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.
Police officers routine use radar guns to determine whether vehicles are speeding. The signal will bounce out of a hand held device (known as a gun), bounce off of the targeted vehicle, and return in such a way that the officer can tell how fast that vehicle is going. The officer can then decide whether or not any traffic laws have been broken and whether a vehicle should be ticketed.
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.
Radar is also used in marine environments. Ships can use it to detect other vessels that may be occupying the same area of water and can also use it to determine where they are located. This is done by bouncing signals off of known reference points such as buoys or, if close enough, the shoreline as well.
A radar system is made up of a transmitter, waveguide, duplexer, receiver and a display processor. The transmitter generates the radio frequency which will be used to detect objects. There is a waveguide that is used to connect the transmitter with an antenna that will send the radio frequency out into the environment. A duplexer is then used to switch the antenna from transmitting to receiving and the resulting signal is captured by the receiver and displayed on the display processor.
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.
With modern systems, a single beam is emitted that is then split into two sections. They are directed in the same general direction but because they are positioned in slightly different ways it is possible to compare the returning signals to make sure that the results are accurate. A comparator is the device used to combine the signals into the single cohesive image that the radar operator will interpret.
These tend to be very specialized items and may not be commonly available. There are websites that offer different versions of comparators. If you are purchasing this type of item, it is important to read the description carefully and ensure you are purchasing the right kind of comparator.
Police officers routine use radar guns to determine whether vehicles are speeding. The signal will bounce out of a hand held device (known as a gun), bounce off of the targeted vehicle, and return in such a way that the officer can tell how fast that vehicle is going. The officer can then decide whether or not any traffic laws have been broken and whether a vehicle should be ticketed.
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.
Radar is also used in marine environments. Ships can use it to detect other vessels that may be occupying the same area of water and can also use it to determine where they are located. This is done by bouncing signals off of known reference points such as buoys or, if close enough, the shoreline as well.
A radar system is made up of a transmitter, waveguide, duplexer, receiver and a display processor. The transmitter generates the radio frequency which will be used to detect objects. There is a waveguide that is used to connect the transmitter with an antenna that will send the radio frequency out into the environment. A duplexer is then used to switch the antenna from transmitting to receiving and the resulting signal is captured by the receiver and displayed on the display processor.
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.
With modern systems, a single beam is emitted that is then split into two sections. They are directed in the same general direction but because they are positioned in slightly different ways it is possible to compare the returning signals to make sure that the results are accurate. A comparator is the device used to combine the signals into the single cohesive image that the radar operator will interpret.
These tend to be very specialized items and may not be commonly available. There are websites that offer different versions of comparators. If you are purchasing this type of item, it is important to read the description carefully and ensure you are purchasing the right kind of comparator.
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