Head of the observatory is J. Boška. Průhonice Digisonde DPS-4 (geographic coordinates 49°59"N, 14°33") replaced classical ionosonde in January 2004. Data from the digisonde are sent to the online database. Two types of measurements are realized at the observatory by the Digisonde DPS-4:

Ionospheric vertical sounding - routine repetition (15 min) soundings + a few campaigns of more frequent measurements

Ionospheric plasma drift measurements (15 min repetition) for

  • F region (autodrift mode)
  • E region (heights interval 90-150 km and fixed frequency window 2.0-2.6 MHz)

We run the Regional Warning Centre Prague of the International Space Environmental Service (ISES, Czech Representative D. Obrazová (Burešová) ) - ionospheric observations are on a daily basis supplied into international data exchange network. Monthly ionospheric predictions have been regularly prepared and disseminated.

One of the transmitters of the Doppler sounding system is installed at the observatory Pruhonice. The Doppler sounder consists altogether of five transmitters distributed evenly at observatories in the western part of the Czech Republic. The permanent receiver is located at the central position in Prague.  The measurements are based on the detection of the Doppler frequency shift between the transmitted radio wave of the known frequency 3.59 MHz and the received wave after the reflection in the ionosphere. The Doppler type sounding is performed continually and is used for studying short period phenomena in the ionosphere, particularly ionospheric infrasound and short period gravity waves. The Doppler sounding system operating close to the Digisonde DPS-4D extends possibilities of investigation of processes in the ionosphere via common volume sounding.  A detailed description of the Doppler system is at web page of the Department of the Upper Atmosphere (joint experiment).

A microbarograph installed at the observatory Pruhonice is a part of the network for observations of tropospheric infrasound. It is of the type of differential microbarograph – infrasound gage ISGM03. The sensor is a cylinder with two chambers separated by a membrane. One chamber is closed; the other is opened to the surroundings. The two chambers are connected by a capillary. The pressure oscillations are measured as departures of the membrane from its central position. The microbarograph measures continually pressure fluctuations with maximum accuracy of the order of 10-3 Pa. The optimum operating range of the microbarograph is 0.02-4 Hz.

Průhonice Ionospheric Station