlatitude Total Electron Content measurement performed using an inexpensive digital receiver.
• A simple analysis procedure provides well correlated TEC values.
• Two station observations of small TEC variations give TID information.

A new procedure is suggested for obtaining VTEC from slant TEC two frequency measurements. To verify the procedure an inexpensive portable digital receiver was used to measure ionospheric total electron content (TEC). Experimental results agree well with the data from a nearby ionosonde and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) model. Orientations of traveling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) present in the area at the time of the recording were obtained from the small-scale variations of TEС in a two-station configuration. The results are consistent with the diurnal TID pattern.