RADAR AND NAVIGATION (6045).

NPTEL LINK =>https://nptel.ac.in/courses/108/105/108105154/

Module - I Introduction to Radar

Radar – concept - block diagram – operation – frequency ranges – applications – range equation
derivation (no problems) - Radar performance factors – minimum detectable signal -receiver noise –
Signal to Noise ratio -Radar cross section of targets – transmitter power – pulse repetition frequency –
range ambiguities

Module - 2 Types of Radar

Doppler effect-FM-CW radar with super heterodyne receiver – block diagram -MTI radar with power
amplifier transmitter -delay line cancelers -MTI signal processor -Pulse Doppler Radar -Tracking Radar
-basic block diagram -types -radar displays – A Scope -PPI scope

Module - 3 Radio Navigation

Navigation -methods of navigation - radio direction finder – loop antenna -goniometer -Radio Navigation
systems - ADF/NDB -Radio compass ADF, VHF phase comparison using ADF – Hyperbolic navigation
systems -basic principles -LORAN, omega, DECCA – Radio ranges -VOR – ground equipment -VOR
receiver – Doppler VOR – DME

Module - 4 Approach and landing aids

Instrument landing systems (ILS) – elements – localizer – glide slope – marker beacons – lighting systems
– operation- limitation- microwave landing system (MLS) – operation – advantages – disadvantages –
navigation systems – INS – DNS . Satellite navigation systems – GPS – DGPS – GNSS – COMPASS –
DORIS – GALILEO -IRNSS – QZSS (concept only)

Reference

1. Introduction to radar systems – Merrill I. Skolnik – McGraw Hill

2. Radar systems & radio aids to navigation – Dr. A. K Sen, Dr. A.B. Bhattacharya Khanna Publishers

3. Radar, Sonar and Navigation Engineering – K.K. Sharma – Katson Books

 MODULE -1
Module – I syllabus : Introduction to Radar
Radar – concept - block diagram – operation – frequency ranges – applications – range equation
derivation (no problems) - Radar performance factors – minimum detectable signal -receiver noise –
Signal to Noise ratio -Radar cross section of targets – transmitter power – pulse repetition frequency –
range ambiguities

RADAR BASIC CONCEPTS (Merill.l.Skolnik (1), Radiant (1.2))

• The word RADAR means Radio detection & ranging

• Used for detection & location of aircraft, ships, spacecraft, vehicles etc
• Our eye can see only if light is present but radar even overcomes this shortcoming.
• Distance is determined by measuring the time taken for radar to travel to the target and back. The
direction or angular position of target may be determined from the direction of arrival using
narrow antenna beams.
• If relative motion exists between target and radar , then the sift in the carrier frequency of the
reflected wave (DOPPLER EFFECT) is a measure of the target relative velocity and may be
distinguish moving target from stationary target.

RADAR HISTORY

• Hulsmeyer (german) in 1904 made a patent on obstacle detection. Using this upto 1mile distance
a ship was detected. But german authorities dejected his discovery stating that its merely visible
with even human eye.
• In 1930’s etc CW radars were used . The problem with them is that they can detect the target but
cant calculate its distance. It was possible with pulse radars only which came after 1934.
• 1st used by U.S military prior to 2nd world war (1938) for military purpose. Initially called XAF
system which was used in battle ships. SCR -268 was used in aircrafts.
• In pearl harbor incident the radars detected the plain arrival but since range was small so couldn’t
act immediately.
• It was britishers who came with high power microwave source (MAGNETRON) in 1940 which
was the main bottleneck till 1940. Microwave means high frequency so radar range got easily
extended. Randall & Boot invented it. When Americans got magnetron from britishers then they
started a radiation laboratory at MIT ( known as MIT-RL series)
• Even 5000 km range radars are available.
• In 1950’s KLYSTRON amplifier was invented at Stanford laboratory. It replaced MAGNETRON
because the later was not very stable. Thereafter even MATCHED FILTER was used. It was a
filter which could even detect very weak signals.
FEATURES OF RADAR

• Operates by radiating energy into space & detecting the echo signal reflected from the target
• Extends human eyes capacity under difficult conditions like darkness, heavy rain, fog, snow etc
• Using radar it is possible to detect location, distance, speed & direction of target
• Can work in conditions which are even impervious to optical & infrared sensors

BLOCK DIAGRAM OF RADAR

Main Parts

Duplexer and Antenna

• Single antenna for both transmission & reception. Its usually a gaseous device that
produces a short circuit (arc discharge) at the input to the receiver when the transmitter is
operating, so that high power flows to the antenna and not to the receiver. On reception
the duplexer directs the echo signal to the receiver and not to the transmitter.
• Antennas can be mechanically steered parabolic reflector, mechanically steered planar
arrays, or electronically steered phased arrays. A phased array is a collection of numerous
radiating elements whose signals combine in space to produce a radiating plane wave.
 Using phase shifters at each of the radiating elements an electronically steered phased
array can rapidly change the direction of the antenna beam in space without mechanically
moving the antenna.
• Beamwidth of parabolic antenna is 65λ/D, where D is the dimension f antenna.
• Scan =>Rotation of surveillance radar antenna through 360 degree.
• On transmit the parabolic reflector focuses energy int a narrow beam (like automobile
headlight)

Transmitter

➢ Power Amplifier
• In most amplifiers (except slid state power sources) a modulator turns on/off the
transmitter in synchronization with the input pulse waveform.
• When oscillator is used then it is also turned on/off by a pulse modulator to generate a
pulse waveform
• Power amplifiers like klystron , travelling wave tube , transistor amplifier or high power
oscillators like magnetron acts as transmitter.
• Output of transmitter is delivered to the antenna by a waveguide or other forms of
transmission line.
➢ Waveform generator
• Generates radar signal at low power. This signal acts as the input of power amplifier
➢ Pulser Modulator
• Transmitter is turned on/off by pulser with the help of a periodic pulse

Receiver

Highly sensitive Superheterodyne receiver used. Detected signal is sent to indicator.

➢ RF Amplifier = >Low noise transistor amplifier

➢ Mixer and Local Oscillator => Convert RF signal to IF signal. Sometimes RF stage is omitted
and mixer becomes 1st stage . Such receiver will be less sensitive because of mixer’s higher
noise figure but will have greater dynamic range , less susceptibility to overload and less
vulnerability to electronic interference than a receiver with a low noise 1st stage.
➢ IF Amplifier => Amplifies IF signal. Signal bandwidth of receiver is decided by IF amplifier
stage eg for 1us pulse width the IF Amplifier bandwidth is 1MHz. The IF amplifier is designed
as a matched filter i.e one which maximizes S/N ratio by detecting even weak signal and
attenuating unwanted signal.
➢ 2nd Detector or demodulator => A crystal diode which assist in extracting signal modulation
from the carrier.
➢ Video Amplifier =>IF amplifier+2nd detector+video amplifier => acts as envelope detector to
pass the pulse modulation (envelope) and reject the carrier. In radars that detect the doppler shift
of the echo signal , there the envelope detector is replaced by phase detector.
 ➢ Threshold decision =>At the output of receiver a decision is made whether or not a target is
present. The decision is made on the magnitude of the receiver output. For this a threshold value
is set. There are also CFAR (constant false alarm rate) receivers present which adjust the
threshold values after assessing if external noise is greater than internal noise . A radar gets
multiple echos from a target so the process of adding these is done which is called integration
prior of detection decision.
➢ Signal Processor =>Present before the detection decision. There is also a signal processor prior
to detection decision to pass the desired echo signal and reject the unwanted signal, noise or
clutter. Matched filter , doppler filter etc are signal processors. Doppler filter does the work of
separating moving targets echoes from stationary clutter echoes. It is basically a digital system
and hence an ADC is required.
➢ Indicator => PPI (plan position indicator) is used. PPI maps in polar coordinates the location of
the target in azimuth and range. It was implemented with an intensity modulated CRT. A B-
scope display can also be used but it utilizes a rectangular display which displays range vs angle.
It is more suited for tracking radar rather than surveillance radar. Both the above displays have
limited dynamic range so in specialized applications A-scope displays can be used. It displays
output on y-axis and the range (time delay) on the x-axis.
➢ Timer
• Indicator, transmitter & receiver are synchronized with the timer with the help of
synchronizing signal generated by it.
• It is given to both transmitter & receiver system.

