RADAR

NADEEM AHMED
TUNIO
Radar Frequencies
 RADAR

RADAR is an acronym made up of the words: RAdio Detecting And Ranging

The term “RADAR” was officially coined as an acronym by U.S. Navy Lieutenant
Commander Samuel M. Tucker and F. R. Furth in November 1940.
The acronym was by agreement adopted in 1943 by the Allied powers of World War II and
thereafter received general international acceptance. [1]
It refers to electronic equipment that detects the presence of objects by using reflected
electromagnetic energy.

Under some conditions a radar system can measure the direction, height, distance, course
and speed of these objects.

The frequency of electromagnetic energy used for radar is unaffected by darkness and also
penetrates fog and clouds.

This permits radar systems to determine the position of airplanes, ships, or other obstacles
that are invisible to the naked eye because of distance, darkness, or weather.
Working of radar

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Target

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Ref ulse
P
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• Target range =
2
where c = speed of light
t = round trip time
Radar Principle
The electronic principle on which radar operates is very similar to the principle of
sound-wave reflection.
If you shout in the direction of a sound-reflecting object (like a rocky canyon or
cave), you will hear an echo. If you know the speed of sound in air, you can then
estimate the distance and general direction of the object. The time required for an
echo to return can be roughly converted to distance if the speed of sound is known.
Radar uses electromagnetic energy pulses in much the same way, as shown in
Figure 1.
The radio-frequency (rf) energy is transmitted to and reflected from the reflecting
object. A small portion of the reflected energy returns to the radar set. This returned
energy is called an ECHO, just as it is in sound terminology.
Radar sets use the echo to determine the direction and distance of the reflecting
object.
Radar measurement of range, or distance, is made possible because of the properties of
radiated electromagnetic energy.
Reflection of electromagnetic waves
The electromagnetic waves are reflected if they meet an electrically leading surface. If
these reflected waves are received again at the place of their origin, then that means an
obstacle is in the propagation direction.
Electromagnetic energy travels through air at a constant speed, at approximately the
speed of light,
300,000 kilometers per second or
186,000 statute miles per second or
162,000 nautical miles per second.
This constant speed allows the determination of the distance between the reflecting
objects (airplanes, ships or cars) and the radar site by measuring the running time of the
transmitted pulses.
This energy normally travels through space in a straight line, and will vary only slightly
because of atmospheric and weather conditions. By using of special radar antennas this
energy can be focused into a desired direction. Thus the direction (in azimuthand
elevation) of the reflecting objects can be measured.
Altitude and Azimuth
We use altitude and azimuth to describe the location of an object in the sky as viewed
from a particular location at a particular time.
The altitude is the distance an object appears to be above the horizon. The angle is
measured up from the closest point on the horizon.
The azimuth of an object is the angular distance along the horizon to the location of
the object. By convention, azimuth is measured from north towards the east along the
horizon
These principles can basically be implemented in a radar system, and allow the
determination of the distance, the direction and the height of the reflecting object.
Why Radar?
Advantages
Radar has many advantages compared to an attempt of visual observation:
Radar is able to operate day or night, in lightness or darkness over a long range;
Radar is able to operate in all weathers, in fog and rain, it can even penetrate
walls or layers of snow;
Radar has very broad coverage; it is possible to observe the whole hemisphere;
Radar detects and tracks moving objects, a high resolution imaging is possible,
that results in an object recognition;
Radar can operate unmanned, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The figure on next slide shows the operating principle of a primary radar set. The
radar antenna illuminates the target with a microwave signal, which is then reflected
and picked up by a receiving device. The electrical signal picked up by the receiving
antenna is called echo or return. The radar signal is generated by a powerful
transmitter and received by a highly sensitive receiver.
All targets produce a diffuse reflection i.e. it is reflected in a wide number of
directions. The reflected signal is also called scattering. Backscatter is the term
given to reflections in the opposite direction to the incident rays.
Radar signals can be displayed on the traditional plan position indicator (PPI) or
other more advanced radar display systems. A PPI has a rotating vector with the
radar at the origin, which indicates the pointing direction of the antenna and hence
the bearing of targets.
Transmitter
The radar transmitter produces the short duration high-power rf pulses of energy that
are into space by the antenna.
Duplexer
The duplexer alternately switches the antenna between the transmitter and receiver so
that only one antenna need be used. This switching is necessary because the high-
power pulses of the transmitter would destroy the receiver if energy were allowed to
enter the receiver.
Receiver
The receivers amplify and demodulate the received RF-signals. The receiver provides
video signals on the output.
Radar Antenna
The Antenna transfers the transmitter energy to signals in space with the required
distribution and efficiency. This process is applied in an identical way on reception.
Indicator
The indicator should present to the observer a continuous, easily
understandable, graphic picture of the relative position of radar targets.
The radar screen (in this case a PPI-scope) displays the produced from the
echo signals bright blibs. The longer the pulses were delayed by the
runtime, the further away from the center of this radar scope they are
displayed. The direction of the deflection on this screen is that in which the
antenna is currently pointing.
The radar transmits a short radio pulse with very high pulse power. This pulse is
focused in one direction only by the directivity of the antenna, and propagates in
this given direction with the speed of light.
If in this direction is an obstacle, for example an airplane, then a part of the energy
of the pulse is scattered in all directions. A very small portion is also reflected back
to the radar. The radar antenna receives this energy and the radar evaluates the
contained information.
The distance we can measure with a simple oscilloscope. On the oscilloscope
moves synchronously with the transmitted pulse a luminous point and leaves a trail
 The Range

