Wednesday 10 June 2015

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

By Elaine Guthrie


Fans of military technology may be quite familiar with radar technology. Individuals who enjoy air or marine travel have also benefited from this technology as well. Radar systems have changed quite a bit since the early days and one major change is the switch to a monopulse system. A monopulse comparator is a part of this system that has greatly increased the accuracy of modern systems. Here is what you need to know about these devices and how they have improved radar systems in general.

Radar systems were first developed and used by the military. Various countries found it very helpful to be able to detect approaching objects, find out how fast they were moving and what direction they were moving in. It allowed them to detect potential incoming attacks while paying less attention to non-hostile objects or aircraft. Now these systems are used by many different groups and organizations.

Weather forecasting also uses this type of system. It can track storm fronts, give information on where a storm is or how severe it is, and allows meteorologists to let us know important weather data. It can be used for tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and thunderstorms as well. Many weather broadcasts will display the results of Doppler radar as part of the broadcast so viewers can see the data for themselves.

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.

There are several components that make up a radar system. The signal is generated by a transmitter. This is sent out to an antenna by a waveguide. A duplexer that is connected to the antenna switches the system from sending to receiving and the resulting signal is then captured by a receiver. The information is processed and sent to a display processor so that the radar operator can see a visual picture of what the system has picked up.

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.

Splitting a beam of radio frequency into several portions really improves accuracy. This is because the different sections of the beam can be compared to find out if the result are accurate. A monopulse system can compare up to four different sections of frequency and the operator will get an excellent idea of what is out there and how it is moving.

If you are interested in taking a closer look at these items you will quickly learn that there are different types. Looking online will give you the most comprehensive information on the different variants available although you may find you will need to check out specialized websites in order to view them.




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