Operation

• Transmitter generates RF pulse which is fed to antenna via duplexer . Antenna radiates it and it
hits the target and is re-radiated back. It is collected by antenna /duplexer then fed to receiver.
The indicator then displays both transmitted and received signals and there by calculates distance,
speed, direction and location of target.
• Range is calculated as, distance = speed x time where time =total time taken/2 and speed is the
speed of light.
• From narrow beamwidth radar antenna points direction (when received signal was of maximum
amplitude ) the angle of direction of target can be found.
• Speed of target =>The frequency shift is proportional to velocity of target relative to radar.
FREQUENCY RANGES (IEEE Std)

Band Designation Nominal Frequency Usage

Range
HF 3-30MHz OTH surveillance
VHF 30-300 MHz Very long range surveillance
UHF 300-1000 MHz Very long range surveillance
L 1-2 GHz Route traffic control
S 2-4 GHz Moderate range surveillance
C 4-8 GHz Airborne weather detection
X 8-12 GHz Missile guidance mapping
Ku 12-18 GHz Satellite altimetry
K 18-27 GHz Water vapor study
Ka 27-40 GHz Airport surveillance
V 40-75 GHz Experimental
W 75-110 GHz Experimental
Mm 110-300 GHz Experimental

APPLICATION OF RADAR

1) Military
• Aiming guns
• Bombing selected target during night
• Assisting fighter aircrafts
2) Remote sensing
• Weather observation
• Planetary observation
• Short range below ground probing
• Mapping of sea ice to route shipping in an efficient manner.
3) Air traffic control
• Safety control air traffic in the vicinity of airport
• Enroute from 1 airport to another
• Terminal Doppler weather radar (monitors weather in the vicinity of airport)
• Air traffic control
4) Law enforcement and highway safety
• Used by police for enforcing speed limit
5) Aircraft safety and Navigation
• Weather avoidance radar tells about hazardous weather conditions
• Terrain following radar tells about high terrain when plane is flying low.
6) Ship Safety
• For collision avoidance
 • Observe navigation buoys when vicinity is poor
• Shore based radars are used for observing harbors and river traffic
7) Space
• Planetary exploration
• Satellite detection & tracking
• To understand nature of meteors
8) Other
• In industry for non contact measurement of speed & distance
• Oil & gas exploration
• Entomologist & ornithologist use radar to study movement of insects and birds.

DERIVATION OF RADAR RANGE EQUATION

Pt is the transmitted power by an isotropic antenna

Power density = Pt/4ПR2

In case of radar the antenna employed is directional antenna and not isotropic antenna so the power
density in a particular direction will be greater than that of isotropic antenna & this is measured by a
term G i.e gain of antenna
power density (max) by directive antenna
G= Power density (max) by lossless isotropic antenna (with same input)

Power density (max) by directive antenna = Gx Pt/4ПR2

Re-radiated power density back at the radar = PtG/4ПR2 x σ/4ПR2 , here σ is the target cross section

Power received by radar = (Incident Power density)x(Effective area of receiving antenna)

= (PtG/4ПR2 x σ/4ПR2) x Ae here Ae =ꝬaA where A is the physical area

and Ꝭ is the antenna aperture efficiency

Maximum range of a radar (Rmax) is the distance beyond which target cannot be detected. It occurs
when the received signal power is minimum, Smin = PtG σ Ae /(4П)2Rmax4

Rmax = [ PtG σ Ae /(4П)2 Smin]1/4---------------------------------------------------(2)

The transmit gain G & effective area Ae are related as

G = 4ПAe/ʎ2 -------------------------------------------------------------(3)

Put (3) in (2)

Rmax = [ Pt(4ПAe/ʎ2) σ Ae /(4П)2 Smin]1/4 = [ PtAe2 σ /4Пʎ2Smin]1/4

If eqn (3) is expressed in terms of Ae (i.e Ae=G.ʎ2/4П and was then substituted in (2) then

Rmax = {[Pt.G.σ(Gʎ2/4П)]/[(4П)2 Smin]}1/4 = [ PtG2ʎ2 σ /(4П)3Smin]1/4

RADAR RANGE PERFORMANCE FACTORS (Radiant 1.6, Photostat 500)

Rmax = [ PtG2ʎ2 σ /(4П)3Smin]1/4

1. Transmitted Power =>Radar range is dependent on transmitted power Pt. When radar range is
to be doubled then transmitter power is to be increased by 16 times as Rmax α Pt1/4
2. Frequency=> Rmax α f1/2 so increase in frequency increases range but when frequency is
increased then beam width becomes narrow which reduces tracking range of radar. So radar
frequency is not increased beyond a value as radar becomes ineffective.
3. Radar Target cross sectional area (σ) =>It is the area of the target as seen by the radar. It is a
characteristic of a particular target and is a measure of its shape, size and composition. It is not a
controllable factor so it cannot be increased to increase the range .
4. Minimum received signal Pr(min) =>The minimum detectable signal at the receiver sets a limit
on the receiver sensitivity. The noise figure of the receiver is a factor that is to be controlled for
obtaining a larger Rmax. Noise figure is given by F=(SI/NI)x(NO/SO) and Rmax 1/F1/4 so
decreasing F increases Rmax
5. Aperture area=> Aperture area is dependent on (diameter of antenna)2 so increasing diameter
will increase range of radar

MINIMUM DETECTABLE SIGNAL (Radiant 1.1.0)

• The weakest signal that the radar receiver can detect is called minimum detectable signal. The
detection is based on establishing a threshold level at the output of the receiver. If the receiver
output exceeds the threshold, a signal is assumed to be present. This is called threshold detection.

• A target is said to be detected if the envelope crosses the threshold. If the signal is large (say A) ,
it is not difficult to decide that a target is present. But consider the 2 signals at B & C, representing
targets of equal amplitude . The noise voltage accompanying the signal at B is large enough so
that the combination of signal plus noise exceeds the threshold.
 • Weak signals like C will not get lost if the threshold is lowered , but lowering the threshold to
very low level will increase the likelihood that noise alone will rise above the threshold . Such an
occurrence is called false alarm
• The signal to noise ratio necessary to provide adequate detection is one of the important
parameters that must be determined in order to compute the minimum detectable signal.

• Although the detection decision is usually based on measurements at the video output, it is easier
to consider maximizing the signal to noise ratio at the output of IF amplifier rather than in the
video (receiver considered linear upto IF amplifier). It will increase video O/P.

RECEIVER NOISE & SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO (Skolnik 33, Radiant 1.11)

• Noise is unwanted electromagnetic energy which interferes with the ability of the receiver to
detect the wanted signal thus limiting the receiver sensitivity.
• One of the important contribution to the noise is by the thermal motion of conduction electrons
in the ohmic portion of the receiver input stage which is called Thermal noise or Johnson
noise .
• Thermal noise = KTBn ,where K is the boltzman constant (1.38x10^-23 J/deg), T is the absolute
temperature (degree kelvin) and Bn is the noise bandwidth (Hz) which is given by
ʃ|H(f)|2df
Bn = ---------------------------------------(1)
f0
with limit 0 to infinity. Here H(f) is the frequency response of IF amplifier and f0 is the
frequency of maximum response.
• Receiver bandwidth is same as the IF amplifier (or matched filter) bandwidth hence here Bn is
nothing but noise bandwidth. Noise figure is one of the figure of merit used to value the noise.
• Noise figure , Fn =(Noise out of practical receiver)/(Noise out of ideal receiver at std temp T0)

Fn = Nout/(KT0BGa) where Ga is the available gain.and is given by-------------(2)

Where Ga = Signal out/ Signal In = Sout/Sin------------------------------------------(3)

Now KT0Bn can be replaced by Nin , Input noise power ---------------------------(4)

• Put (3) & (4) in (2) we get
Fn = Nout/(Nin.( Sout/Sin)) = (Sin/Nin)/( (Sout/Nout))
Nin x[Fnx(Sout/Nout)] =Sin
Sin = [(KT0B).Fn](Sout/Nout)
• Now minimum detectable signal is that value of input signal (Smin) which corresponds to
minimum detectable S/N ratio at output of IF.
Sin=Smin = [(KT0B)Fn](Sout/Nout)min----------------------------------------------(5)
 • Substituting (5) in radar range equation of Rmax = [ PtG σ Ae /(4П)2 Smin]1/4
PtG σAe
Rmax =[(4П)2 KT0BFn(Sout/Nout)min]1/4
PtG σAe
Rmax4 = [(4П)2 KT0BFn(Sout/Nout)min]

RADAR CROSS SECTION OF TARGET (Skolnit 49)

