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RadioBeaconTransponders

INTRODUCTION
Thesitediscussestheprinciplesofairborneradionavigation,wherebythepilotcandeterminetheaircraft's
positionbytriangulationusingtwoADForVORstations,orbypolarcoordinationusingVORbearingandDME
distanceinformation.Uponrequest,thepilotcanrelaytheaircraft'spositionandaltitudetotheAirTrafficControl
(ATC)centerbymeansoftheVHFcommunicationsystem.Althoughthismethodiseffective,itisnotan
optimumsolutioninhightrafficareaswherethecontrollermustbeconstantlyinformedoftheexactpositionofall
aircraftatalltimeswithinthecontrolledairspace(Thoughthereisnosuchhigherdensityoftrafficinourregion).
Forthisreason,theATCcenterusesagroundbasedradarsurveillancesystemtoautomaticallymonitorthe
locationofallaircraftwithinthecontrolareawithoutclutteringuptheradiocommunicationchannels.Withthis
informationconstantlydisplayedontheATCradarscope,thecontrollerisabletomaketimelydecisions
regardinghandingoveraircrafttotheapproachordeparturecontrolcenter,vectoringaircrafttoavoidcollision
courses,maintainingsafealtitudeseparationbetweenaircraft,andlocatinganddirectingaircraftthatarelost.

ThegroundbasedATCradarsystemconsistsofaprimarysurveillanceradar(PSR)andsecondarysurveillance
radar(SSR).ThePSRlocatesandtracksaircraftwithinthecontrolareabytransmittingabeamofenergywhich
isreflectedfromtheaircraftandreturnedtothePSRantenna.TheSSRtransmitsinterrogationsignalstothe
airborneradiobeaconTransponder.Uponreceivingtheinterrogation,theTranspondersendsacodedreplysignal
backtotheSSRsystem.DatareceivedfromthePSRandSSRareusedinconjunctiontodevelopthetotalair
trafficsituationdisplayonthecontroller'sradarscope.ThisenablesthecontrollertoidentifyTransponder
equippedaircraftinadditiontodeterminingtherangeanddirectionofallaircraftwithinthecontrolarea.

PRINCIPLESOFATCRADARSURVEILLANCESYSTEMOPERATION
TherearetwotypesofradarsystemsinstalledeachATCgroundstation.Thefirst,calledthePrimary
SurveillanceRadar,operatesontheprincipleofsendinganarrowbeamofenergy,whichisreflectedfromthe
aircraftundersurveillance,andmeasuringitsdistancebynotingthetimelapsebetweentheradarpulse
transmissionanditsreceivedecho.Thesecond,calledtheSecondarySurveillanceRadar,operatesonthe
codedreplysentfromtheairborneradiobeaconTransponderinresponsetoaninterrogationsentfromtheground
station.TheRadarstationatPiduruthalagala(SriLanka),thePSRandSSRantennasarecolocatedandscan
synchronized,andbothradarsareusedinconjunctiontodevelopthetotalairtrafficsituationdisplayonasingle
CRTradarscope,calledthePlanPositionIndicator(PPI).TheRadarstationatKatunayaka(SriLanka)isaPSR
typeandrotateataspeedof15revolutionperminutewhileRadaratPiduruthalagalaataspeedof12rev.per
minutes.Thereasonforthisdifferenceinrevolutionspeedisthat,asaircraftsapproachesclosetotheairportthe
skygetscongestedandneedsconstantupdatesofthepositionsoftheairmovements.

ATCPSR/SSRSystem

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ThePSRsendsoutradiowavesinaverynarrowbeam.Thegroundantennaismadetorotatesothatthe
positionofthenarrowbeamofenergycanbedirected.Whenthedirectedbeamstrikesanobjectortarget,some
ofitisreflectedbacktotheradarantenna.Thisreflectedsignalisdetectedandprocessedtoprovideadisplay
(indicatedbyabright"blip')ontheATCPPI,whichshowsthelocationofthetarget(i.e.,aircraft).

ApproachRadarantenna~Katunayaka
ThePSRsystemworkswellinlowtrafficareashowever,astheairtrafficincreasesinagivenarea,thePPI
displaybecomesclutteredandspecifictargetsmaybecomedifficulttodistinguishfromoneanother.Also,since
theenergyofaradiatedRFsignalisattenuatedasthesquareofthedistanceittravels,theresultingweaker
radarreturnsareaccompaniedbynoisewhichtendstoobscurethedisplayedtarget.Targetsmayalsobelost
duetogroundclutterfromterrainandprecipitationunlessaMovingTargetIndicator(MTI)circuitisemployedto
detectanddisplayonlymovingobjects.Finally,thePSRhasthedistinctdisadvantageInthattheoperatorhas
nowayofknowingthealtitudeoftheaircraftunlessthepilotreportsIt.Alloftheproblemsassociatedwiththe
PSRsystemhavebeenaddressedwiththeintroductionofAirTrafficControlRadioBeaconSystem(ATCRBS).

