Sensitivity Calibration of a Dual-Beam Vertically Pointing FM-CW Radar

Abstract

A method of calibrating a fixed vertically pointing radar is presented. The technique involves the firing of B-B shot of known radar cross section through the beam while making successive trajectory corrections until the absolute maximum signal is attained. The results agree closely with an independent calibration of antenna gain. The approach is particularly suited to an FM-CW radar with high range resolution because the pellets reach heights well in excess of the minimum range and errors in range are negligible. Corrections are presented for the reduction in maximum two-way gain resulting from intersecting beams whose full gain is attained only at the point of intersection. It is also shown that Probert-Jones? k2 factor is significantly smaller for this system, and possibly for others, than the generally accepted value of unity. The method can be readily extended to any sufficiently sensitive pulsed radar by using small elevation angles and direct measurements of range rather than those obtained from the echoes.