• σ =>Target cross section/Radar cross section =>It’s the property of target showing the magnitude
of echo signal returned to the radar by the target. It is given by
σ = [power radiated towards source/unit solid angle]/[Incident power density/4П
= 4ПR2 |Er|2/ |Ei|2 where Er & Ei are the electric field strength of echo signal back at radar ,
Electric field strength incident on target.
• Real target doesn’t scatter uniformly in all directions. The power scattered towards radar is
calculated by
o Solving maxwell’s equation with proper boundary conditions
o By computer modelling
o From radar equations by using either full size or scaled model of target
• Radar cross section depends on dimension of object w.r.t
o When ʎ > Target Dimension => Scattering falls in Rayleigh region. It is proportional to
4th power of frequency. It is determined by volume of scatter rather than shape eg echo
by rain is calculated by Rayleigh scatter.
o When ʎ <Target Dimension => Scattering falls in Optical region => It is determined by
shape of scatter rather than volume eg For moving targets like aircrafts there occurs
significant changes in cross section when there is change in “f” or “angle” @ which object
is viewed.
o When ʎ = Target Dimension => Scattering falls in Mie or Resonance region => Falls
between above two regions. For many objects the radar cross section is larger in resonance
region than in other 2 regions.
TRANSMITTER POWER (Radiant 1.17)

• The peak Power => It is the power averaged over that carrier frequency cycle which occurs at
the maximum power of the pulse. Its expression can be obtained by rearranging the radar equation
(4П)2 KT0BFn(Sout/Nout)min Rmax4
Pt= [ ]
G σAe
• Average Radar Power Pav => It is defined as the average transmitter power over the pulse
repetition period. If the transmitted waveform is a train of rectangular pulses of width (ꞇ) and
pulse repletion period Tp=1/fp then the average power is related to the peak power by
Pavg =(Pt.ꞇ)/Tp = Pt. ꞇ.fp
• Duty Cycle => The ratio of Pav/pt , ꞇ/Tp or ꞇfp is called duty cycle of the radar. A CW radar has
duty cycle of unity while a pulse radar has duty cycle of 0.001.

PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY (prf) & RADAR AMBIGUITIES

• Pulse repetition frequency is the number of pulses that are transmitted per second.
• The radar systems radiate each pulse at the carrier frequency during transmit time (pulse width),
wait for returning echoes during listening or rest time, and then radiate the next pulse .
• Prf is determined by the maximum unambiguous range (Run) beyond which targets are not
expected i.e fP = 2RUN/C , where c is the speed of light.
• Other than normal desired echoes there are
o Second time around echoes =>Echo signals that arrive at a time later than the pulse
repetition period .
o Multiple time around echoes=>When the echo signals arrive from a distance > 2RUN then
they are called multiple time around echoes.
• They often create problems like error & confusion by masking unambiguous target echoes @
shorter range so pulse repletion frequency is used in radars like pulse doppler radars to overcome
it. Range ambiguities are tolerated in such radars in order to achieve benefits of a high prf when
detecting moving targets in the middle of clutter.
• Consider 3 targets A, B, C where A is within the RUN, RUN<B<2RUN, 2RUN<C<3RUN. Target B is
a 2nd time around echo and target C is multiple time around echo. When A,B,C pulse repetition
intervals are superimposed on A-scope then figure 2 occurs. Here actually only range A is correct
but it cannot be determined that the other 2 are not the apparent ranges.
 • Detection of actual target is then done by changing prf & when it is done so then unambiguous
echo remains at its true range. Here the unambiguous range echos however appear at different
apparent ranges for each prf. The 3rd figure shows how it looks & how it can be detected.
• using multiple frequencies. Let R1 & R2 be apparent range using frequencies f1 & f2 and let
RUN1 and RUN2 be the unambiguous range using f1 and f2 then
• f1 => Rtrue = R1 or (R1+RUN1) or (R1+2RUN1) any of these might be true value so we also use f2
f2=> Rtrue = R2 or (R2+RUN2) or (R2+2RUN2) and among this correct value is the one which is not
changing for both.
• 3 Types of PRF are
o Low PRF =>Mainly used for ranging. Here range is highly unambiguous and doppler is
highly ambiguous eg MTI Radars
o High PRF => Also called pulse doppler . Mainly used for measuring doppler shifts. Here
doppler is highly unambiguous and range is highly ambiguous. Here RF signal can be
unmodulated sinusoid. When ranging is desired then the carrier wave is modulated.
o Medium PRF=>Ambiguous in both range and doppler, but nt severly that true range and
true doppler of multiple targets cannot be found.

ADVANTAGES OF RADAR

• Can penetrate cloud, fog, snow, mist and even insulators & detect the target.
• Gives exact position, velocity & direction of the target .
• Can detect both stationary and moving targets
• Do not require a medium for transportation
• Wireless technology
• Covers wider geographical area
• If area is small then its very fast.
• Has several industrial and civilian applications like detecting speed of vehicles.
LIMITATIONS OF RADAR

• Gets more time to lock on to an object i.e takes time to strike target & come back
• Radar beam range is very wide (50 ft diameter) and not target specific
• Cannot differentiate color of the target
• Cannot distinguish or detect multiple targets
• Cannot resolve targets that are deep in the sea
• Cannot resolve objects that are obstructed by a conducting material
• Cannot resolve the type of the object
• It is not very stable and is subjected to external interference
• Cannot be used beyond ionosphere
• For short distance the resolution of radar is poor compared to the human eye.
 MODULE -2

Module - 2 Syllabus: Types of Radar

Doppler effect-FM-CW radar with super heterodyne receiver – block diagram -MTI radar with power
amplifier transmitter -delay line cancelers -MTI signal processor -Pulse Doppler Radar -Tracking Radar
-basic block diagram -types -radar displays – A Scope -PPI scope

• Clutter => echoes from natural environments like land, sea and weather are called clutters.
Clutter echoes can be many orders of magnitude larger than aircraft echoes.
• The most powerful method for detecting moving targets amidst clutter is by using doppler effect
i.e change in frequency of echo signal due to relative velocity between radar & target.

Basic Radar Types (Merrill.l.skolnik 105)

Radar systems can be broadly classified into 2 categories

• Primary Radar =>It is a system in which a ground based antenna transmits high frequency
signals which are reflected strikes targets and gets reflected. The arisen echoes are received &
evaluated . Unlike secondary radar units a primary radar unit receives its own emitted signals as
an echo again.
• Secondary radar => It is the upgraded form of primary radar. Here it requires an airborne
transponder which responds to the receipt of a pulse from a ground based antenna by transmitting
a return signal. Because the transponder transmits a much stronger signal than that which is
reflected off an aircraft in primary radar systems, greater range and reliability can be achieved .
• Continuous wave (CW)/Doppler radar =>Here a known stable frequency continuous wave
radio energy is transmitted and then received from any reflecting objects. Individual objects are
detected using Doppler effect which causes the received signal to have a different frequency that
the transmission , allowing it to be detected by filtering out the transmitted frequency.
• FM-CW radar => The transmitted signal is constant in amplitude but modulated in frequency.
• Pulse Radar => A train of narrow rectangular shaped pulses modulating a sine wave carrier is
transmitted. Direction, distance & sometimes if necessary the altitude of the target can be
determined from the measured antenna position & propagation time of pulse signal.
• Pulse Doppler Radar => It is a radar system that determines the range to a target using pulse
timing technique, and used the Doppler effect of the returned signal to determine the target objects
velocity. It combines the features of pulse radar and CW radar.
CW RADAR VS PULSE RADAR

Sl.No CW RADAR PULSE RADAR

1 Generally transmits continuous wave signal Generally a train of narrow rectangular shaped
& is generally useful in Doppler radars pulses modulating a sine wave carrier is
transmitted

2 Signal can be either modulated or Signal is modulated

unmodulated
3 Separate antenna used Duplexer antenna used
4 Doesn’t indicate range Indicates range
5 Maximum range is low Maximum range is high
6 Transmitting power is low Transmitting power is high
7 Circuit is simple Circuit is complicated
7 Stationary target doesn’t affects Stationary target affects

Whenever there is any relative motion between radar and target , the shift in carrier frequency (Doppler
shift) of the reflected wave becomes a measure of the targets’s relative velocity and may be used to
distinguish moving targets from stationary targets. They are particularly useful for navigating over land
and sea while navigating through aircraft or ship.

In pulsed radar the range or distance of target is determined by measuring the time T taken by the pulse
to travel to the target and return to the radar station which is given by, R = cT/2 where 2R=> Range (both
sides), C=> Speed of electromagnetic signal, T=> Time taken to cover distance 2R.

