Radiolocation from born to

modern times
Contents
1. Scientific-technical basic of radiolocation
2. A magnetron
3. A klystron
4. The lined type layout system
5. Radar impulse system
6. The creation of the modern radar system
7. The Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR) and Secondary Surveillance
Radar (SSR)
8. Display
9. Radar performance
10. Phase array antennas
• Radiolocating is the process of finding
the location of something through the use
of radio waves. It is similar to
radionavigation, but radiolocation usually
refers to passively finding a distant object
rather than actively one's own position.
Both are types of radiodetermination.
Radiolocation is also used in Real Time
Locating Systems (RTLS) for tracking
valuable assets.
• Properties of radiowaves for identification different
objects was known in the end of XIX-beginning XX
century, but the condition of the technical
development of that time did not allow us to realize
this ideas in equipment, suitable for practical use.
Intensive growth of military aviation was effective
push for the developing radiolocational methods
identification of air target. Aircrafts of enemy were to
have been earlier detect and on a large distance from
the protection objects.
• Invention of special electrovacuum devices,
magnetron and klystron, determined rapid
advancement of very-high frequency technology.
 A magnetron
•Magnetrons function as self-excited microwave oscillators. Crossed
electron and magnetic fields are used in the magnetron to produce the
high-power output required in radar equipment. These multicavity
devices may be used in radar transmitters as either pulsed or cw
oscillators at frequencies ranging from approximately 600 to
30,000 megahertz. The relatively simple construction has the
disadvantage, that the Magnetron usually can work only on a
constructively fixed frequency.
•Physical construction of a magnetron
The magnetron is classed as a diode because it has no grid. The anode
of a magnetron is fabricated into a cylindrical solid copper block. The
cathode and filament are at the center of the tube and are supported by
the filament (Нить накала) leads. The filament leads are large and rigid
enough to keep the cathode and filament structure fixed in position. The
cathode is indirectly heated and is constructed of a high-emission
material. The 8 up to 20 cylindrical holes around its circumference are
resonant cavities. The cavities control the output frequency. A narrow
slot runs from each cavity into the central portion of the tube dividing
the inner structure into as many segments as there are cavities.
 Cutaway view of a magnetron

Resonant cavities Anode

Cathode

Filament
leads Pickup loop
 A klystron
• A klystron is a specialized linear-beam vacuum
tube (evacuated electron tube). Klystrons are
used as amplifiers at microwave and radio
frequencies to produce both low-power
reference signals for superheterodyne radar
receivers and to produce high-power carrier
waves for communications and the driving force
for modern particle accelerators.
• The pseudo-Greek word klystron comes from
the stem form κλυσ- (klys) of a Greek verb
referring to the action of waves breaking against
a shore, and the end of the word electron.
 Explanation
Klystrons amplify RF signals by converting the kinetic
energy in a DC electron beam into radio frequency power. A
beam of electrons is produced by a thermionic cathode, and
accelerated by high voltage electrodes (typically in the tens of
kilovolts). This beam is then passed through an input cavity. RF
energy is fed into the input cavity at, or near, its natural frequency
to produce a voltage which acts on the electron beam. The
electric field causes the electrons to bunch: electrons that pass
through during an opposing electric field are accelerated and
later electrons are slowed, causing the previously continuous
electron beam to form bunches at the input frequency. To
reinforce the bunching, a klystron may contain additional
"buncher" cavities. The RF current carried by the beam will
produce an RF magnetic field, and this will in turn excite a voltage
across the gap of subsequent resonant cavities. In the output
cavity, the developed RF energy is coupled out. The spent
electron beam, with reduced energy, is captured in a collector.
Two-cavity klystron amplifier
(дворезонаторний)
THE REFLEX KLYSTRON
 The lined type layout system

• Transponding and receiving stations were

installed these types of machines onto
automobiles and places them in a straight
line on ground so that the distance between
them did not exceed 35 km. This type of
alignment of the radio stations formed an
electromagnetic wall. When an aircraft
crossed this wall, goals came up with the
help of interfering direct and reflect signals.
 Radar impulse system

Target
Directional
Generator of antenna
Transponder
impulse of radar

Timer Commutator
“transmition –
reception”