TheATCRBSincorporatestheuseoftheSecondarySurveillanceRadarinconjunctionwiththeairborneradio
beaconTransponder.TheSSRwasdevelopedfromthemilitaryIdentificationFriendorFoe(IFF)system,in
whichanairborneradiobeaconTransponderrespondstogroundradarinterrogationsononefrequencyby
transmitting,codedrepliesonanotherfrequency.Thecodedreplies,displayedasshortlinesonthePPI,allow
thecontrollerstoidentifythevarioustargetsbyhavingeachonesendbackadifferentcodedreply.

ThedesiredcodecanbemanuallyselectedbythepilotontheTranspondercontrolheadinModeWoperation,or
automaticallysetbyanencodingaltimeteroraltitudedigitizerforreportingtheAircraft'saltitudeinMode"C"
operation.SincethereplysignalfromtheairborneTransponderisstrongerthanthereflectedPSRsignal,itwill
reinforcethe"pip"onthePPItoprovidepositiveaircraftidentification.

AttheATCradargroundstation,receivedradarvideoandantennaazimuthInformationsignalsarerelayedfrom
theradarsitetotheairtrafficcontrolcenter,wherethesignalsareprocessedanddisplayedonplanposition
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indicators.Sinceradarcoverageofeachsiteincludesalargeareainhightrafficdensityareas,several
controllersareassignedtovarioussegmentsoftheareacovered.Eachcontroller'ssegmentoftheareais
displayedonhisrespectivePPI.(YoucannotobservesuchsituationinSriLankaduetolimitednumberofair
movementsprevailincomparedtoothercountries).

ThePPIpresentstheoperatorwithamaplikeviewofthespacesurroundingtheareacoveredbytheATCradar
antenna.FourdotsappearonthePPIoneatthecenter,andoneofeachofthethree10milepointsouttothe
edgeoftheradarscope.Thesedotsrotate,insynchronizewiththerotationoftheradarantenna,todisplay
concentriccirclesthatindicaterange.

Theincomingradarvideosignalsareappliedtoadecodercontrolbeforebeingdisplayed.Byadjustingthe
decodertopassonlyaselectedcode,Transpondersoperatingonthecontroller'scodewillappearasashortarc
(blip)onthePPI,andasabrightarcwhentransmittingaspecialpositionidentificationpulse.Repliesfrom
Transpondersnottransmittingtheselectedcodewillbefilteredout."Skinpaint"echoesdetectedbytheprimary
surveillanceradarwillbedisplayedforallaircraft.AnillustrationofatypicalPPIdisplayformatisshowninthe
figurebelow.

PRINCIPLESOFRADIOBEACONTRANSPONDEROPERATION
Aspreviouslymentioned,theATCradiobeaconsystemincorporatestheuseofthegroundbasedSSRandthe
airborneradiobeaconTranspondertodeterminetherangeanddirectionofaircraftrespondingtoSSR
interrogations.ThefollowingsectionwilldiscusstheoperationoftheairborneTransponderinregardtoreceiving
theseinterrogationsignalsandgeneratingacodedreplysignaltobetransmittedbacktotheSSRgroundstation.

SSRInterrogation
AnairborneTranspondertransmitsareplysignalonafrequencyof1,090MHzinresponsetotheSSR
interrogationwhichistransmittedonafrequencyof1,030MHz.Currently,therearetwotypesofSSR
interrogations,Mode"KandMode"C",thatmaybetransmittedbytheATCRBSgroundstation.Thesignal
characteristicsoftheModeAandModeCinterrogationsareshowninthefigure.

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SSRInterrogationModes

ModeAinterrogationsaresenttorequestthespecifiedaircraftidentificationcode.ModeCIsusedtorequest
altitudereportingwithidentification.ModeBisoccasionallyusedinplaceofModeAinsomecountriesandMode
Dinpresentlynotinuse.Eachinterrogationmodeisdistinctfromtheotherandischaracterizedbythespacing
betweentheP3pulseandtheP1pulse.Regardlessoftheinterrogationmode,allthreepulsesare0.8
microsecondwide.