Doppler Frequency Shift (Skolnik 105 & radiant 2.1)

• The apparent frequency of electromagnetic or sound waves depends on relative radial motion of
source and observer .
If source & observer move away from each other => Decrease in apparent frequency
If source & observer move towards each other => Increase in apparent frequency
So this change in frequency is called doppler frequency shift (fd).
• If R=> Range to the target then, total number of wavelength λ (in 2 way path) = 2R/ λ
Each wavelength corresponds to a phase change of 2Π radians, so the total phase change is the
Φ = 2Π x (2R/ λ) = 4ΠR/ λ when target is moving then R changes then Φ changes. Now
differentiating w.r.t time gives rate of change of phase i.e angular frequency i.e
wd=dΦ/dt = (4Π/ λ)x(dR/dt) = 4ΠVr/ λ = 2Πfd where Vr = dR/dt is the radial velocity
 • From the figure ϴ = >angle between the targets velocity vector and radial line of sight of target.
Now Vr =Vcos ϴ. From above equation we get fd = 2Vr/ λ = 2ftVr/C where C is the speed of
light. Radial frequency ft = C/ λ

SIMPLE CW DOPPLER RADAR (Skolnikk 107)

• CW radar means continuous wave radar i.e it utilizes a doppler effect & an unmodulated signal
to detect moving target speed & location.
• Its main difference from a pulse radar is that it can receive signal while its transmitting. This
becomes possible because the echo signal is frequency shifted and hence it will get detected even
in the presence of strong transmitted signal. Filtering in frequency domain is later used to separate
these 2 signals.
• In figure the transmitter generates unmodulated signal with frequency ft. Some portion of
transmitted signal (ft) leaks into receiver which is utilized for detection process. Its echo signal
is doppler shifted hence it will be ft+-fd. It is ft+fd => When target is approaching radar else it
is ft-fd.
• The detector multiplies (ft+-fd) with leakage signal ft. The doppler filter allows the difference
frequency to pass & rejects the higher frequencies. The filter characteristics is as shown in figure.
 The lower cutoff frequencies removes ft, and other clutters. The upper cutoff is determined by the
maximum radial velocity of moving targets. The filter passes only doppler frequency fd located
within passband . Here the sign of fd is lost along with direction of motion.

FM CW RADAR (Internet)

• Transmitter signal in a CW radar is not modulated. Therefore it can neither provide range of the
target nor sense which particular cycle of oscillations is being received at any instant. This major
drawback is eliminated by using FM CW radar (eventhough it increases bandwidth).
• It is used in aircraft to find altitude hence also known as airborne altimeter .It also measures the
bearing and elevation angle of a target from the position of the antenna corresponding to
maximum reflected signal. It measures the height of target by multiplying the slant range and
cosine of the angle of elevation of the target. The slant range is determined by determining the
difference of transmitted signal & reflected echo signal.

• Sawtooth generator & frequency modulator => It frequency modulates the CW carrier.
• CW Transmitter Modulator => Thus transmitted signal frequency increases linearly with the
increasing amplitude of the modulating signal. Earth acts as the stationary target w.r.t aircraft.
• Frequency counter => Switched on when the modulating signal has 0 frequency i.e when
transmitted frequency equals fc. This signal frequency is then picked up after its reflection from
the earth and it switches off the counter.
• Indicator => Change in frequency hence the altitude of aircraft displayed here.
• If the target is not stationary then there will be Doppler frequency shift in addition to the frequency
change . This frequency shift provides a measure of the relative velocity of the aircraft. However
the time difference between the transmission and reception of a particular cycle of the signal will
be constant and hence the average frequency difference will also be constant. Therefore accurate
altitude measurement can still be made on the basis of average frequency difference.
• If 2Δf is the range of frequency and T is the modulation period, rate of change of frequency is
given by
 df/dt =2Δf/T/2
If the range is R, the beat frequency corresponding to it is given by
(2R/c)( df/dt) = (2R/c) (4df/T)
Since 1/T=fm, the minimum beat frequency to be detected, fm is given by
fm = 8RΔf(fm)/c
or Rmin = c/8Δf
Rmin expression gives the fixed error in range, in the case of a radio altimeter.

Application

• Generally used for single target

• It is used in aircraft to find altitude hence also known as airborne altimeter
• To find bearing & elevation angle of target

FM-CW SUPER HETERODYNE RECEIVER (Radiant 2.10)

• The effect of flicker are overcome in the normal super heterodyne receiver using an intermediate
frequency high enough to make the flicker noise small compared with the normal receiver noise.
This results from the inverse frequency dependence of flicker noise.
• Receiver operates with a non zero IF.
• Separate antenna is present for transmission and reception.
• Reference signal (local oscillator) =>Derived from a portion of transmitted signal mixed with a
locally generated signal of frequency equal to that of the receiver.
• Mixer => output consists of 2 sidebands on either side of the carrier+higher harmonics
• Sideband Filter => Narrow band filter selects one of the sidebands as the reference signal.
• The improvement in receiver sensitivity with and IF super heterodyne is as much as 30 dB over
the simple zero IF receiver.
MTI RADAR (Skolnik 111, Radiant 2.15)

• MTI means moving target indicator which uses doppler effect to identify moving targets in the
presence of static or permanent echoes. It basically does the job of comparing a set of received
echoes with those received during the previous sweep. Those echoes whose phase has remained
unchanged gets canecelled. Since the moving targets echoes has phase change so they don’t
cancel out.
• Pulse modulator => Turns on & off the amplifier to generate radar pulses.
• Power amplifier => Used as transmitter. The transmitter frequency is the sum of coho (fc) and
stalo (fl) frequency. Usually the power amplifier has high stability and high power. Klystron or
TWT or crossed filed amplifiers or triode or tetrode vaccum tubes r even magnetrons can be used
as power amplifiers. Crossed field amplifiers are usually much noisier compared to other
amplifiers. At UHF and lower frequencies triode , tetrode etc are used but now they have been
largely replaced by solid state transistors. Before klystron discovery magnetron was used.
• Stalo => Stalo means stable local oscillator . Local oscillator of a MTI radar’s superheterodyne
receiver is more stable than the local oscillator for a radar that doesn’t employ doppler.
Combination of coho & stalo is called receiver-exciter portion of MTI radar.
• Coho => Coherent oscillator . It indicates that the reference signal has the same phase as that of
transmitter signal. Coherency with the transmitter is obtained by using the sum of coho & stalo
as input to power amplifier. The method of establishing coherence at the receiver is called
“coherent on receive”. Here the coho frequency is the difference of the transmitter frequency
(fc+fl) and the stalo frequency (fl). A sample of transmitter pulse is used to lock the phase of coho
. This phase locking procedure is repeated with each pulse.
 • Mix (right side) => Does the work of generating the transmitter frequency (i.e fc+fl). Generating
transmitter frequency in this way ensures better stability.
• IF stage => Designed as a matched filter.
• Phase detector => Instead of amplitude detector there is phase detector present. It takes inputs
i.e reference signal from coho and received signal from IF amplifier and produces the difference
of these 2 signals which is the doppler frequency. Output of phase detector is the input of delay
line canceler.
• Delay line canceller => It acts as a high pass filter that separates the doppler shifted echo signal
of moving target from the unwanted echo of stationary clutter. The doppler filter might be single
delay line canceler. The subtractor within delay line canceler compares the delayed and undelayed
signals as shown in the figure (d).

DELAY LINE CANCELLERS (Skolnik 112)

• Delay line cancelers are examples of time domain filter that removes stationary clutter at zero
frequency.

• The term delay line cancelers was orginally applied when analog delay lines were used in the
early MTI radars. Now they have been replaced by digital memories.
• Subtraction of echoes from 2 successive sweeps is done by single delay line canceler.
• A/D converter =>Converts output of MTI receiver i.e Bipolar video input (has +ve & -ve sides)
to digital format.
• Delay => Delay T is achieved by storing the radar output from 1 pulse transmission or sweep in
a digital memory for a time equal to the pulse repetition period so that T=TP=1/fP.
• Subtract => Subtracts 2 successive sweeps. It gives bipolar (digital) video, as the clutter echoes
in the output contains both +ve & -ve amplitudes. It is called video even though it is just series
of digital words rather than an analog video signal.
• Absolute value => It converts bipolar video to unipolar video. Only unipolar video can be used
in an analog display.
• D/A => Converts unipolar digital video to an analog signal because it needs to be display on a
PPI (Plan position indicator)
• Digital signals may be used for automatically making the detection decision and for further data
processing such as automatic tracking and/or target recognition.
• Signal from a target at range R0 at the output of the phase detector can be written as
V1 = k sin (2Πfdt – Φ0 )
where fd is doppler frequency shift, Φ0 = a constant phase equal to 4ΠR0/λ, k = amplitude of
the signal. Signal from previous radar transmission is given by
V2 = k sin (2Πfd(t-Tp) – Φ0 )
here Tp is the pulse repetition interval. The delay line cancelers subtract these 2 signals using
trigonometric identity
sinA – sin B = 2 sin [(A - B)/2]cos [(A+B)/2] so we get
V=V1 – V2 = 2k sin (ΠfdTp) cos [2Πfd(t-T/2) – Φ0]
Here the output of delay line canceler consist of cosine term with an amplitude of “2k sin
(ΠfdTp)” which in tern depends on Tp and fd. Then the frequency response of single delay line
canceler is given by H (f) = 2 sin (ΠfdTp) i.e amplitude of cosine term divided by k. This
frequency spectrum |H(f)| looks like as shown.

