Radar Observer Course
[Link] Ranjan
Topics Question Answer
Radar
Commercial marine radar display. Land areas are
shown in yellow, and vessel tracks are displayed with
green "tails" on the screen
It radiates a narrow vertical fan-shaped beam of microwaves perpendicular to the long axis of the
antenna, horizontally out to the horizon.
With each rotation the beam scans the surrounding surface.
Any ships or obstructions reflect microwaves back to the antenna, displaying on the radar screen.
Basic on Radar
3
Marine radars are X band or S band radars on ships, used to detect other ships and land obstacles, to
provide bearing and distance for collision avoidance and navigation at sea.
They are electronic navigation instruments that use a rotating antenna to sweep a narrow beam of
microwaves around the water surface surrounding the ship to the horizon, detecting targets by microwaves
reflected from them, generating a picture of the ship's surroundings on a display screen.
Radar is a vital navigation component for safety at sea and near the shore.
Navigators need to be able to maneuver their ships within feet in the worst of conditions and to be able to
navigate "blind", when there is no visibility at night or due to bad weather.
In addition to vessel-based marine radars, in port or in harbour, shore-based vessel traffic service radar
systems are used by harbor masters and coast guard to monitor and regulate ship movements in busy
waters.
Basic on Radar
Radars are
4 rarely used alone in a marine setting.
A modern trend is the integration of radar with other navigation displays on a single screen, as it becomes
quite distracting to look at several different screens.
Therefore, displays can often overlay an electronic GPS navigation chart of ship position, and
a sonar display, on the radar display.
This provides a combined view of surroundings, to maneuver the ship.
In commercial ships, radars are integrated into a full suite of marine instruments including chart
plotters, sonar, two-way marine radio, satellite navigation (GNSS) receivers such as the US Global
Positioning System (GPS), and emergency locators (SART).
With digital data buses to exchange data, these devices advanced greatly in the early 21st century.
For example, some have 3D displays that allow navigators to see above, below and all around the ship,
including overlays of satellite imaging.
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5
What is the basic principle of radar?
The basic principle behind radar is simple - extremely short bursts of radio energy (traveling at the speed
of light) are transmitted, reflected off a target and then returned as an echo.
Radar makes use of a phenomenon we have all observed, that of the ECHO PRINCIPLE.
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What is radar system aimed at?
RADAR is an electromagnetic system for the detection and location of target objects such as aircraft, ships,
spacecraft, vehicles, people, and the natural environment which can reflect a signal back. ...
It can be used to detect moving or stationary targets.
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7
What control shall be adjusted in radar?
The brilliance control on an analogue radar (old style) controls the brightness of the rotating trace and will
also affects the brightness of the displayed echo
It needs to be adjusted so that the trace itself is just visible, to give a good contrast between echo and
background.
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8
How do you adjust a radar?
If you want to adjust the radar manually try the following:
Transmit the radar in maximum range.
Set STC (sea clutter) to minimum.
Set FTC (rain clutter) to minimum.
Set the gain control to maximum (the screen should show mostly radar noise)
True and Relative Motion of Radar
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What is the difference between True motion display and Relative motion display?
The relative motion display portrays the motion of a target relative to the motion of the observing ship.
The True motion display portrays the actual or true motions of the target and the observing ship.
A display in which own ship's position can appear at any point on the screen.
All moving targets appear on the screen with true speeds and directions and all fixed objects as stationary
echoes.
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What are
10 the limitations of Radar?
Some of the important limitations of Radar are as follows:
Small vessels, ice, other small floating objects may not be detected by the radar.
Targets in the blind sector and shadow sector of the radar are not displayed.
Limitations of RADAR are:
Range Discrimination:
It is the ability of the RADAR set to clearly distinguish two small targets on the same bearing at slightly
different ranges.
The distance between the two targets is equal to or less than ½ PL .
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Bearing Discrimination:
It is the ability of the radar set to clearly extinguish two targets of the same range and slightly different
bearings.
Factor affecting bearing discrimination : HBW
Minimum Range:
THE PULSE LENGTH : The TR circuit prevents the TX of any signal before receiving it.
