BASIC THEORY AND

OPERATION OF A
MARINE RADAR
SYSTEM
1.1 FUNDAMENTAL
PRINCIPLES OF RADAR
1.2 SAFE DISTANCE
1.3 RADIATION HAZARD
AND PRECAUTIONS
1.4 CHARACTERISTIC OF
RADAR SETS AND FACTORS
AFFECTING PERFORMANCE
AND ACCURACY WITH
REFERENCE TO DETECTIONS
TARGETS
1.4.1
What is the maximum range of radar?

The maximum radar detection range is; The

variables in the above equation are
constant and radar dependent except
target RCS. Transmit power will be on the
order of 1 mW (0 dBm) and antenna gain
around 100 (20 dB) for an effective radiated
power (ERP) of 100 mW (20 dBm).
1.4.2
WHAT IS PULSE RECURRENCE FREQUENCY?
PRF is normally expressed as the number of
pulses transmitted in 1 s and is therefore
denoted in Hertz or pps (pulses per second).
Typical values for a marine radar are 1000–
3000 pps. The pulse repetition interval (PRI) is
the time interval between pulses. It should
be noted that PRF and PRI effectively refer
to the same feature and are simply related
by the expression PRF=1/PRI.
1.4.3 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MAXIMUM
RANGE AND PULSE RECURRENCE
FREQUENCY The PRF is one of the defining
characteristics of a radar system, which
normally consists of a powerful transmitter
and sensitive receiver connected to the
same antenna. After producing a brief
pulse of radio signal, the transmitter is turned
off in order for the receiver units to hear the
reflections of that signal off distant targets.
Since the radio signal has to travel out to
the target and back again, the required
inter-pulse quiet period is a function of the
radar's desired range. Longer periods are
required for longer range signals, requiring
lower PRFs. Conversely, higher PRFs produce
shorter maximum ranges, but broadcast
more pulses, and thus radio energy, in a
given time. This creates stronger reflections
that make detection easier. Radar systems
must balance these two competing
requirements.
Minimum range of marine radar
Taking all of the above characteristics into
account means that certain constraints are
placed on the radar designer. For example,
a system with a 3 GHz carrier frequency and
a pulse width of 1 µs will have a carrier
period of approximately 333 ps. Each
transmitted pulse will contain about 3000
carrier cycles and the velocity and range
ambiguity values for such a system would
be:
Pulse power and pulse length
In the pulsed radar system, the electromagnetic
waves are emitted from the antenna in short
bursts. That is to say, the waves are interrupted for
a period of time so that the wave can reach a
reflecting target and a portion of the energy can
return to the same antenna before the next burst
of waves is transmitted. If appropriate timing
devices and schemes are employed, it is possible
to determine the distance to the target in suitable
units of measure.
These units are measured in time
increments, but since the waves travel at a
known velocity, we can easily convert the
time measured into distance (range) values.
The drawing below depicts the "pulsed"
waves of a radar system. Note that there is
a single antenna. This figure, while greatly
exaggerated in the time domain, shows
both the "interval" between the wave pulses
and the duration of the pulse itself.
The pulse duration is called the "pulse
length", and is measured in micro-seconds
(one micro-second is one-millionth of a
second). The pulse length is usually called
the PULSE WIDTH in radar systems.
The pulse interval, or the time from the
beginning of one pulse to the beginning of
the next, is determined by the number of
pulses which are transmitted in a given
period of time. In radar, we measure all
time in seconds (or fractions of seconds). As
a result, the equation for measuring the
 One Second
Pulse Repetition Interval =
________________# Of Pulses Per Second
If we were to transmit 1000 pulses in a
second, the interval time from the
beginning of one pulse to the beginning of
the next would be...
 1
Pulse Repetition Interval = ___________
= 0.001 Seconds
(PRI) 1000

The time interval is known as "PRI", and also

frequently called "PRT". The number of
pulses transmitted in one second is called
the "frequency", and is most often referred
to as the "PRF" (pulse repetition frequency).
The effect of the following

 Beamwidth

 Another important factor regarding radar waves must be considered. In

our modern radar systems, we transmit the waves in "beams". This is
illustrated in the drawing below.