Delay line canceler does the work of eliminating clutters but may sometimes encounter blind
speeds i.e clutter sometimes enters passband of filter and gets uncanceled and likewise target
sometimes gets undetected due to it.
MTI SIGNAL PROCESSOR (Skolnikk 138)

• MTI signal processors allows multiple delay line cancellers with tailored frequency response to
be achieved.
• 2 channels namely I-Channel (In phase channel) & Q-Channel (Quadrature phase channel) are
used here. It prevents blind phase i.e a type of loss which occurs when the doppler signal &
sampling occurs at the prf .
• The signal from IF amplifier is split into the 2 channels.
• Phase detector (I-Channel) => Extracts the doppler shifted signal. Here it is represented as .
Adcos (2Πfdt+ Φ0)
• Phase detector (Q-Channel) => Extracts the doppler shifted signal. Here it is represented as
Adsin (2Πfdt+ Φ0)
• Sample & hold & A/D converter (both I & Q channel) => A/D converter digitizes the output
of phase detector. Sometimes a sample and hold circuit is also used ahead of A/D converter for
effective digitization. They are usually present on the same chip as that of A/D converter. A/D
converter like flash type converter do not require sample and hold circuit. The sampling rate is
usually one half the Nyquist rate which makes the A/D converter implementation simpler. The
number of quantization level is given by 2N.
• Digital Memory & Digital Processor => Digital words are stored here for required time delays
and are then processed with a suitable algorithm to provide desired doppler filtering. The I & Q
processor has a square law detector characteristics.
• I2+Q2 => The magnitude of doppler signal is obtained by taking square root of (I2+Q2).
Sometimes for simplicity the sum of magnitude of the 2 channels |I|+|Q| is taken or even the
greater of the magnitude of the two are taken. A linear law detector can be approximated by the
greater of ( |I|+|Q|/2 ) or ( |Q|+|I|/2 ).
 • D/A converter => Converts the digital signal to analog format for display. D/A converters are
generally easier to achieve than A/D converter of the same resolution.
• The A/D converter resolution is a bottleneck in the MTI radar performance. The output of IF
amplifier usually does the limitation actions as per the capability (mainly the full scale range ) of
the A/D converter of the signal processor. IF portion of the receiver is then a linear limiting
amplifier. If limiting action is not carried out then output will get degraded and severe harmonics
gets generated.

Advantages

• Greater stability and repeatability

• Greater precision & reliability
• No special temperature control required
• Greater dynamic range
• Avoids restriction that PRI and delay time must be equal
• Different PRI can be used

PULSE RADAR SYSTEM (Radiant 2.18)

• Duplexer=>It is a switch which connects transmitter or receiver to antenna. It protects receiver

from the high power of transmitter.
• Antenna=>It transmits the signal into air. It is either mechanically steered or electronically
steered. Synchro transmitter keeps track of antenna orientation.
• Transmitter (Output tube) =>Transmitter can be output tube or klystron or TWT or magnetron.
It creates the radio wave to be sent & adds high power to signal
• Modulator=>Does modulation of the signal & forms pulse train.
 • Trigger source (Synchronizer) =>It coordinates the timing for range determination. It sets PRF
& resets timing clock. Signals from the synchronizer are sent simultaneously to the transmitter
which sends a new pulse & to the display which resets the return sweep.
• Receiver=> It is of superheterodyne type. LNA+LO+Mixer+IF+Detector+video amplifier
+display are together called receiver
• Low Noise RF amplifier=>Low noise transistor amplifier or a parametric amplifier or a TWT
amplifier. At low frequencies silicon BJT are used and at high frequencies GaAs FET are used.
• Mixer & Local Oscillator=> Converts RF signal to IF Signal.
• IF amplifier=>Consists of cascade of tuned amplifiers.
• Detector=>Often Schottky barrier diode which extracts pulse modulation from IF amplifier
output is used.
• Video Amplifier => Amplifies detector output.
• Display Unit=>CRT displays the signal

Disadvantage

• Cannot measure velocity of target

• Cannot detect moving targets
• Clutters can cause severe problems
• Not suitable for searching

MTI Vs PULSE DOPPLER RADAR

Sl.No MTI RADAR PULSE DOPPLER RADAR

1 Carrier frequency within pulse is Signals compared with previous return to
compared with a reference signal enhance moving targets
to detect moving targets
2 MTI made by modifying CW radar Pulse doppler radar made by
& pulse radar modification of pulse radar.
3 Design is more challenging Less challenging design
4 Low PRF High PRF
5 Mainly avoids range ambiguities Mainly avoids doppler ambiguities
6 Will have numerous doppler Will have numerous range ambiguities.
ambiguities or blind speeds.
7 Magnetron oscillator used as High power klystron was used as
transmitter transmitter
8 Used mainly in air surveillance in Used in meteorological radars
presence of clutter
9 Utilizes Phase shift Utilizes Frequency shift
10 Can use STC (Sensitivity time Can’t use STC
control)
11 Used analog delay line canceler Used analog filter banks
12 Receives less clutter Receives more clutter
PULSE DOPPLER RADAR (Merill.L.Skolnik 171)

• In MTI radar, there is no range ambiguity but there is doppler ambiguity or blind speed .It
detects moving targets in large clutters if blind speed is tolerated.
• In air borne radar antenna needs to be small so they need to operate at high frequency, but then
blind speed (doppler ambiguity) also increases. When blind speed increases then the available
doppler space also decreases and hence the it can causes loss in the detection of moving targets.
So at higher microwave frequencies MTI technique needs to be replaced.
• Very high PRF makes range ambiguous so a trade off is done and PRF is raised to such a levcl
that the 1st blind speed is eliminated. Such a radar is called pulse doppler radar. Then there is
high PRF pulse doppler radar and medium PRF pulse doppler radar.

• The main difference between simple pulse radar and pulse doppler radar is that in later the
reference signal used at RX is obtained from TX where as in former the reference signal at RX is
from a local oscillator. A CW radar can find range very accurately while a pulse radar can find
velocity very accurately. When we want both the parameters accurately then we may get 1
parameter very accurately and the other parameter in an ambiguous manner. So a CW radar upon
modification becomes MTI radar and a pulse radar upon modification becomes pulse doppler
• Figure shows an airborne radar. It has
o Main beam
o Side lobe energy beam => Illuminates clutter over a wide range of angle.
o Altitude return => reflected from ground directly below
• A train of pulses when used produces a line spectrum. Figure below shows line spectrum of
transmitted spectrum of N rectangular sinewave pulses of carrier frequency f0, & prf fp

• Here the separation between spectral lines =>PRF

TRACKING RADAR ( Merill.L.Skolnik-211, Radar by Byron Edde-332)

• Tracking is the process where by a radar follows the position of 1 or more objects in space,
ignoring the contents of the space not occupied by target . It can predict where it will be in future.

