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.
Although radar systems were initially used by the military to detect approaching aircraft and other potentially hostile objects these systems are being used in many other ways these days. Motorists are likely familiar with the guns used by police in order to detect speeding vehicles. The signal can bounce off of a vehicle and travel back to the gun in order to give the officer an idea of how quickly a particular car is traveling.
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.
While many people think that these systems can just be used on land, this is not true. Marine radar will bounce signals off of nearby objects. This shows a ship where it is (by detecting the shoreline or marine buoys) or whether there are other ships in the same area.
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.
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.
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.
Although radar systems were initially used by the military to detect approaching aircraft and other potentially hostile objects these systems are being used in many other ways these days. Motorists are likely familiar with the guns used by police in order to detect speeding vehicles. The signal can bounce off of a vehicle and travel back to the gun in order to give the officer an idea of how quickly a particular car is traveling.
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.
While many people think that these systems can just be used on land, this is not true. Marine radar will bounce signals off of nearby objects. This shows a ship where it is (by detecting the shoreline or marine buoys) or whether there are other ships in the same area.
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.
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.
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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