ThepurposeoftheP2pulseistoallowtheTranspondertodeterminewhethertheinterrogationwasreceivedfrom
themainbeamorasidelobeoftheSSRradiationpattern,asshowninthefollowingfigure.Areplytoasidelobe
interrogationwouldgivethecontrolleranerroneousindicationoftheaircraft'sPosition.Forthisreason,SideLobe
Suppression(SLS)isusedtoinhibittheTransponder'sreplyinresponsetoasidelobeinterrogation.

PropagationpatternofSSRInterrogationSignal

ThethreepulseSLSinterrogationmethodusesadirectionalradarantennathattransmitsapairofpulsesreferred
toasPIandP3pulses.Aspreviouslymentioned,thetimespacingbetweenthesepulsesdeterminesthemode
ofoperation.TwomicrosecondsaftertheP1pulseistransmittedfromthedirectorialantenna,thesecondpulse,
P2,istransmittedfromanomnidirectionalantenna.TheP2pulseisusedasareferencepulseforSLS
determination.ThesignalstrengthoftheomnidirectionalP2pulseisjustsufficienttoprovidecoverageoverthe
areathatsidelobepropagationpresentsaproblem.

SidelobeinterrogationisdetectedbytheairborneTransponderSLScircuitrybycomparingtheamplitudeofthe
P2pulseinrelationtothePIpulse.WhentheomnidirectionalP2pulseisequaltoorgreaterthanthedirectional
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P1pulse,noreplywillbegenerated.IdentificationofthesidelobeinterrogationisestablishedbeforetheP3pulse
isreceived.Therefore,theTransponderwillbeinhibitedforaperiodlasting35microseconds,regardlessofthe
interrogationmode.AvalidmainlobeinterrogationisrecognizedwhenthePIpulseisatleast9dBlargerthanthe
P2pulse,asshowninthefollowingfigure.

SideLobeDetectionandReplySuppression

TransponderReplySignals

ReplysignalsaregeneratedbytheTransponderwhenaninterrogationsignalisdeterminedtobevalid.Thecoded
replysignaliscomposedofaseriesofpulsestransmittedonacarrierof1,090plusorminus3MHz.InModeA
operation,thenumberofpulsesgeneratedinareplysignalisdeterminedbysettingthefouroctal(0to7)digit
codeswitchesontheTranspondercontrolheadtotheassignedidentificationcode.Certainswitchpositionsare
reservedforspecialapplicationstocausetheactivationofanauralalertsignalatthecontroller'sconsole:Code
7700indicatesanemergencycondition,code7600isforreportingacommunicationradiofailure,and
code7500indicatesthatahijackisinprocess.ThecodeselectorswitchesprovidetheTransponderwiththe
capabilitytosendanyoneofapossible4,096identificationcodes.

TheTransponderrepliestoModeCinterrogationsbygeneratingpulsesinthereplysignalthatcorrespondswith
theaircraft'saltitude.Thereceivedaltitudeinformationisthendisplayeddirectlyonthecontroller'sPPI.This
informationisnotselectedbythecodeswitchesonthecontrolhead,butisobtaineddirectlyfromanencoding
altimeteroraltitudedigitizer.Thesedevicescommonlyuseanopticalencoderwhichisdrivenfromananeroid
mechanismthatissensitivetovariationsinaltitude.Theencoderoutputsa10bitparalleldatacodetothe
TransponderforthegenerationofModeCreplies.

Thecodedreplysignalconsistsofvariousarrangementsofcodepulseswithintheboundariesformedbythetwo
framingpulses,F1andF2.Regardlessofthemodeofoperation,theseframingpulsesarealwayspresentinthe
codedreplysignalandarespaced20.3microsecondsapart.

ThereplycodeisdividedintofourpulsegroupslabeledA,B,C,andD.Eachgroupcontainsthreepulsesthat
areassignedsubscriptsthatindicatethebinaryweightofeach.Thefirstdigit(1)consistsoftheAlpulse(=I),the
seconddigit(3)consistsofthe131+B2pulses(=3),thethirddigit(2)consistsoftheC2pulse(=2),andthe
fourthdigit(4)consistsonlyoftheD4pulse(=4).Theassignedreplycode0000wouldcausenopulsestoappear
betweentheframingpulses,andcode7777wouldresultinall12pulsestobepresentbetweenFIandF2.

