Since February 1995, regular observations have been carried out by the University of Saskatchewan radar group using a new 50-MHz Doppler radar system called SAPPHIRE-North. The SAPPHIRE-North radar monitors the ionospheric processes in the transitional region between the auroral oval and the polar cap over Cambridge Bay, Northwest Territories. In this paper, results of the first 2 months of observations are presented. Echoes were registered at about 10% of observational time. Diurnal echo occurrence exhibited two distinct maxima, one close to noon and another prior to midnight. The noon echoes were usually of a diffuse type, while midnight echoes were of a discrete type. Midnight discrete echoes were found to be associated with an arrival of poleward expanding substorm bulges into the SAPPHIRE-North field of view. Noon diffuse echoes were most likely due to electric field enhancements in the vicinity of the cusp/cleft region. Salient spectral features of both the diffuse and discrete echoes are presented and compared with auroral zone results. The role of ionospheric refraction for observations of these high-latitude echoes is discussed. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996