RADAR ANTENNA COMMUNICATION
Abstract :
This paper deals with Terminal Doppler
Weather Radar (TDWR) installed in airports
to provide wind shear detection services and
precipitation reflectivity data to controllers
and supervisors. The TDWR’s narrow beam
and aggressive ground clutter suppression
algorithms provide excellent data on
boundary layer reflectivity and winds in
particular the locations of thunderstorm
outflow boundaries. These data are known to
be essential for providing high resolution
convective weather forecasts out to two
hours. Similarly, its narrow beam could be
useful for detection of severe weather
signatures (e.g., tornado vortices) with small
azimuth extent. Relative to the Weather
Service Radar 88-D (NEXRAD) it scans
rapidly (e.g., surface updates once per
minute), facilitating monitoring of rapidly
evolving low altitude wind shear hazards. It
is typically located near to population centers
and congested airspace, so that it is well
situated for supporting weather services for
operationally important areas.
As the name suggests, the Terminal Doppler
Weather Radar (TDWR) was purposely built
to serve the terminal area of the airport. Its
mission is to detect wind shear and so as to
enhance the safety of aircraft landing and
takeoff. It is located near the airport at a
distance of 12 km so that it has a clear view
of the runways, airport approach and
departure zones.
The TDWR is specially designed to
operate in a high clutter environment
normally present in the vicinity of airports. It
makes use of a variety of methods to
minimize clutter and to eliminate the
influence of such moving targets as birds,
aircrafts.
TDWR ARCHITECTURE Extension Program (SLEP) to improve
supportability and, where appropriate,
The TDWR system was designed and built in
introduce improved capability.
the late 1980’s, and is encountering issues
A simplified block diagram of the
related to parts obsolescence. To ensure that
TDWR is shown in Figure. The RPG
the system continues to be maintainable, the
subsystem, shown in green on the upper left,
FAA has commenced a Service. Life
has recently been re-hosted from a Harris
Nighthawk UNIX system to one based on a
pair of redundant SGI Origin computers. The
next major digital subsystem to be addressed,
and the focus of this paper is the RDA,
which includes the receiver and DSP
subsystems. The existing TDWR DSP
subsystem hardware consists of a mixture of
COTS and custom cards, installed in a single
19” Multibus system chassis. The COTS
boards include a 68020-based single-board
Figure 2. Air Traffic Control Analysis
 UPGRADATION OF RADARS
computer (SBC) and a SCSI and serial
controller. The custom components include WEATHER SERVICE RETIRES LAST

five boards to handle the A/D interface and OF OLD RADAR

timing needs, eight boards to perform clutter

The new radars are more sensitive, which
filtering, and six boards to handle the
means they can detect more
generation of moment’s data.
weather details than the old
ones could. also means they
Air Traffic Control Analysis
can detect wind speeds and
The minimum instruments required
directions, giving a much better
under VFR include an airspeed indicator,
picture of bad weather.
altimeter, and magnetic direction indicator.
Minimum flying conditions in radar- The new radars make extensive use
controlled airspace in transition areas specify of computers, which means
a cloud ceiling about 215 m (700 ft) above they can be programmed to
sound an alarm when weather
ground level and 1.6 km (1 mi) patterns are beginning to
visibility. Other VFR requirements for appear dangerous. With the old
visibility and distance from clouds depend radars, someone had to watch
on altitude and whether operation is in the screen constantly when
controlled or uncontrolled airspace. VFR storms were possible to make
flight is not permitted in all airspaces, and sure nothing important was
terminal control areas sometimes require missed.
positive (radar) air traffic control. Airport
"It took considerable skill to
traffic areas typically encompass a radius of
determine storm intensities from green
8 km (5 mi) and are extended laterally for the
blotches on the radar scope," said Steve
control of instrument-dependent departures
Rich, meteorologist-in-charge of the
and landings. Control zones around airports
Charleston office. "It took even greater skill
extend upwards with no limit.
to tell if a storm had tornado characteristics."
Like the user-friendliness built into much of
today's technology, the new Doppler radars
produce highly accurate storm signatures.
"For the first time in history, we are now
able to broadcast a tornado warning for a
given area before a tornado is formed," Rich
said. "This is a remarkable technological
achievement and has already saved many
lives.”