TheSpecialPositionIdentificationPulse(SPIP),initiateduponrequestofthecontroller,isgeneratedby
momentarilydepressingtheIDENTbuttonlocatedontheTranspondercontrolhead.TheSPIPcausesaspecial
effectonthecontroller'sPPIthataidsindeterminingtheaircraft'sposition.Thispulseoccurs4.35microseconds
afterthelastframingpulse(F2)andistransmittedwitheachModeAreplyfor15to20secondsafterreleasing
theIDENTbutton.

PrincipleofOperation
RadarisanacronymforRadioDetectionandRanging.Theterm"radio"referstotheuseofelectromagnetic
waveswithwavelengthsinthesocalledradiowaveportionofthespectrum,whichcoversawiderangefrom
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104kmto1cm.Radarsystemstypicallyusewavelengthsontheorderof10cm,correspondingto
frequenciesofabout3GHz.Thedetectionandrangingpartoftheacronymisaccomplishedbytimingthedelay
betweentransmissionofapulseofradioenergyanditssubsequent
return.IfthetimedelayisDt,thentherangemaybedeterminedbythesimpleformula:
R=cDt/2
wherec=3x108m/s,thespeedoflightatwhichallelectromagneticwavespropagate.Thefactoroftwointhe
formulacomesfromtheobservationthattheradarpulsemusttraveltothetargetandbackbeforedetection,or
twicetherange.
Aradarpulsetrainisatypeofamplitudemodulationoftheradarfrequencycarrierwave,similartohowcarrier
wavesaremodulatedincommunicationsystems.Inthiscase,theinformationsignalisquitesimple:asingle
pulserepeatedatregularintervals.Thecommonradarcarriermodulation,knownasthepulsetrainisshown
below.Thecommonparametersofradarasdefinedbyreferringtofollowingfigure.

PW=pulsewidth.PWhasunitsoftimeandiscommonlyexpressedinms.PWisthedurationofthepulse.RT=
resttime.RTistheintervalbetweenpulses.Itismeasuredinms.PRT=pulserepetitiontime.PRThasunitsof
timeandiscommonlyexpressedinms.PRTistheintervalbetweenthestartofonepulseandthestartofanother.
PRTisalsoequaltothesum,PRT=PW+RT.PRF=pulserepetitionfrequency.PRFhasunitsoftime1andis
commonlyexpressedinHz(1Hz=1/s)oraspulsespersecond(pps).PRFisthenumberofpulsestransmitted
persecondandisequaltotheinverseofPRT.RF=radiofrequency.RFhasunitsoftime1orHzandis
commonlyexpressedinGHzorMHz.RFisthefrequencyofthecarrierwavewhichisbeingmodulatedtoform
thepulsetrain.

