Author: William E. Lamkin

Publisher:

Published: 1965

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

The design and performance of a multi-level radar storm contour mapper is described. The instrument provides six quantized output signals each of which corresponds to a preselected class of signal intensity or reflectivity. The outputs are coded in a stepped grey scale so that a storm echo is mapped in bands of white, grey, and half grey, interspersed by bands of black; each band corresponds to the selected signal category. The contour coding may be altered so that the contour bands appear dotted or dashed. The system incorporates a wide (80 db) dynamic range receiver to permit mapping of severe storms without saturation, and an alarm to alert the operator in the event the uppermost signal category is exceeded. Resistance-Capacitance (RC) range integration is employed to smooth the highly fluctuating precipitation echoes and provide sharp contour boundaries closely representing the true average signal intensity. The addition of relatively simple integrators to the output lines of each reflectivity class would permit the use of the system for areal rainfall measurements. The system's performance with the FPS-6 height-finder radar and the CPS-9 is illustrated. (Author).