Figure 3.Doppler Effect

THE DOPPLER EFFECT

DOPPLER RADAR AND KEY

"The observed change in the
frequency of sound or electromagnetic
waves due to the relative motions of the
source and observer."
The Doppler Effect is best described
by the change in pitch of a train’s whistle as
the train passes by your position. The pitch
of the train’s whistle changes because the
frequency/wavelengths of the sound
increases/decreases as the train moves
toward you and decreases/increases as the
train moves away from you. The same
concept applies to meteorological targets.
Doppler radar is able to detect the changes in
frequency/wavelength resulting from storm
motions toward or away from the radar. This
concept is the basis for all velocity products.
FACTORS FOR UNDERSTANDING
WEATHER RADAR
All weather radars send out radio
waves from an antenna. Objects in the air,
such as rain drops, snow crystals, hail stones
or even insects and dust, scatter or reflect
some of the radio waves back to the antenna.
All weather radars, including Nexrad,
electronically convert the reflected radio
waves into pictures showing the location and
intensity of precipitation. Doppler radars also
measure the frequency change in returning
radio waves. other objects that reflected the
radio

Figure 4.Radar Communication

 a better understanding could improve
tornado forecasting. In 1995, scientists used
one Doppler radar, nicknamed Doppler on
Wheels (DOW) because it was mobile,
during the At a distance of less than two
miles from a tornado, the Doppler radar
sends out a beam of radio waves to scan the
tornado's wind field. But, with only one radar
researchers can measure only the speeds of
winds going toward or away from the radar.

more clearly understand what's

happening now and what's likely to happen
in the next hour or two

MOBILE RADAR CHASE TARNADOES

Tornado researchers used two

portable Doppler radars on the Plains this
year to obtain even better pictures of what
happens inside tornadoes. This complete
look at tornado-generated winds should
allow meteorologists to fine tune their
conceptual model of tornado structure. Such
 radar can measure the wind component in the
direction in which the radar beam is
pointing. Lhermitte and Atlas (1961) first
described how a single Doppler radar could
be used to measure vertical profiles of wind
velocity in widespread precipitation; it can
also be used in clear-air.

Figure6. Tornado Detection by the Radar

Figure 6. Measurement of vertical

profiles of wind by the radar

APPLICATIONS OF TERMINAL Front location

DOPPLER WEATHER RADAR
Sharp wind shifts, which are frequently
Wind versus height associated with frontal boundaries, are

Meteorological Doppler radars usually easily identified on the Doppler

generally detect precipitation particles, velocity display. Thus, fronts can be

insects and refractive index gradients. These precisely located and their movement closely

scatterers move with the wind. Thus Doppler monitored on low-level wind shift associated
with a cold front approaching the coast of abilities to understand and forecast severe
Washington state. In this geographic region thunderstorms, blizzards, wind shifts,
accurate frontal locations are rarely known thunderstorm initiation and to monitor
because data is sparse. precipitation accumulations. . It is expected
Radar Sees Rain that as more and more operational Doppler
radars are installed and a large number of
Rain or snow that evaporates as it forecaster’s results will be better its analysis,
falls into a layer of dry air near the earth’s forecasting and warning applications
surface is called virga. While virga can possible with Doppler radar.
happen at any time during the year, it is most
common during winter, when low-level air is References
very dry. As falling precipitation evaporates
it moistens the dry air from the top down. If 1. www.radarmagzine.com
the precipitation lasts, the air becomes moist
enough to block evaporation and the rain or 2. www.google.com/tdw radar
snow reaches the ground.
3. www.radarsystems.com

4. www.ieee.com

Fig 5 Rain Detection by the Radar

CONCLUSION

The early experience of

operational forecasters as the WSR-
88D's are being installed at Weather
Forecast Offices across the U.S is
that they are able to improve their