Hence, the theoretical minimum range of detection is repeated by half PL in minutes.
A PL of 0.2 micro would have a range of 30 mtrs.
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12
On what factors does the Bearing accuracy depend?
The accuracy of bearing measurement basically depends on how wide the radar beam is.
The bearing is usually taken relative to the ship's course.
So, proper adjustment of the heading marker at installation is an important factor in ensuring
range accuracy.
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What is Radar interference?
As they all use the same allocated frequency spectrum, multiple radars may transmit at the same time and
frequency.
If they also share a common visible path, they will interfere with each other.
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What is the maximum radar warm up time?
120 seconds
Pressing the power switch will activate the radar to standby, however it doesn't come on immediately as
the magnetron needs a few minutes to warm up before it can transmit.
The Radar will have some form of visual signal to count down this wait period, the approved best
standard being within 120 seconds.
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What is minimum detectable signal?
A minimum detectable signal is a signal at the input of a system whose power allows it to be detected over
the background electronic noise of the detector system.
It can alternately be defined as a signal that produces a signal-to-noise ratio of a given value m at the
output.
The minimal measuring range Rmin (“blind range”) is the minimum distance which the target must have to
be detect.
Therein, it is necessary that the transmitting pulse leaves the antenna completely and the radar unit must
switch on the receiver.
• Question Answer
What is16clutter?
Sea clutter refers to the radar returns from a patch of ocean surface.
Accurate modeling of sea clutter and robust detection of low observable targets within sea clutter are
important problems in remote sensing and radar signal processing applications.
When detecting targets radars have to deal with more than receiver noise since they can also receive
echoes from the natural environment such as land ,sea and weather.
These echoes are called clutter since they can "clutter" the radar display.
Sea clutter is produced by reflections from the sea.
It is affected by wave height, wind direction and the antenna height above sea level.
It may extend outward as far as 5 nautical miles.
Rain clutter is produced by reflections from rain, snow or fog.
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Anti Clutter on Radar
What is18the function of the sea clutter control?
It works by reducing the receiver gain for a few microseconds after each pulse is transmitted, then
gradually restores it to its former level.
It works very well, but its use requires care.
Too much sea clutter control will result in the loss of close range targets.
The “anti- Sea Clutter” control reduces sensitivity near the center, in order to remove the clutter,
Does not affect long distance detection.
As you increase the “anti-Sea Clutter” control, the gain suppression moves outwards from the center of
the display.
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What is Sea and ground stabilization?
There are two stabilisation modes on Radar – Ground and sea.
Ground stabilisation means that the display is referenced to the seabed by GNSS or through a twin-axis
Doppler log.
Sea stabilisation mode gives the navigator a better understanding about the aspect and therefore is used in
collision avoidance.
Speed Over the Ground (SOG) is the speed of the vessel relative to the surface of the earth.
In ground stabilization mode true motion display of Radar is used & the Course & Speed is fed from GPS,
hence the fixed objects on the PPI remain stationary.
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In sea stabilization mode relative motion display of radar is used & the Course is from Gyro course and
speed is from log speed.
Speed Through Water (STW) is the speed of the vessel relative to the water.
It is possible for the STW to be zero while the SOG is 5 knots, for example if the boat was drifting in a 5
knot current.
Where true target trails is selected, a sea stabilised display will indicate all targets' motion through the
water.
A ground stabilised display will indicate all targets' motion over the ground.
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What is Performance test in Radar?
Radar Performance test checks the transmission and receiving power of the radar.
For example if the transmission power of the radar is not enough, radar may not be able to paint some of
the target at all.
Or radar may only be able to paint the targets with very less sensitivity (faint echoes).
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How to 22
check Radar performance? What entries are made in Radar Log Book?
Press the performance monitor button.
Plume will appear.
Measure the plume and compare it with the maker's reading at the time of radar installation.
Note down the plume difference, EBL and visual bearing difference, radar status in radar log book.
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What factors affect radar performance?