Apracticalradarsystemrequiressevenbasiccomponents.
1.Transmitter.Thetransmittercreatestheradiowavetobesentandmodulatesittoformthepulsetrain.The
transmittermustalsoamplifythesignaltoahighpowerleveltoprovideadequaterange.Thesourceofthe
carrierwavecouldbeaKlystron,TravelingWaveTube(TWT)orMagnetron.Eachhasitsowncharacteristics
andlimitations.
2.Receiver.Thereceiverissensitivetotherangeoffrequenciesbeingtransmittedandprovidesamplification
ofthereturnedsignal.Inordertoprovidethegreatestrange,thereceivermustbeverysensitivewithout
introducingexcessivenoise.Theabilitytodiscernareceivedsignalfrombackgroundnoisedependsonthe
signaltonoiseratio(S/N).
Thebackgroundnoiseisspecifiedbyanaveragevalue,calledthenoiseequivalentpower(NEP).Thisdirectly
equatesthenoisetoadetectedpowerlevelsothatitmaybecomparedtothereturn.Usingthesedefinitions,
thecriterionforsuccessfuldetectionofatargetis
Pr >(S/N)NEP,
wherePr isthepowerofthereturnsignal.Sincethisisasignificantquantityindeterminingradarsystem
performance,itisgivenauniquedesignation,Smin,andiscalledtheMinimumSignalforDetection.
Smin=(S/N)NEP
SinceSmin,expressedinWatts,isusuallyasmallnumber,ithasprovenusefultodefinethedecibelequivalent,
MDS,whichstandsforMinimumDiscernibleSignal.
MDS=10Log(Smin/1mW)
Whenusingdecibels,thequantityinsidethebracketsofthelogarithmmustbeanumberwithoutunits.Ithe
definitionofMDS,thisnumberisthefractionSmin/1mW.Asareminder,weusethespecialnotationdBmfor
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theunitsofMDS,wherethe"m"standsfor1mW.Thisisshorthandfordecibelsreferencedto1mW,whichis
sometimeswrittenasdB//1mW.
Inthereceiver,S/Nsetsathresholdfordetectionwhichdetermineswhatwillbedisplayedandwhatwillnot.In
theory,ifS/N=1,thenonlyreturnswithpowerequaltoorgreaterthanthebackgroundnoisewillbedisplayed.
However,thenoiseisastatisticalprocessandvariesrandomly.TheNEPisjusttheaveragevalueofthenoise.
Therewillbetimeswhenthenoiseexceedsthethresholdthatissetbythereceiver.Sincethiswillbedisplayed
andappeartobealegitimatetarget,itiscalledafalsealarm.IftheSNRissettoohigh,thentherewillbefew
falsealarms,butsomeactualtargetsmaynotbedisplayedknownasamiss).IfSNRissettoolow,thenthere
willbemanyfalsealarms,orahighfalsealarmrate(FAR).
SomereceiversmonitorthebackgroundandconstantlyadjusttheSNRtomaintainaconstantfalsealarmrate,
andthereforeallcalledCFARreceivers.
Somecommonreceiverfeaturesare:
1.)PulseIntegration.Thereceivertakesanaveragereturnstrengthovermanypulses.Randomeventslike
noisewillnotoccurineverypulseandtherefore,whenaveraged,willhaveareducedeffectascomparedto
actualtargetsthatwillbeineverypulse.
2.)SensitivityTimeControl(STC).Thisfeaturereducestheimpactofreturnsfromseastate.Itreducesthe
minimumSNRofthereceiverforashortdurationimmediatelyaftereachpulseistransmitted.Theeffectof
adjustingtheSTCistoreducetheclutteronthedisplayintheregiondirectlyaroundthetransmitter.Thegreater
thevalueofSTC,thegreatertherangefromthetransmitterinwhichclutterwillberemoved.However,an
excessiveSTCwillblankoutpotentialreturnsclosetothetransmitter.
3.)FastTimeConstant(FTC).Thisfeatureisdesignedtoreducetheeffectoflongdurationreturnsthatcome
fromrain.Thisprocessingrequiresthatstrengthofthereturnsignalmustchangequicklyoveritduration.Since
rainoccursoverandextendedarea,itwillproducealong,steadyreturn.TheFTCprocessingwill
filterthesereturnsoutofthedisplay.Onlypulsesthatriseandfallquicklywillbedisplayed.Intechnicalterms,
FTCisadifferentiator,meaningitdeterminestherateofchangeinthesignal,whichitthenusesto
discriminatepulseswhicharenotchangingrapidly.

3.PowerSupply.Thepowersupplyprovidestheelectricalpowerforallthecomponents.Thelargest
consumerofpoweristhetransmitterwhichmayrequireseveralkWofaveragepower.Theactuallypower
transmittedinthepulsemaybemuchgreaterthan1kW.Thepowersupplyonlyneedstobeabletoprovide
theaverageamountofpowerconsumed,notthehighpowerlevelduringtheactual
pulsetransmission.Energycanbestored,inacapacitorbankforinstance,duringtheresttime.Thestored
energythencanbeputintothepulsewhentransmitted,increasingthepeakpower.Thepeakpowerandthe
averagepowerarerelatedbythequantitycalleddutycycle,DC.Dutycycleisthefractionofeachtransmission
cyclethattheradarisactuallytransmitting.ReferringtothepulsetraininFigure2,thedutycyclecanbeseento
be:
DC=PW/PRF
4.Synchronizer.Thesynchronizercoordinatesthetimingforrangedetermination.Itregulatesthatrateatwhich
pulsesaresent(i.e.setsPRF)andresetsthetimingclockforrangedeterminationforeachpulse.Signalsfrom
thesynchronizeraresentsimultaneouslytothetransmitter,whichsendsanewpulse,andtothedisplay,which
resetsthereturnsweep.

5.Duplexer.Thisisaswitchwhichalternatelyconnectsthetransmitterorreceivertotheantenna.Itspurposeis
toprotectthereceiverfromthehighpoweroutputofthetransmitter.Duringthetransmissionofanoutgoing
pulse,theduplexerwillbealignedtothetransmitterforthedurationofthepulse,PW.Afterthepulsehasbeen
sent,theduplexerwillaligntheantennatothereceiver.Whenthenextpulseissent,theduplexerwillshiftback
tothetransmitter.Aduplexerisnotrequiredifthetransmittedpowerislow.
6.Antenna.Theantennatakestheradarpulsefromthetransmitterandputsitintotheair.Furthermore,the
antennamustfocustheenergyintoawelldefinedbeamwhichincreasesthepowerandpermitsadetermination
ofthedirectionofthetarget.Theantennamustkeeptrackofitsownorientationwhichcanbeaccomplishedbya
synchrotransmitter.Therearealsoantennasystemswhichdonotphysicallymovebutaresteeredelectronically
(inthesecases,theorientationoftheradarbeamisalreadyknownapriori).