Indicator Receiver of
radar
Radar impulse system
 The creation of the modern radar system
• The principle of the mono-impulse radiolocation developed in the 40’s an RLS was
used in a very good variant in tracking goals. This was a presicely measuring RLS
which assured the accuracy of the tracking angle 0.34’. This result is not easy to
overcome even up till today.
• In the 40’s there was a fast crossing to bigger frequencies, from high frequencies to
very high frequencies and ultra high frequencies.
• The specific feature in the development of the radiolocation devices of the 50’s, was
the return to low frequencies-high frequencies and ultra high frequencies. At first a
powerful clysters energizer was used which changed the architecture of the RLS.
That type of energizer assured more power then a magnetron. It allowed the use of
more complicated signal in compare to the simple impulse sequence. The use of
klystrons allowed a bigger power to the transponding devices in the parallel mode.
• In the 50’s the principle of impulses under pressure for sent radio signals was first
used. The method of pressuring impulses lies in the use of long impulses with an
inner module, which gives the ability to accumulate energy, typical to long impulses,
and also to achieve characteristics typical to short pulses. At this period the
frequency and phase modulation was used. In the period of approbation of the RLS .
• In 50s last century radiolocation systems were began developed on theoretical
scientist fundamental.
• Scientists developed very impotent theoretical conceptions: statistic theory of reveal,
form of signal sound, indeterminate. Idea of matching filter («узгоджувальний
фільтр») was used vary wide (its appered in 1943)
 The Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR)
and Secondary Surveillance Radar(SSR)
There are two types of radar systems installed each ATC
ground station.
• The first, called the Primary Surveillance Radar, operates on
the principle of sending a narrow beam of energy, which is
reflected from the aircraft under surveillance, and measuring its
distance by noting the time lapse between the radar pulse
transmission and its received echo.
• The second, called the Secondary Surveillance Radar,
operates on the coded reply sent from the airborne radio
beacon Transponder in response to an interrogation sent from
the ground station. The PSR and SSR antennas are co-located
and scan synchronized, and both radars are used in
conjunction to develop the total air traffic situation display on a
single CRT radar scope, called the Plan Position Indicator
(PPI).
Display
 Radar performance
• Pulse Width - the duration of the pulse will be
converted into a pulse in distance. The range
of values from the leading edge to the trailing
edge will create some uncertainty in the range
to the target.
The duration of the pulse
also affects the minimum
range at which the radar
system can detect
 Radar Frequency
It have some affect on how the radar beam propagates.
• At the low frequency extremes, radar beams will refract in the
atmosphere and can be caught in "ducts" which result in long ranges.
• At the high extreme, the radar beam will behave much like visible light
and travel in very straight lines.
• Very high frequency radar beams will suffer high losses and are not
suitable for long range systems.
Beam-width
• For the same antenna size, a low frequency radar will have a larger
beam-width than a high frequency one. In order to keep the beam-width
constant, a low frequency radar will need a large antenna.
Maximum Range (Equation)
• A radar receiver can detect a target if the return is of sufficient
strength. Let us designate the minimum return signal that can be
detected as Smin, which should have units of Watts, W. The size and
ability of a target to reflect radar energy can be summarized into a single
term, s, known as the radar cross-section, which has units of m2. If
absolutely all of the incident radar energy on the target were reflected
equally in all directions, then the radar cross section would be equal to
the target's
 Over-the-horizon radar (OTH)
•OTH (sometimes also beyond the horizon, or BTH), is a design concept for radar systems to
allow them to detect targets at very long ranges, typically up to thousands of kilometers. Several
OTH radar systems were deployed starting in the 1950s and 60s as part of early warning radar
systems. The most common method of constructing an OTH radar is the use of ionospheric
reflection. Given certain conditions in the atmosphere, radio signals broadcast up towards the
ionosphere will be reflected back towards the ground. After reflection off the atmosphere, a
small amount of the signal will reflect off the ground back towards the sky, and a small
proportion of that back towards the broadcaster. Only one range of frequencies regularly
exhibits this behaviour: the high frequency (HF) or shortwave part of the spectrum from 3 – 30
MHz. The "correct" frequency to use depends on the current conditions of the atmosphere, so
systems using ionospheric reflection typically employ real-time monitoring of the reception of
backscattered signals to continuously adjust the frequency of the transmitted signal. Given the
losses at each reflection, this "backscatter" signal is extremely small.
•Since the signal reflected from the ground, or sea, will be very large compared to the signal
reflected from a "target", some system needs to be used to distinguish the targets from the
background noise. The easiest way to do this is to use the Doppler effect, which uses frequency
shift created by moving objects to measure their velocity. By filtering out all the backscatter
signal close to the original transmitted frequency, moving targets become visible. This basic
concept is used in almost all modern radars, but in the case of OTH systems it becomes
considerably more complex due to similar effects introduced by movement of the ionosphere
itself.
•The resolution of any radar depends on the width of the beam and the range to the target. For
example a radar with a 1/2 degree beamwidth and a target at 120 km range will show the target
as 1 km wide. Because of the long ranges at which OTH radars are used, the resolution is
typically measured in tens of kilometers. This makes the backscatter system almost useless for
target engagement, although this sort of accuracy is more than adequate for the early warning
role. In order to achieve a beamwidth of 1/2 degree at HF, an antenna array several kilometers
long is required.
Phase array antennas

Corporate fed phased array