Tuesday 16 June 2015

A Look At The Impact The Monopulse Comparator Has Had On Radar Technology

By Elaine Guthrie


If you are interested in military or aviation technology, you see one piece of equipment mentioned time and time again. Radar (short for Radio Detection And Ranging) is a way of locating objects and telling important information such as the direction in which those objects are traveling, how far away they are from a given point and how fast the object is traveling. The monopulse comparator is an important component of modern radar systems and has done much to make these systems more reliable and accurate.

Police officers routine use radar guns to determine whether vehicles are speeding. The signal will bounce out of a hand held device (known as a gun), bounce off of the targeted vehicle, and return in such a way that the officer can tell how fast that vehicle is going. The officer can then decide whether or not any traffic laws have been broken and whether a vehicle should be ticketed.

Meteorologists have also started using these systems to monitor the weather and create forecasts. They can be very helpful if a severe weather system is expected. Radar can be used to determine how large or severe a storm such as a hurricane or a tornado is. Other types of storms such as blizzards and thunderstorms can also be mapped using these systems.

Radar is also used in marine environments. Ships can use it to detect other vessels that may be occupying the same area of water and can also use it to determine where they are located. This is done by bouncing signals off of known reference points such as buoys or, if close enough, the shoreline as well.

All systems are made up of the same basic components. Frequencies are generated by a transmitter. There are several different types of these, some of which are more suitable for specific uses than others. The frequency is sent to an antenna by a waveguide. Then, the antenna sends out the signal. A duplexer switches the antenna over into receiving mode so the returning radio waves can be interpreted. This is done using a receiver and the operator will see the results on a display processor.

Jamming used to be a significant issue with early systems. While most people think of jamming as an enemy action, this is not always the case. Jamming simply refers to interference from radio waves of the same frequency as a particular radar system. It can obscure objects or give an inaccurate idea of how fast they are traveling or the direction in which they are moving.

A comparator allows for a radar beam to split into multiple segments. Originally the beam was split into two sections although now there are comparators which allow for a beam to be split into four sections instead. When the beams are compared, the slight differences in position between each of the beams allows the radar system to more precisely locate where a particular object it is or how fast it is moving.

There are several different types of these devices. The type that you choose will depend on exactly which kind of radar system you have set up. You can find comparators online although generally only on specialty websites that offer other radar equipment as well.




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