Thebeamwidthofanantennaisameasureoftheangularextentofthemostpowerfulportionoftheradiated
energy.Forourpurposesthemainportion,calledthemainlobe,willbeallanglesfromtheperpendicularwhere
thepowerisnotlessthanofthepeakpower,or,indecibels,3dB.Thebeamwidthistherangeofanglesin
themainlobe,sodefined.Usuallythisisresolvedintoaplaneofinterest,suchasthehorizontalorvertical
plane.Theantennawillhaveaseparatehorizontalandverticalbeamwidth.Foraradarantenna,thebeamwidth
canbepredictedfromthedimensionoftheantennaintheplaneofinterestby
q=l/L
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where:
qisthebeamwidthinradians,
listhewavelengthoftheradar,and
Listhedimensionoftheantenna,inthedirectionofinterest(i.e.widthorheight).
Inthediscussionofcommunicationsantennas,itwasstatedthatthebeamwidthforanantennacouldbefoundusing

q=2l/L.Soitappearsthatradarantennashaveonehalfofthebeamwidthascommunicationsantennas.The
differenceisthatradarantennasareusedbothtotransmitandreceivethesignal.Theinterferenceeffectsfrom
eachdirectioncombine,whichhastheeffectofreducingthebeamwidth.Thereforewhendescribingtwoway
systems(likeradar)itisappropriatetoreducethebeamwidthbyafactorofinthebeamwidthapproximation
formula.
Thedirectionalgainofanantennaisameasureofhowwellthebeamisfocusedinallangles.Ifwewere
restrictedtoasingleplane,thedirectionalgainwouldmerelybetheratio2p/q.Sincethesamepoweris
distributedoverasmallerrangeofangles,directionalgainrepresentstheamountbywhichthepowerinthebeam
isincreased.Inbothangles,thendirectionalgainwouldbegivenby:
Gdir =4p/qf
sincethereare4psteradianscorrespondingtoalldirections(solidangle,measuredinsteradians,isdefinedtobe
theareaofthebeamfrontdividedbytherangesquared,thereforeanondirectionalbeamwouldcoveranareaof
4pR2atdistanceR,therefore4psteradians).
Hereweused:
q=horizontalbeamwidth(radians)
f=verticalbeamwidth(radians)
Sometimesdirectionalgainismeasuredindecibels,namely10log(Gdir).Asanexample,anantennawitha

horizontalbeamwidthof1.50(0.025radians)andverticalbeamwidthof20o(0.33radians)willhave:
directionalgain(dB)=10log(4p/0.0250.333)=30.9dB

Example:findthehorizontalandverticalbeamwidthoftheAN/SPS49longrangeradarsystem,andthe
directionalgainindB.Theantennais7.3mwideby4.3mtall,andoperatesat900MHz.

Thewavelength,l=c/f=0.33m.
GiventhatL=7.3m,then

q=l/L=0.33/7.3=0.045radians,or
q=30.
Theantennais4.3mtall,soasimilarcalculationgives

f=0.076radians
f= 40.
Thedirectionalgain,
Gdir =4p/(0.0450.076)=3638.
Expressedindecibels,
directionalgain=10Log(3638)
=35.6dB.

7.Display.Thedisplayunitmaytakeavarietyofformsbutingeneralisdesignedtopresentthereceived
informationtoanoperator.ThemostbasicdisplaytypeiscalledanAscan(amplitudevs.Timedelay).The
verticalaxisisthestrengthofthereturnandthehorizontalaxisisthetimedelay,orrange.TheAscanprovides
noinformationaboutthedirectionofthetarget.

Radarperformance
Alloftheparametersofthebasicpulsedradarsystemwillaffecttheperformanceinsomeway.Herewefind
specificexamplesandquantifythisdependencewherepossible.

