OA79 diode across a telephone speaker, crudest radio receiver. One terminal to long wire, the other to earth.
It receives all available AM frequencies.
Tesla gap, created by Nikola Tesla, against a German radio station that put out 1 MW, water cooled output cable, lit up villages around it.
RF energy up close is dangerous.
The MiG 25 could kill rabbits and ferrets on the runway, the electric generator was 2MW, and 600 kW of RF on the radars, please don't ask for a reference, look it up. They used to power up the radar after take off.
It receives all available AM frequencies.
Tesla gap, created by Nikola Tesla, against a German radio station that put out 1 MW, water cooled output cable, lit up villages around it.
RF energy up close is dangerous.
The MiG 25 could kill rabbits and ferrets on the runway, the electric generator was 2MW, and 600 kW of RF on the radars, please don't ask for a reference, look it up. They used to power up the radar after take off.
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I moved to a rural area growing up and had greatly missed the college radio station, so I took a chance with a rusty tv antenna found on the lot next door and got to work. We had a power pole on our property that was near my bedroom window, and after a trip to the hardware store to get some large spikes, I had the thing up into position, connected to my receiver.
The station in Seattle had only 180 watts in those days, but I was able to (barely) get a stereo signal some 30 miles away after some time tramming things in.
The station in Seattle had only 180 watts in those days, but I was able to (barely) get a stereo signal some 30 miles away after some time tramming things in.
These are pulse/pulse doppler radars. They had very high pulse powers to burn through jamming, but the average power was much, much lower, probably below 100W.
Jan
Radar used vacuum tubes, impervious to electromagnetic pulses released by nuclear bomb explosions.
Pulses would fry regular semiconductors...
It caused some revision in the design of Western aircraft systems.
Pulses would fry regular semiconductors...
It caused some revision in the design of Western aircraft systems.
Also Wiki: "Initially, the interceptor version was equipped with the TL-25 Smerch-A (also referred to as Product 720) radar, a development of the system carried by the earlier Tu-128. While powerful and thus long-ranged and resistant to jamming, the system—due to the age of its design and its intended purpose (tracking and targeting high- and fast-flying US bombers and reconnaissance aircraft)—lacked look-down/shoot-down capability, which limited its effectiveness against low-flying targets. (This is one of the reasons why it was replaced with the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-31, whose Zaslon radar has that capability.) By the time the MiG-25 entered service in 1969, this was a serious shortcoming, as strategic bombing doctrine was shifting towards low-level penetration of enemy territory. After Belenko's defection to Japan exposed this flaw to the West, a government decree issued on 4 November 1976 called for urgent development of a more advanced radar. This resulted in the pulse-Doppler radar Sapphire-25 system fitted to the MiG-25PD variant."
One famous anecdote (maybe it was the same guy) was that "some radar Engineer" found chocolate was melting in his pant pockets while he adjusted some antennas.
He was lucky that menu of the day was Chocolate Fondue and not Roasted Nuts, if you catch my drift 😉
Yes, that's the pulse power. These are pulse doppler radars, they have enormous high pulse power for a very short pulse duration to burn through enemy jamming and stuff like ground clutter.
But they necessarily have low PRF's so the average power for such an airborne radar is orders of magnitude less. For countermeasures purposes you want a very strong short pulse, the maximum you can get out of your equipment. 600kW is pretty good for an airborne radar pulse.
Its a pulse-doppler radar so it can provide both distance and closing speed information.
Check out Wikipedia:
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.
Jan
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