• Radar which detects target and determines its location and predicts its trajectory path is called
tracking radar.
• Antenna => Very narrow beam from antenna will track target 1 at a time. This is done using
gating.
• Gating =>Process of selecting only 1 targets out of available many targets . Usually its range
gating (based on time of arrival of signal) or doppler gating (doppler shift of signal)
• Duplexer => Allows the antenna to transmit as well as receive.
• Angle error demodulator & angle servo=> Angle error signal is given as input to angle servo. It
will steer the antenna accordingly so that error is minimized.
• Types of tracking radar
o Single target tracker (STT)=> Tracks only single target at relatively rapid data rate eg
10 observations per second. Antenna beams follows the target & it tries to keep the error
signal small thus tracking target closely. Closed lop servo systems used.
o Automatic detection and track (ADT) => Can track multiple targets simultaneously.
Uses air surveillance radars. The data rate depends on the time for antenna to make 1
rotation, and is lower than STT.
o Phased array radar tracking => Can track multiple targets simultaneously on a time
sharing basis. It has high data rate & is the basis for air defense weapons like Aegis and
patriot.
o Track while scan (TWS) => Scans a angular sector to maintain tracks , with a moderate
data rate, on more than 1 targets. Used for aircrafts landing radars etc
TYPES OF RADAR DISPLAYS

• Purpose of radar display is to visually present the information contained in the echo signal in a
suitable form for the operator. CRT is universally used for radar displays , which in turn can be
deflection type or Intensity modulated type. In former target is indicated by deflection of electron
beam and in the later type of display the electron beam is indicated by intensifying the electron
beam and presenting a luminous spot on the face of CRT.
• The deflection of beam or appearance of intensity modulated spot on radar display is called blip
(i) A-Scope Displays

o Rectangular display which displays range of the target. It is a deflection modulated

display whose operation is similar to an ordinary CRO.
o Horizontal coordinate => Proportional to Range (or Time since transmit). A beam is
made to scan screen horizontally by applying a linear sawtooth voltage to the horizontal
deflection plates in synchronism with the transmitted pulse.
o Vertical coordinate (linear or log)=>Proportional to receiver output (Target Echo
Amplitude). The demodulated echo signals from the receiver is applied to the vertical
deflection plates so as to cause vertical deflections from the horizontal lines. In the
absence of any echo signal the display is simply a horizontal line.
o It doesn’t shows direction & is commonly used for manually tracking radar (not suitable
for Surveillance radars )
 o The figure above shows the range vs amplitude of the received echo signals.
▪ 1st type blip => Due to transmitted pulse which is deliberately applied to the CRT
for the reference.
▪ 2nd type blip =>Ground clutter (constant amplitude & continuous receiver noise)
▪ 3rd type blip => Grass noise i.e almost constant amplitude & continuous receiver
noise
▪ 4th type blip => Actual targets and are usually large.
o The distance of the blips from the reference blip gives the range of the corresponding
target while the height of each blip gives the strength of the returned echo. Aircraft echo
is smaller than tank echo because its farther than the former.
o It doesn’t give any indication of direction so is more suitable for tracking radar than search
radars.

(ii) PPI (Plan Position Indicator) or P-Scope

o Circular Display (30cm or 40 cm diameter). Long persistence phosphors are used to ensure
that PPI scree does not flicker.
o Intensity modulated display. It indicates both range and azimuth angle of the target
simultaneously in polar coordinates.
o Center => Radar location, Radial coordinate => Range, Target angle (clockwise from top)
=> Azimuth angle
o The demodulated echo signals are applied to the grid of the CRT which is biased slightly
beyond cutoff.
o When blip corresponding to a target occur, then a sawtooth current flows via pair of coils
present on the opposite sides of the neck of the tube. Thus a beam is made to deflect
radially outward from the centre and also continuously around the tube at the same angular
velocity as that of antenna. The brightness spot on the screen indicates the presence of an
object there.
o Offset PPI (or Sector PPI) have radar in an location than the center. The resolution of the
screen depends on the bandwidth of the antenna, pulse width, the transmitter frequency
and diameter of CRT beam.
o Most commonly used search radar.
o Distortion of true map position occurs when used on an aircraft , but it can be corrected
which again makes it costly.
 MODULE -3

Module - 3 syllabus : Radio Navigation

Navigation -methods of navigation - radio direction finder – loop antenna -goniometer -Radio
Navigation systems - ADF/NDB -Radio compass ADF, VHF phase comparison using ADF – Hyperbolic
navigation systems -basic principles -LORAN, omega, DECCA – Radio ranges -VOR – ground equipment
-VOR receiver – Doppler VOR – DME

METHODS OF NAVIGATION

1) Celestial or Astronomical Navigation

• Used by sailors for locating their position accurately on a featureless ocean.
• Based on angular measurements of the horizon w.r.t know celestial bodies like sun,
moon or know stars and planets.
• Basic concept=>At any given instant any particular celestial object like sun , moon etc
will be directly over some geographical position on the earth. By measuring actual angle
to that object and knowing the spot where that object is actually above, your own position
relative to that known spot can be calculated.
• Latitude can be determined by measuring the angle of a known star (eg polaris) above the
northern horizon.
• Advantage=> Free from external aids
• Disadvantages=> Visibility should be good enough
2) Pilotage
• Use of fixed visual references on the ground or sea to guide oneself to a destination.
• Use of compass, maps, nautical chartes, radar , GPS etc is also a form of pilotage
• Eg natural features (hill, lakes etc), man made (sea marks, land marks) etc
3) Dead Reckoning
• Estimate an object’s position based on the distance it travelled in its current direction
from its previous position.
• It is most commonly used navigation which is mainly based on DR i.e deduced
calculation technique.
• The direction of motion (found using magnetic compass) & speed of motion (airspeed
indicator, mechanical log etc) is to be known for dead reckoning.
4) Radio Navigation (Photostat 116)
• Application of radio frequency to determine position on earth.
 • 1st system of radio navigation was the radio direction finder (RDF). A radio station is
tuned then using a directional antenna the direction to the broadcasting antenna.
• It is a system which could be used in all weather and times of day unlike other methods.
• Conventional AM radio stations are used due to their long range but low power radio
beacons can also be used.
• Earlier loop antennas were used and it was rotated by hand but now directional solenoid
are used which is rotated rapidly using motor.

RADIO DIRECTION FINDER (Photostat 117)

• It is a device for determining the direction of the energy flux of an electromagnetic wave.
• A RDF at receiver mainly consists of a directive array , a receiver having good performance
characteristics and a means for coupling the array to the latter. At a transmitting direction finder
the receiver is replaced by a transmitter .
• A RDF work by pointing the directional antenna in various direction sand then listening for the
direction in which signal from a station came strongly.
• Frequencies used => LF/MF, HF and VHF bands.

LOOP ANTENNA (Photostat 108,117)

• Loop antenna is a radiating coil of any cross section of 1 or more turns carrying radio frequency
current. It is interfaced with coaxial cable. Usually used for applications upto 3GHz range.
• It can have any shape like rectangular, triangular, circle etc . consider a rectangular loop antenna
PQRS with length a and width b placed in a vertical plane.
• The loop antenna can be rotated in a vertical axis such that it makes an angle ϴ with the east-west
axis.
 • If a vertically polarized wave gets incident on the loop antenna from east ward direction then it
induces voltage in the vertical member (nothing in horizontal axis)
The voltage induced in PQ & RS => a.v
The voltage induced in either arms are equal in magnitude but opposite in phase.
If the electric field at the centre of loop is => (2vcoswt)1/2
So electric field in arm PQ an RS are
V1=(2av)1/2cos(wt –П/λbcosϴ)
V2=(2av)1/2cos(wt +П/λbcosϴ)
So overall voltage across loop is VL=V1-V2=(2av)1/22sin(Пb/λbcosϴ)sinwt
• The polar diagram of loop antenna is therefore a figure of 8

GONIOMETER (Photostat 121)

• Loop antenna has the disadvantage that

o Loop has to be small enough to be rotated easily (but it causes only small signal pickups)
o Loop antenna needs to be located close to receiver to facilitate manual operation of
rotation
• To overcome these 2 drawbacks we employ 2 such loop antennas at right angle to each other and
combine their output in a device called goniometer.
• Goniometer consists of 2 coils
o Stator or Primary coil => Two fixed loops are connected to 2 stator winding
o Rotor or secondary Coil=>Can be rotated about the axis of symmetry. The voltage induced
in the rotor is taken to the receiver
• Physical proportions are such that the mutual inductance between each primary coil and the
secondary is proportional to the cosine of the angle that the axis of the secondary makes with the
axis of the primary coil involved.
• The rotation of the goniometer secondary is equivalent electrically to rotating the loop
antenna.The rotating coil or search coil is connected through the slip rings and spring contacts so
that it can rotate in any direction.
• The voltage induced in the rotor is maximum when the flux is perpendicular to plane of rotor and
zero when it is parallel to the plane of the rotor
• Direction can be found by 1st making the rotor to null position and taking the direction of the rotor
to the normal to the NS stator coil as the direction of the incoming wave w.r.t north.
• The signal from the rotor can be combined with the signal from the vertical antenna for sense
finding.