PulseWidth
Thedurationofthepulseandthelengthofthetargetalongtheradialdirectiondeterminethedurationofthe
returnedpulse.Inmostcasesthelengthofthereturnisusuallyverysimilartothetransmittedpulse.Inthe
displayunit,thepulse(intime)willbeconvertedintoapulseindistance.Therangeofvaluesfromtheleading
edgetothetrailingedgewillcreatesomeuncertaintyintherangetothetarget.Takenatfacevalue,theabilityto
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accuratelymeasurerangeisdeterminedbythepulsewidth.
Ifwedesignatetheuncertaintyinmeasuredrangeastherangeresolution,
RRES,thenitmustbeequaltotherangeequivalentofthepulsewidth,namely:
RRES=cPW/2
Now,youmaywonderwhynotjusttaketheleadingedgeofthepulseastherangewhichcanbedeterminedwith
muchfineraccuracy?Theproblemisthatitisvirtuallyimpossibletocreatetheperfectleadingedge.In
practice,theidealpulsewillreallyappearlike:

Tocreateaperfectlyformedpulsewithaverticalleadingedgewouldrequireaninfinitebandwidth.Infactyou
mayequatethebandwidth,b,ofthetransmittertotheminimumpulsewidth,PWby:
PW=1/2b
Giventhisinsight,itisquitereasonabletosaythattherangecanbedeterminednomoreaccuratelythancPW/2
orequivalently
RRES=c/4b
Infact,highresolutionradarisoftenreferredtoaswidebandradarwhichyounowseeasequivalentstatements.
Onetermisreferringtothetimedomainandtheotherthefrequencydomain.Thedurationofthepulsealso
affectstheminimumrangeatwhichtheradarsystemcandetect.Theoutgoingpulsemustphysicallyclearthe
antennabeforethereturncanbeprocessed.Sincethislastsforatimeintervalequaltothepulsewidth,PW,the
minimumdisplayedrangeisthen:
RMIN=cPW/2
TheminimumrangeeffectcanbeseenonaPPIdisplayasasaturatedorblankareaaroundtheorigin.

Increasingthepulsewidthwhilemaintainingtheotherparametersthesamewillalsoaffectthedutycycleand
thereforetheaveragepower.Formanysystems,itisdesirabletokeeptheaveragepowerfixed.ThenthePRF
mustbesimultaneouslychangedwithPWinordertokeeptheproductPWxPRFthesame.Forexample,ifthe
pulsewidthisreducedbyafactorofinordertoimprovetheresolution,thenthePRFisusuallydoubled.
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PulseRepetitionFrequency(PRF)
Thefrequencyofpulsetransmissionaffectsthemaximumrangethatcanbedisplayed.Recallthatthe
synchronizerresetsthetimingclockaseachnewpulseistransmitted.Returnsfromdistanttargetsthatdono
reachthereceiveruntilafterthenextpulsehasbeensentwillnotbedisplayedcorrectly.Sincethetimingclock
hasbeenreset,theywillbedisplayedasiftherangewherelessthanactual.Ifthiswerepossible,thenthe
rangeinformationwouldbeconsideredambiguous.Anoperatorwouldnotknowwhethertherangewerethe
actualrangeorsomegreatervalue.

Themaximumactualrangethatcanbedetectedanddisplayedwithoutambiguity,orthemaximumunambiguous
range,isjusttherangecorrespondingtoatimeintervalequaltothepulserepetitiontime,PRT.Therefore,the
maximumunambiguousrange,
RUNAMB=cPRT/2=c/(2PRF)
Whenaradarisscanning,itisnecessarytocontrolthescanratesothatasufficientnumberofpulseswillbe
transmittedinanyparticulardirectioninordertoguaranteereliabledetection.Iftoofewpulsesareused,thenit
willmoredifficulttodistinguishfalsetargetsfromactualones.Falsetargetsmaybepresentinoneortwopulses
butcertainlynotintenortwentyinarow.Thereforeto
maintainalowfalsedetectionrate,thenumberofpulsestransmittedineachdirectionshouldbekepthigh,
usuallyaboveten.
Forsystemswithhighpulserepetitionrates(frequencies),theradarbeamcanberepositionedmorerapidlyand
thereforescanmorequickly.Conversely,ifthePRFisloweredthescanrateneedstobereduced.Forsimple
scansitiseasytoquantifythenumberofpulsesthatwillbereturnedfromanyparticulartarget.Lettrepresent
thedwelltime,whichisthedurationthatthetargetremainsinthe
radar'sbeamduringeachscan.Thenumberofpulses,N,thatthetargetwillbeexposedtoduringthedwelltime
is:
N=tPRF
Wemayrearrangethisequationtomakearequirementonthedwelltimeforaparticularscan
tmin=Nmin/PRF
Soitiseasytoseethathighpulserepetitionratesrequiresmallerdwelltimes.Foracontinuouscircularscan,for
example,thedwelltimeisrelatedtotherotationrateandthebeamwidth.
t=q/W
whereq=beamwidth[degrees]W=rotationrate[degrees/sec]whichwillgivethedwelltimeinseconds.These
relationshipscanbecombined,givingthefollowingequationfromwhichthemaximumscanratemaybedetermined
foraminimumnumberofpulsesperscan:
WMAX=qPRF/N
RadarFrequency
Finally,thefrequencyoftheradiocarrierwavewillalsohavesomeaffectonhowtheradarbeampropagates.At
thelowfrequencyextremes,radarbeamswillrefractintheatmosphereandcanbecaughtin"ducts"whichresult
inlongranges.Atthehighextreme,theradarbeamwillbehavemuchlikevisiblelightandtravelinverystraight
lines.Veryhighfrequencyradarbeamswillsufferhigh
lossesandarenotsuitableforlongrangesystems.
Thefrequencywillalsoaffectthebeamwidth.Forthesameantennasize,alowfrequencyradarwillhavea
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RadarTheory