The performance of a radar system can be judged by the following:
(1) the maximum range at which it can see a target of a specified size,
(2) the accuracy of its measurement of target location in range and angle,
(3) its ability to distinguish one target from another,
(4) its ability to detect the desired target echo ..
Performance Standards of RADAR
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What are IMO Performance Standard for radar?
The radar system should be capable of displaying two point targets on the same bearing, separated by 40 m
in range, as two distinct objects.
The target detection performance of the equipment should not be substantially impaired when own ship is
rolling or pitching up to +/-10°.
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Why S Band Radar is suitable for long range than X band Radar
Different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation have different penetrating and reflection properties.
The wavelength produced by S Band radars is 8 to 15 cm (2 to 4 GHz) and
The wavelength produced by X Band radars is 2.5 to 4 cm (8 to 12 GHz).
Because of the smaller wavelengths produced by X Band radars they use small antennas.
Such antennas can easily fit onto smaller boat, consequently X Band radar is used for marine applications.
Because of the smaller wavelength, the X Band radar is more sensitive and can detect smaller particles.
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Frequency is a fundamental property of any radar instrument since it directly affects measurement
performance in various ways.
When propagating through a medium, radar signals are absorbed and the signal strength decreases.
High-frequency signals suffer more attenuation than low- and mid-frequency signals
The radio waves produced by S Band radars are not easily attenuated,
This gives them greater penetrating power and they are used for "near and far weather observations".
Their penetration capabilities allow them to see through heavy weather.
The size of S Band antennas can exceed 7.6 m (25 ft) in size.
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What is blind sector and shadow sector of radar?
Areas that cannot be scanned by the radar of the vessel because they are shielded by elements of its
superstructure, masts, etc.
A sector on the radarscope in which radar echoes cannot be received because of an obstruction near the
antenna.
A vessel's course might be changed regularly to ensure that any vessel in a blind arc, which may be caused
by a vessel's masts or other structures, could be detected early.
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Blind sectors or shadow effect
Obstructions such as funnels and masts near the radar antenna may obstruct the radar beam and cause radar
shadows or ‘blind sectors’.
If the obstruction is relatively narrow, there will be a reduction of the beam intensity, though not
necessarily a complete cut-off.
However, for wider obstructions there may be a total loss of signal in the shadow area.
There may also be multiple echoes which extend beyond the obstruction.
Blind sector effects can normally be minimized by careful selection of the scanner
site prior to installation.
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Shadow Sector:
A sector on the radarscope in which the appearance of radar echoes is improbable because of an
obstruction near the antenna.
While both blind and shadow sectors have the same basic cause,
Blind sectors generally occur at the larger angles subtended by the obstruction.
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31
What is tuning in radar?
The Tune control is used to tune the receiver in the Radar antenna for maximum target returns on the
display.
The Radar comes from the factory already tuned so this operation is not necessary at first installation.
In general Radar tuning may be necessary if the Radar antenna was serviced.
Automatic Tune.
In Automatic Tune mode, the Radar tunes itself automatically on all range scales.
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What is pulse width in radar?
The pulse width is a measure of the elapsed time between the leading and trailing edges of a single pulse of
energy.
Pulse width is an important measure in radar systems.
Radars transmit pulses of radio frequency energy out of an antenna and then listen for their reflection off
of target objects.
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What is PRF and PRT?
PRF stands for Pulse Repetition Frequency.
It is equal to number of pulses which are transmitted per second.
PRT stands for Pulse Repetition Time.
The time between beginning of one pulse and start of next pulse is known as Pulse Repetition Time.
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34
Does rain affect radar?
Raindrops absorb and scatter radar signals, so less energy reaches the target and even less returns to radar
as an echo.
Hence, precipitation (rain, snow, hail etc.)
Second, there is a returned signal from the rain which 'clutters' the radar return and can mask targets.
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35
How do I increase my radar range?
Doubling the peak power increases the range capabilities by about 25 percent.
The longer the pulse length, the greater is the range capability of the radar because of the greater amount of
energy transmitted.
The pulse repetition rate (PRR) determines the maximum measurable range of the radar.