 The “2” is because the measured time is for a round trip to and from the target. To
determine the range, you only want the time to the object, so you take half!
 Types of radars

 Pulse radar
 Continous wave radar
Pulse Radar
 The Radar, which operates with pulse signal is called the Pulse Radar. Pulse
Radars can be classified into the following two types based on the type of the
target it detects.
• Basic Pulse Radar
• Moving Target Indication Radar
Basic Pulse Radar
 The Radar, which operates with pulse signal for detecting stationary targets, is
called the Basic Pulse Radar or simply, Pulse Radar. It uses single Antenna for
both transmitting and receiving signals with the help of Duplexer.
 Antenna will transmit a pulse signal at every clock pulse. The duration between
the two clock pulses should be chosen in such a way that the echo signal
corresponding to the present clock pulse should be received before the next
clock pulse.
Moving Target Indication Radar
 The Radar, which operates with pulse signal for detecting non-stationary
targets, is called Moving Target Indication Radar or simply, MTI Radar. It uses
single Antenna for both transmission and reception of signals with the help of
Duplexer.
 MTI Radar uses the principle of Doppler effect for distinguishing the non-
stationary targets from stationary objects.
Continuous Wave Radar
 The Radar, which operates with continuous signal or wave is called Continuous
Wave Radar. They use Doppler Effect for detecting non-stationary targets.
Continuous Wave Radars can be classified into the following two types.
• Unmodulated Continuous Wave Radar
• Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar

Unmodulated Continuous Wave Radar

 The Radar, which operates with continuous signal (wave) for detecting non-
stationary targets is called Unmodulated Continuous Wave Radar or simply, CW
Radar. It is also called CW Doppler Radar.
 This Radar requires two Antennas. Of these two antennas, one Antenna is used for
transmitting the signal and the other Antenna is used for receiving the signal. It
measures only the speed of the target but not the distance of the target from the
Radar.
Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave Radar
 If CW Doppler Radar uses the Frequency Modulation, then that Radar is
called the Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) Radar or
FMCW Doppler Radar. It is also called Continuous Wave Frequency
Modulated Radar or CWFM Radar.
 This Radar requires two Antennas. Among which, one Antenna is used for
transmitting the signal and the other Antenna is used for receiving the
signal. It measures not only the speed of the target but also the distance of
the target from the Radar.
 Doppler Effect

 that the Doppler effect is the change in frequency that occurs when a source and a
target are in relative motion.
 The Doppler affect can be used in a CW radar in order to determine velocity.
Uses in Society

 Airplanes use radar to avoid collisions and to coordinate

landings
 Operators visually watch the radar outputs and relay the
information to pilots
Uses in Society

 Police officers use radar to detect people who drive over the
speed limit
 Their radar units are compact for easy portability and fast,
accurate use
Uses in Society

 Ground mapping radar is often used in construction settings

 They drag the unit across the ground to determine if there are
any objects or unstable soil where they plan on building
Uses in Society

 The military use radar to detect enemy artillery as well as their

own machinery
 They can show where their vehicles and soldiers are in relation
to enemy machines