Thursday 11 June 2015

How The Monopulse Comparator Has Improved Modern Radar Systems

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.

Anyone who has seen a weather forecast has taken advantage of the information that radar can give us. Meteorologists will use the information given to them by Doppler radar to track changes in weather systems. It can help alert us to the formation of storm fronts which may develop from thunderstorms to tornadoes or hurricanes.

When you are out at sea it can be difficult to determine your location when visibility is poor. Using a radar system will allow a ship to bounce signals off of known reference points. Marine buoys and the shoreline can both be used as reference points for a ship. The same system is also used to scan around the vessel to detect the presence of other vessels. This can help avoid collisions between two or more ships.

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.

In the beginning, the way the signal was generated and processed meant that radar systems were not as reliable or accurate as they are today. They could be jammed easily. This involves directing the same radio frequency at the system in order to give an inaccurate picture of what is going on in the area. With the invention of the monopulse system, this was corrected and new systems are much more accurate.

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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