largerbeamwidththanahighfrequencyone.Inordertokeepthebeamwidthconstant,alowfrequencyradarwill
needalargeantenna.
TheoreticalMaximumRangeEquation
Aradarreceivercandetectatargetifthereturnisofsufficientstrength.Letusdesignatetheminimumreturn
signalthatcanbedetectedasSmin,whichshouldhaveunitsofWatts,W.Thesizeandabilityofatargetto
reflectradarenergycanbesummarizedintoasingleterm,s ,knownastheradarcrosssection,whichhasunitsof
m2.Ifabsolutelyalloftheincidentradarenergyonthetargetwerereflectedequallyinalldirections,thenthe
radarcrosssectionwouldbeequaltothetarget's
crosssectionalareaasseenbythetransmitter.Inpractice,someenergyisabsorbedandthereflectedenergyisnot
distributedequallyinalldirections.Therefore,theradarcrosssectionisquitedifficulttoestimateandis
normallydeterminedbymeasurement.

Giventhesenewquantitieswecanconstructasimplemodelfortheradarpowerthatreturnstothereceiver:
Pr =PtG1/4pR2s1/4pR2Ae
Thetermsinthisequationhavebeengroupedtoillustratethesequencefromtransmissiontocollection.Hereis
thesequenceindetail:
G=rGdir
ThetransmitterputsoutpeakpowerPtintotheantenna,whichfocusesitintoabeamwithgainG.Thepower
gainissimilartothedirectionalgain,Gdir ,exceptthatitmustalsoincludelossesfromthetransmittertothe
antenna.Theselossesaresummarizedbythesingletermforefficiency,r.Therefore
Theradarenergyspreadsoutuniformlyinalldirections.Thepowerperunitareamustthereforedecreaseasthe
areaincreases.Sincetheenergyisspreadoutoverthesurfaceofaspherethefactorof1/4pR2accountsforthe
reduction.
Theradarenergyiscollectedbythesurfaceofthetargetandreflected.Theradarcrosssectionsaccountsfor
bothoftheseprocesses.
Thereflectedenergyspreadsoutjustlikethetransmittedenergy.
Thereceivingantennacollectstheenergyproportionaltoitseffectivearea,knownastheantenna'saperture,Ae.
Thisalsoincludeslossesinthereceptionprocessuntilthesignalreachesthereceiver.Hencethesubscript"e"
for"effective."Theeffectiveapertureisrelatedtothephysicalaperture,A,bythesameefficiencytermusedin
powergain,giventhesymbolr.Sothat
Ae=rA
Ourcriterionfordetectionissimplythatthereceivedpower,Pr mustexceedtheminimum,Smin.Sincethe
receivedpowerdecreaseswithrange,themaximumdetectionrangewilloccurwhenthereceivedpowerisequal
totheminimum,i.e.Pr =Smin.Ifyousolvefortherange,yougetanequationforthemaximum
theoreticalradarrange:

Perhapsthemostimportantfeatureofthisequationisthefourthrootdependence.Thepracticalimplicationof
thisisthatonemustgreatlyincreasetheoutputpowertogetamodestincreaseinperformance.Forexample,in
ordertodoubletherange,thetransmittedpowerwouldhavetobeincreased16times.Youshouldalsonotethat
theminimumpowerlevelfordetection,Smin,dependsonthenoiselevel.Inpractice,thisquantityconstantlybe
variedinordertoachievetheperfectbalancebetweenhighsensitivitywhichissusceptibletonoiseandlow
sensitivitywhichmaylimittheradar'sabilitytodetect

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