• Question Answer
What is36called a false echo?
If the target were set too low, noise might exceed it and be mistaken for a target.
This is called the false echo.
Indirect or false echoes are caused by reflection of the main lobe of the radar beam off ship’s
structures such as stacks and kingposts.
When such reflection does occur, the echo will return from a legitimate radar contact to the antenna by the
same indirect path.
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Indirect or false echoes are caused by reflection of the main lobe of the radar beam off ship's structures
such as stacks and kingposts. ...
They appear at the same ranges as the corresponding direct echoes.
When plotted, their movements are usually abnormal.
Their shapes may indicate that they are not direct echoes.
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What is false echo in radar?
• Question Answer
What is39the difference between False echo and Multiple echo?
The multiple echo occurs when a radar beam bounces back and forth between the ship and a relatively
close-in target, i.e. another ship.
A false echo is a type of false pip that appears on the display where there is actually no target at all.
What is second trace echoes radar?
Second-trace echoes (multiple-trace echoes) are echoes received from a contact at an actual range greater
than the radar range setting.
If an echo from a distant target is received after the following pulse has been transmitted, the echo will
appear on the radarscope at the correct bearing but not at the true range.
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40
Does radar need line of sight?
At the frequencies normally used for radar, radio waves usually travel in a straight line.
The waves may be obstructed by weather or shadowing, and interference may come from other aircraft or
from reflections from ground objects
Can radar see through fog?
LiDAR works by bouncing laser beams off surrounding objects and can give a high-resolution 3D picture
on a clear day, but it cannot see in fog, dust, rain or snow.
Radar, which transmits radio waves, can see in all weather, but it captures only a partial picture of the
road scene.
• Question Answer
What factors
41 affect Maximum Range of RADAR?
FREQUENCY. The higher the frequency of a radar (radio) wave, the greater is the attenuation (loss in
power), regardless of weather. ...
PEAK POWER. The peak power of a radar is its useful power. ...
PULSE LENGTH. ...
PULSE REPETITION RATE.
Adjustment of RADAR Control
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Adjustment of RADAR Control
43
Adjustment of RADAR Control
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How Radar is set up for operation /What are method of setting up a Radar?
Visually make sure that the scanner is clear.
Set the four critical adjustment controls –
• Gain,
• Brilliance,
• Anti clutter &
• Anti rain clutter (differentiator) – to off or minimum.
Set the main function switch (Off/Standby/Transmit) to standby.
• Question Answer
W
hat is46gain control on radar?
B. Automatic Gain Control (AGC) AGC is a technique which controls receiver gain automatically as
and when the radar return signal changes in amplitude. The simplest type of AGC adjusts the receiver
gain according to the average level of the received signal.
What does gain mean on an antenna?
Antenna gain is the ability of the antenna to radiate more or less in any direction compared to a
theoretical antenna. If an antenna could be made as a perfect sphere, it would radiate equally in all
directions. Such an antenna is theoretically called an isotropic antenna and does not in fact exist.
Is higher antenna gain better?
When looking at mobile two-way radio coverage, many users jump to the conclusion that the higher the
gain rating is on an antenna, the better the coverage. ... Since an antenna does not make power, increasing
gain in one direction will decrease propagation in another.
• Question Answer
hat is 47
W radar gain?
Figure: Radiated beam width, from Honeywell Radar Training Course, Part 3, Slide 12.
Antenna Gain refers to how much of the energy leaving the antenna is focused into a particular
direction. It is the ratio of the focused intensity to the average intensity.
Higher gain serves to narrow the effective beam width.
In electromagnetics, an antenna's power gain or simply gain is a key performance number which combines
the antenna's directivity and electrical efficiency.
In a transmitting antenna, the gain describes how well the antenna converts input power into radio
waves headed in a specified direction.
• Question Answer
W
hat is48low gain in radar transmission?
Low-gain antennas are often used in spacecraft as a backup to the high-gain antenna, which transmits a
much narrower beam and is therefore susceptible to loss of signal. ...
For long and medium wavelength frequencies, tower arrays are used in most cases as directional antennas.