• The typical dial of goniometer is as shown . It mainly consists of 3 pointers

o Direction finder pointer => Indicates true bearing
o Sense Pointer=>It is 90 degrees to direction pointer
o Magnetic reciprocal pointer =>It is set according to the local magnetic variation so as to
AUTOMATIC DIRECTION FINDER (Photostat 122)

• An automatic direction finder (ADF) is a marine or aircraft radio-navigation instrument that

automatically and continuously displays the relative bearing from the ship or aircraft to a suitable
radio station. The visual direction finders may be grouped in 2 main classes
o Automatic direction finders (Radio compass) airborne equipment. It is inturn of 2 types
▪ Radio Compass ADF
▪ VHF Phase comparison ADF
o Right left type (Homing) NDB (Non directional beacons) ground equipment
• ADF indicate directly on a 360 degree scale the station bearing. The main elements of ADF
system are as shown below

Radio Phase ADF

• Antenna system => Loop antenna & Electronic goniometer forms antenna system . The Input is
large amplitude local AC signal & a much smaller RF signal. AC supply serves to modulate the
RF center in the loop channel by means of balanced modulator.
• Gonio Motor =>Electronic goniometer rotor is rotated by gonio motor. It is of 2 phase type out
of which one is from oscillator & another from servo amplifier.
• Loop Amplifier => Amplifies incoming RF signals.
• Reference oscillator => Produces signal to modulates the signal obtained from loop antenna. It
is then fed to balanced modulator.
 • Balanced modulator => Produces product of goniometer output & oscillator output at frequency
supplying a reference phase. It produces 2 sidebands . The upper sideband frequency is the sum
of carrier frequency & reference frequency while the lower sideband frequency is the difference
of carrier frequency & reference frequency.
• Sense Antenna => For radio reception without direction finding..
• Antenna coupling unit => The 2 sidebands obtained from balanced modulator are added to the
fixed phase carrier signal collected by sense antenna.
• Superheterodyne receiver =>The resultant signal from antenna coupling unit is detected by
detector unit and amplified by RF amplifier present within the superheterodyne receiver. The
frequency range is between 195 to 1500 kHz. The output of the receiver is directional signal and
indent in some cases voice. Speaker and headphone are used for voice and indent.
• Display => Used for non voice type outputs. It can be relative bearing indicator (RBI) or radio
magnetic indicator (RMI)

Problems

• In case of heavy lighting , interference occurs and erroneous reading shown

• In case of heavy wind storm the aircraft drifts perpendicular to the direction of motion which
causes misleading of homing direction because the radio compass will always point towards
the runway field.

VHF Comparison ADF

• Gonio rotor is coupled to a motor and rotated at 25rps. To the same shaft an AC generator is
attached which gives a 25Hz & voltage of fixed reference phase.
 • Consists of two 25 Hz signals which amplitude modulate 2 audio frequency carrier signals which
are then transmitted to remote points where they are demodulated and the 2 signals are recovered.
• These are then applied to the phase meter which consists of 2 coils mounted on a spindle to
indicate the direction.

NDB

• Non directional beacon

• Ground based transmitter in LF & MF band.

NDB GROUND EQUIPMENT

• Non directional beacon A non-directional (radio) beacon (NDB) is a radio transmitter at a known
location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid.
• NDB signals follow the curvature of the Earth, so they can be received at much greater distances
at lower altitudes
• NDB navigation consists of two parts — the automatic direction finder (ADF) equipment on the
aircraft that detects an NDB's signal, and the NDB transmitter.
• ADF equipment determines the direction or bearing to the NDB station relative to the aircraft by
using a combination of directional and non-directional antennae to sense the direction in which
the combined signal is strongest.

HYPERBOLIC NAVIGATION SYSTEM (HNS)….(Photostat 129)

• HNS is based on the measurement of the difference in the time of reaching of EM waves from 2
or more transmitters to the receiver. This time difference is then converted into distance difference
using the known speed of the waves.
• Both continuous waves or pulse wave scan be used.
 • When you know the difference in your distance from 2 objects , you know you’re on a curved
line defined by that difference . By definition a hyperbolic curve is formed by joining all points
that are the same difference in distance between 2 points.
• In figure M,X are a pair of transmitters which are joined horizontally by the line known as
baseline. The perpendicular bisector of this baseline is known as centerline. All other lines are
hyperbolic curves.
• When you didn’t get the signals from M & X simultaneously => you will be on any of the
hyperbolic curves eg if you received signal from X say 50 us before M then you will be on line
CD. If 150 seconds before then on line EF.
• The reading obtained from 1pair of transmitters gives a single LOP –the specific curve . To get a
fix, measurement of time difference from a 2nd pair is necessary. The intersection of 2 curves
gives the exact position.
• 4 types of HNS are
o LORAN
o DECCA
o Consol
o Omega

LORAN (Photostat 109, Radiant 3.16)

• Long range navigation (LORAN) is a hyperbolic radio based navigational aid. It is a pulsed
system which has phenomenal accuracy because it uses radio signals which travel at a constant
speed
• Use => To guide ships and planes with greater accuracy from 1 point to another along a desired
path
• Principle => Measurement of difference in time of arrival of radio signals from 2 synchronized
transmitters to the receiver .
• Working => The locus of points which have a constant value of difference in time of arrival of
radio signals is a hyperbola on a plane surface. Here the pulses from near by sites arrive earlier
than pulses from distant transmitters since radio signals travel at a constant speed. Each LORAN
transmitters sends out a continuous succession of sharp radio pulses. At least 3 LORAN signals
are needed to calculate latitude and longitude. LORAN radio signals travel a distance of almost
exactly 300m (984ft) a microsecond. If LORAN receiver gets radio signals from 2 transmitters
transmitted at same time then its equidistant from 2 transmitters otherwise the difference between
reception of 2 signals has information about the distance to 2 transmitters .
• On each hyperbola the difference of the distance between A and B is a constant. The constant
value will be different for different hyperbolas. So when the receiver (say P) gets the time
difference of radio signals from A & B then he can find the corresponding distance difference so
from that he can conclude on which hyperbola he stands.
• If we consider a third station C (slave station) that is synchronized with A and B, then the
determination of delays between the reception of signals from A & B and also between those from
B and C would locate the craft on 2 hyperbolae (at the receiver P). The intersection of 2
hyperbolae gives the fix.
• The Slave station is located usually at a distance of 325-625 km from slave Master station and
both are synchronized using ground wave propagation.
• Types of LORAN
o LORAN A (2MHz)=>Frequency just above std AM broadcast. Its peak power is 200kW
o LORAN B=> Frequency just above std AM broadcast
o LORAN C (90-110 kHz)=> Frequency just below std AM broadcast. Its very much
reliable for long distance communication than other 2 types. Allows a range of 2200km
over land and 3500 km over sea. Its peak power is 1MW
 • LORAN C produces 9 pulses for Master & 8 pulses for slave station . Here each pulse is shown
as a line . Here TX, TY and TZ are the slave time delays from 1st pulse of Master station. 9th pulse
of master is used to detect the malfunctioning of any station.

OMEGA

• 1ST truly global navigational system for aircraft, operated by united states in cooperation with
6 partner nations.
• Uses continuous waves of very low frequencies in the 10kHz range. Since low frequency used
so coverage is increased. Here waves are propagated between earth and D-layer of ionosphere.
• 8 stations over the whole world gives global coverage.
• Each station transmits a signal precisely controlled in time and frequency which is derived from
cesium atomic clock. Three frequencies 10.2kHz, 13.6kHz and 11/3 kHz are transmitted (1 sec
each and the sequence is repeated every 10 seconds)
• At any time instant only 1 station transmits any of given 3 frequencies while in other time slots it
transmits a characteristics frequency indicated by f1,f2 etc
• Each omega station can be paired with any other omega station.
• The receivers are equipped with fly wheel oscillators which lock on the phase of received signal
and thus remember the phase of the signal till next transmission at that frequency.
• At any time the phase of received signal at these frequencies is available and the measurement f
phase difference between the signal can be made.
• Omega system has relatively less accuracy.

Sl.No LORAN OMEGA

1 Long range navigation
2 Frequency is in mega hertz range Frequency is in kilo hertz range
3 Long distance communication Global coverage
4 Pulse signal used Continuous signals used
5 Good accuracy Less accuracy
6 Consists of 2 or 3 stations Consists of 8 stations
7

DECCA (Radiant 3.14)

• Operates in LF band between 70 to 120kHz & uses unmodulated continuous waves.

• Here the fix is obtained by measuring the phase difference between the signals of the 2 stations
which is phase locked.
• It consists of 4 stations i.e 1 master and 3 slaves.
• Master station => located at center and Slave station => at the corners of a triangle
• The arrangement gives the 3 sets of hyperbolic position lines, 1 set corresponding to the master
and each slave.
• Fix is obtained over a considerable area by the intersection of 2 hyperbolic lines.
• Here each transmitter has different frequency so its easily differentiated by receiver.
• Generally harmonically related frequencies radiated by each transmitters and phase
measurements done at common harmonic frequency which is obtained at the receiver by using
multiplying circuits.
• Slave stations are distinguished by the colours which are used on the charts for the hyperbolic
lines which they generate with the master station
Master Station Slave Common Harmonic
6f 8f (Red) 24f
6f 5f (purple) 30f
6f 9f (Green) 18f
 • Decca navigation is a low frequency hyperbolic navigation system that compares the phase
difference of radio signals emitted by several radio stations.
• Application=>aeromagnetic surveying (used before GPS arrival) over water & ice where visual
path recovery methods were not reliable.
• Receivers identified on which hyperbola they were on and a position could be plotted at the
intersection of the hyperbola from different patterns usually by using the pair with the angle of
cut closest to orthogonal possible.