 The "beam" of energy is accomplished by using an antenna which focuses the
radar energy onto a parabolic reflector. A common analogy to this is found in
an ordinary flashlight. The polished reflector found in a flashlight has the effect
of directing the light waves in a concentrated "beam". The beam of light may
be directed in any desired direction, so that we might "illuminate" objects with
the bright (powerful) energy radiated from the flashlight. If you direct the
flashlight on a wall, you will see a bright "spot" at the center of the "beam" of
light. It is apparent that most of the light energy is focused in that small area.
 And so it is with a radar "beam". The parabolic antenna reflector has the same
effect on the radio-frequency electro-magnetic waves emitted by the
transmitter. The intent is to focus the energy into a narrow beam so that greater
"illumination" of objects of interest may be accomplished. This greater
"illumination" results in more energy being reflected back to the point of origin.
In the case of the flashlight, you see much more light reflected from the "spot",
and in the case of the radar, a great deal more energy is reflected from the
strongest concentration of waves (the center of the beam).

 In theory, the paraboloid shape of the antenna reflector should result in a

"pencil" beam. However, diffraction at the edges of the antenna dish (related
to the wavelength) cause the beam to become slightly "conical", and results in
a slight spreading of the beam as the energy travels away from the antenna.
This spreading causes a linear variation in the physical width of the beam as the
transmitted pulse progagates away.
 The width of the radar energy "beam" is a critical factor in many of
the calculations which are needed to determine the amount of
energy that is detected in the pulses reflected from weather
"targets". Because the parabolic antenna is unable to focus all of
the wave energy at the exact center of the beam, some of the
transmitted power of the wave is spread away from the center axis
of the beam. At some distance (and angle) from the beam axis,
this power can be found to be half of the power measured at the
axis. This distance, or angle, is said to be a ½-power point. There
are an infinite number of ½-power points located around the center
of the beam. Theoretically, each of these points should contain a
power level which is half of that at the center. Since ½-power may
also be represented by the term -3dB, these points are often
referred to as the -3dB points. The width of the beam, relative to
two of these points located 180 apart, is called the ½ power (or the
-3dB) beamwidth. The beamwidth is expressed as the angle theta (
), as determined by...
71.6 Wavelength
Beamwidth (0 ) = ___________________
Antenna Diameter (d)
...where 0 is in degrees ( o ), and wavelength and antenna diameter are in the same units
(feet, inches, meters, centimeters, etc.). If we use centimeters as our reference wavelength
in the formula, then we also must use centimeters as the antenna diameter (d) in the
formula.

As an example, the WSR-57 antenna is 12 feet (3.657 meters) in diameter, and the
wavelength is (for 2885 MHz) 10.3986 centimeters. Calculating the beamwidth from the
formula would yield...

71.6 * 10.3986
0= ______________ = 2.036o
365.7
It should be noticed that the spreading
doubles as the range doubles. This linear
relationship is true for all radar beamwidths.
 Finally, because of the diffraction of the beam, only about 80% of the
transmitted energy is contained in the -3dB area which we have called the
beamwidth. The same action which causes the widening of the beam also
causes some of the energy (about 20%) to be emitted (in lesser
concentrations) at even wider angles from the antenna. These areas of
energy radiation are called sidelobes. Since the beam is three-
dimensional, so also are the sidelobes, as depicted in the drawing below.
 The drawing above shows one of the bursts of electromagnetic waves which could be emitted
by the radar transmitter. The energy is in the form of high-frequency oscillations, the exact
number of which depend on the transmitter frequency and the pulse width (PW).


 In the WSR-57 radar, using a pulse width of 4 µSeconds, the energy burst contains about 11,540
oscillations of radio-frequency energy. If we display the burst on an oscilloscope, we can only
view the pulse envelope which contains the high-frequency oscillations. In our NWS radars, we
can view the envelope of the radio-frequency burst by connecting a crystal detector and
oscilloscope to one of the waveguide ports in the radar transmitter. We can only calculate the
number of oscillations in the pulse period.

 The action of the pulsed radar energy may be simply depicted in the diagram below. In this
case, our target is meteorological in nature (a thunderstorm).
 For now, we'll not discuss the details of the many variations possible in the nature of radar
"targets". Those subjects (regarding weather radar) will be included in subsequent information
sheets.
Pulse Length And Pulse Repetition
Frequency
 Consider that the operation of the radar is somewhat similar in function to a
machine gun, firing a "spray" of bullets (energy bursts) as the shooter (the
radar antenna) slowly rotates the direction of aim. In both situations, there
is a discrete period of time between "bullets", and there is also a discrete
length associated with the "bullet" as it travels toward the target. Although
the velocities of the two "bullets" are considerably different, there remains a
distinct relationship (functionally) in the patterns of firings. Consider the
drawing below...

Any question?????......