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49
What is the importance of frequently changing the range scale in your radar?
Range controls the distance the display shows (not how far the signal goes).
You change the range the same way you change charts for scale.
The range rings change scale also and are used for measuring distance.
It is important to always know what scale you are set on.
• Question Answer
DEIONISATION
50 DELAY:
A small delay occurs in the TR cell between the completion of TX & Receiving.
A delay of 0.5 microsecond would increase the minimum range a further by 7.5 mtrs.
THE VBW +THE HEIGHT OF THE SCANNER MAXIMUM RANGE:
Height of the scanner increases the scanner , the increase of range.
Power of the set, marine radar set transmits around 25 to 60 kwt.
Wavelength: 10 CMS have extended range as compared to 3cms
Pulse Reptation Frequency
Pulse Length: Long pulses ensures better maximum ranges than shorter pulses cause , Long pulses have
more wavelength in them.
VBW/HBW: The narrower the beam width the greater the directional concentration, increases the range.
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ANOMALOUS
51 PROPAGATION:
Super refraction causes an increase in maximum detection range. This is caused due to meteorological
factors like temperature inversion.
RANGE ACCURACY:
According to IMO performance standards the error in the range of an object should not be more than 1.5%
of the maximum range scale in use or 70 mts whichever is the greater.
BEARING ACCURACY:
According to the IMO performance standards the object should be measured with ( PLUS & MINUS) +-1
degree of accuracy.
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52
What is Side lobe echoes?
Side lobe artifacts occur where side lobes reflect sound from a strong reflector that is outside of the central
beam, and where the echoes are displayed as if they originated from within the central beam. ...
Side lobe artifacts are echogenic, linear or curvilinear artifacts.
Anti Clutter on Radar
53
What is anti rain clutter in radar?
The Anti-Rain Clutter feature is used to reduce or eliminate massive. numbers of small echoes
that clutter the display during rain or snow. storms.
• Question Answer
What is54Clutter rejection?
Any of a variety of processes or techniques to eliminate the effects of unwanted signals (clutter) in radar
measurements.
Clutter rejection most commonly refers to the filtering of the received signal to reject components that
have specified phase or amplitude characteristics.
What is an example of clutter?
The definition of clutter is a lot of disorganized stuff in one place.
A pile of clothes mixed with toys, photos and books is an example of clutter.
A confused or disordered state or collection; a jumble. ... Clutter is defined as to make things
disorganized.
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55
What is the difference between True motion display and Relative motion display?
The relative motion display portrays the motion of a target relative to the motion of the observing ship.
The True motion display portrays the actual or true motions of the target and the observing ship.
A display in which own ship's position can appear at any point on the screen.
All moving targets appear on the screen with true speeds and directions and all fixed objects as stationary
echoes.
• Question Answer
What is56the difference between Radar and ARPA?
ARPA processes Radar information much more rapidly than conventional Radar but is still subject to
the same limitations.
ARPA data is only as accurate as the data that comes from inputs such as the gyro and speed log.
As required by COLREGS, all ships shall maintain a proper radar lookout if it is available on board to
obtain early warning of risk of collision.
Radar plotting with the use of an EBL and VRM, or the ARPA should be used to get the information of
movement and the risk of collision
• Bearing and distance,
• CPA (closest point of approach),
• TCPA (time of closest point of approach) of other ships in vicinity.
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What is Parallel Indexing in Radar
This technique involves creating a line on the screen that is parallel to the ship's course, but offset to the
left or right by some distance.
Parallel indexing is a technique used as a measure to monitor the progress of a vessel on the track and to
minimise the cross track distance and to keep vessel at a safe distance from the shoreline or rock.
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58
What is interference in Radar?
Interference occurs when unwanted radio frequency energy gets into the radar circuits.
Most interference gets into the radar receiver by the antenna. ...
High power transmitters generate noise well outside their transmitting band and adds to other background
noise.
Can radars interfere with each other?
Radars will not interfere with each other unless both their frequencies are almost exactly the same.
Different types of unwanted signals show up on a radar display in different ways.
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What is PPI displayed?