Principle of operation

• The master signal from master stations were used by slaves to derive the signal frequency and
timing sequences. Loss of master disables system while loss of slave decreases accuracy of
system.
• DECCA operates by measuring the phase difference between master and slave continuous signals.
• When 2 stations transmit at the same phase locked frequency the difference in phase between the
2 signals is constant along a hyperbolic path.
• No 2 stations must transmit at same frequency because then receiver wont be able to differentiate
the 2 stations so each station in the chain transmits at a harmonic of a base frequency.

• The interval between 2 adjacent hyperbolas on which the signals are in phase was called a lane.
Since the wavelength of the common frequency was small compared with the distance between
master and slave stations there were many possible lines of position for a given phase difference
and so a unique position could not be arrived at this method.

RADIO RANGES (photostat)

• Radio ranges are navigational aids and it is specifically used by aircraft (Air Navigation). Three
types of radio ranges are
o Low frequency four curse radio range (200-400 kHz)
o VHF omni directional radio range (VOR)
o Doppler VOR
LOW/MEDIUM FREQUENCY RADIO RANGE (Photostat 124)

• An on-course is used to guide the aircraft. It interlocks with the surrounding stations to form easily
followed airways. The frequency range is usually 200kHz to 400kHz.
• When 2 vertical antenna towers are properly fed with radio frequency energy they produce a
figure 8 radiation pattern . The superposition of two figure 8 directional antenna at right angles
produces the on course signal.

• Maximum signals are radiated in the direction OA,OB while minimum signal is radiated in the
direction OC and OD(See fig 1).
• When 2 pairs of vertical towers are placed in a square pattern (see fig 2) the result will be two
figure 8 pattern available at right angles to each other (see fig 3 & 4). The main features of it are
o Code signal A is transmitted over diagonally opposite pair of towers and
o Code signal N is transmitted over other pair of diagonally opposite towers
o So 4 signal zones called sectors are formed. 2 carry signal A and other 2 carry signal N.
 o Between 4 sectors there occurs 4 regions of overlapping where both signals (A & N) are
present.
o In the N section N is clearly heard & in the A section A is clearly heard
o In AN region both signals are so keyed that both blend together to give a continuous tone
called “on-course” signal.
• As long as the aircraft flies in the direction of on course signal lanes the pilot will hear the
continuous tone and when he deviates he will start loosing the same. In figure 3 & 4 , four on
course signals are present.
• The A & N transmissions are frequently interrupted by a 3 letter call signal identifying the station
from which the transmission originates.
• Cone of silence =>directly above radio range station on signal is heard and that region is called
cone of silence.
• Receiving radio range signal => Any receiver which can be tuned to 200-400kHz range can
receive the same. To get visual indication “compass” is needed to indicate the course and a left
right indicator which shows whether the station is to left or right of the aircraft.

VHF OMNI DIRECTIONAL RANGE (VOR)-Radiant 3.26

• VOR is a type of short-range radio navigation system for aircraft, enabling aircraft with a
receiving unit to determine its position and stay on course by receiving radio signals transmitted
by a network of fixed ground radio beacons.
• Works in VHF range (108-136 MHz)
• In Low/Medium frequency radio range there are only 4 courses but here any direction is possible
hence the name omni-directional.
• Use=> To get radial position of aircraft w.r.t range.
• How?
o 2 sinusoids from radio range stations are compared to determine position.
o VOR transmitter transmits 3 signals (voice channel in morse code to identify station,
continuous signal in all direction, & lastly signal rotated at 30RPM )
o The bearing determined from rotating signal peak or null.
o The phase of received signal is compared with that signal rotated omni directionally to get
angle.
o VOR requires 2 receivers +conventional radio to identify station.
• z

DOPPLER VOR (DVOR) - (VOR)-Radiant 3.27

Module - 4 Approach and landing aids

Instrument landing systems (ILS) – elements – localizer – glide slope – marker beacons – lighting systems
– operation- limitation- microwave landing system (MLS) – operation – advantages – disadvantages –
navigation systems – INS – DNS . Satellite navigation systems – GPS – DGPS – GNSS – COMPASS –
DORIS – GALILEO -IRNSS – QZSS (concept only)

INSTRUMENT LANDING SYSTEMS (Radiant 4.2)

Main parts of ILS are

1. Localizer
• Informs the pilot about the airplane’s horizontal position w.r.t runway center line. It
broadcasts from beyond the far end of the runway center line. Frequency=>108 to 111.95
MHz with channel width 50kHz.
2. Glide Slope
• Informs the pilot about the airplane’s vertical position . It is broadcasted from side of the
runway center line. Frequency=>329.15 to 335 MHz with channel width 150 kHz.
3. Outer Marker
• 4 to 7 nautical miles before runway. Frequency => 400Hz tone signal transmitted on
75MHz frequency. When aircraft is above the outer marker region then the blue marker
light within cockpit starts blinking.
4. Middle Marker
• 0.5 to 0.8 nautical miles before runway. Frequency => 400Hz tone signal transmitted on
75MHz frequency. When aircraft is above the middle marker region then the amber
middle marker light within cockpit starts blinking.
5. Inner Marker
• Located at the beginning of the runway. Frequency => 3 kHz. When aircraft reaches the
inner marker region then white light within starts blinking.
6. Approach Lights
• Medium or High intensity approach light systems used.

LOCALIZER (radiant 4.5)

• Localizer broadcasts in the frequency range 108 MHz to 111.95 MHz (only odd frequencies).
• Horizontally polarized antenna used. It produces 2 modulated signals beyond the far end of the
runway. They produce an expanding field 21.2 degree wide (1500 ft) , 5 miles from the runway.

• Left side of approaching area => carrier wave modulated with 90Hz signal produced
• Right side of approaching area => 150 MHz modulated signal produced
• Aircraft VOR receiver is tuned to localizer circuitry.
• The signal received is passed through filters and rectified into DC to drive the course deviation
indicator.
 o If 150 Hz signal obtained then course deflection indicator (CDI) indicates that the runway
is towards left. So the pilot must correct the course.
o If 90 Hz signal obtained then course deflection indicator (CDI) indicates that the runway
is towards right. So the pilot must correct the course.

GLIDE SLOPE (Radiant 4.6)

• Purpose =>To provide vertical guidance required for an aircraft to descend for landing.
• The descending of aircraft occurs at an angle of 3 degree approximately.
• Glide scope antenna is located to the side of the approach runway approximately 1000 feet from
the threshold. It transmits in a wedge like pattern with the field narrowing as it approaches the
runway.
• Glide scope transmitter antenna is horizontally polarized.

• The transmitting frequency range => 329.3 MHz and 335 MHz (UHF). This frequency is paired
to the localizer frequency of ILS. When the VOR/ILS receiver is tuned for the approach, the glide
slope receiver is automatically tuned.
• Like localizer glide slope also transmits 2 signals
o One signal modulated at 90 Hz and
o Other modulated at 150 Hz
• The aircrafts glide slope receiver deciphers (decode) the signal similar to the method of the
localizer receiver. It drives a vertical course deviation indicator known as glide slope indicator. It
operates similar to localizer CDI only 90 degree to it.
• The VOR/ILS localizer CDI and glide slope receiver are displayed together in the aircraft
instrument.
• UHF antenna for aircraft reception => Single dipole antenna mounted inside the nose of the
aircraft. Blade type antenna can also be used.
 • Figure shows course deviation indicator. Here the horizontal line is the deviation indicator for
glide slope and vertical line is for the localizer.

COMPASS LOCATORS (Radiant 4.8)

• Non directional radio beacon located at the outer marker or middle marker.
• It is a low power, low frequency signal transmitter which provides the same information as is
provided by the marker beacon
• Compass locator at outer marker region transmits signal i.e 1st two letters of localizer
identification group & the compass locator in middle region transmits the last 2 letters.
• It aids pilot establish on the localizer.

MARKER BEACONS (Radiant 4.9)

Outer Marker

• Located at 4 to 7 nautical miles from the runways threshold. Its beam intersects the glide lope
beam at an altitude of 1400 ft above the runway.
• