On the calibration of polarized radio signal

Polarized radiation measurements are limited by the sensitivity and stability of the receiving systems and external interferences. We found that the signal recorded during observation is not well corrected using the standard automatic calibration procedure. We have noticed that most of the instability can be corrected using the calibration procedure that takes into account the calibration signal phase. The method proposed by us allows to eliminate jumps on the level of the recorded signal, which are caused by changes in the relative phase between two channels of the receiver. The elimination of those phase jumps leads to more consistent final results from multiple measurements of the same source. Below you will find examples of differences between the reduced data of the standard calibration procedure and the data obtained using the new method with phase instability correction.