Pixels per inch (PPI) is the measure of resolution in a digital image or video display.
A pixel is an area of illumination or color on a screen or computer image.
PPI measures the display resolution, or pixel density, of a computer monitor or screen.
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60
[Link] term RADAR stands for:
A. Random detection and re radiation
B. Radio detection and ranging
C. Radio waves dispatching and receiving
D. Radio direction and reflection
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61
[Link] gain of a Radar transmitting antenna is
A. Less than that of Radar receiving antenna
B. Almost equal to that of Radar receiving antenna
C. Slightly higher than that of Radar receiving antenna
D. Much higher than that of radar receiving antenna
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[Link] range primarily depends upon:
A. Peak transmitted power.
B. Average transmitted power.
C. Independent of transmitted power.
D. Distance between ends.
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63
[Link] a Radar transmitter, the function of modulator is:
A. Allow the use of same antenna for transmission and reception
B. Switch the tube Off and On as required.
C. Control pulse repetition frequency (PRF)
D. Increase maximum range of the Radar
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64
[Link] average power of a pulsed Radar transmitter is given by:
A. The product of peak power of the pulse and the duty cycle.
B. Peak power divided by the number of pulses repeated in one second.
C. Peak power divided by the duty cycle.
D. All of the above.
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65
[Link] pulse repetition frequency(PRF) in a Radar will:
A. Increase the range of the Radar.
B. Make week signal discernible.
C. Improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the system.
D. All of the above.
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66
[Link] minimum range of detection by a pulse radar depends on:
A. Pulse width.
B. Average transmitter power.
C. Antenna beam width
D. Duty Cycle.
• Question Answer
67
18.A duplexer is:
A. Signal side band filter.
B. Transmit-receive switch.
C. Balanced mixer.
D. Band Pass Filter
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68
[Link] transmits pulsed electromagnetic energy because:
A. It is easy to measure the direction of the target.
B. It provided measurement of range.
C. It is used to identify the targets nature.
D. It provides target velocity.
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69
[Link] are commonly used as Radar transmitter because:
A. High power can be generated and transmitted.
B. It is easily cooled it is a cumbersome device.
C. Low power can be generated and transmitted.
D. None of the above.
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70
[Link] detection is limited to line-of-sight because:
A. Curvature of the Earth.
B. Ionosphere.
C. Long wavelengths are used.
D. Troposphere
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71
[Link] maximum range of a Radar depends on:
A. Pulse frequency.
B. Pulse duration.
C. Pulse energy.
D. Pulse width
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72
[Link] the factor upon which maximum range of a Radar does not depends:
A. Peak transmitted pulse power.
B. Direction of movement of target.
C. Target area.
D. Capture area of antenna.
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73
[Link] time around echoes are caused by:
A. Second time reflection from target.
B. Echoes returning from targets beyond the cathode ray tube.
C. Echoes that arrive after transmission of the next pulse.
D. Echoes that arrive before transmission of the next pulse.
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74
[Link] range beyond which target appears as second time around echo is known as:
A. Maximum Range.
B. Duty Cycle.
C. Maximum Unambiguous range.
D. Maximum Allowable range.
False and Multiple Echo on Radar
What is75the difference between False echo and Multiple echo?
The multiple echo occurs when a radar beam bounces back and forth between the ship and a relatively
close-in target, i.e. another ship.
A false echo is a type of false pip that appears on the display where there is actually no target at all.
What is second trace echoes radar?
Second-trace echoes (multiple-trace echoes) are echoes received from a contact at an actual range greater
than the radar range setting.
If an echo from a distant target is received after the following pulse has been transmitted, the echo will
appear on the radarscope at the correct bearing but not at the true range.
False Echo on Radar
76
Indirect or false echoes are caused by reflection of the main lobe of the radar beam off ship's structures
such as stacks and kingposts. ...
They appear at the same ranges as the corresponding direct echoes.
When plotted, their movements are usually abnormal.
Their shapes may indicate that they are not direct echoes.
False Echo on Radar
77
False Echo on Radar
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False Echo on Radar
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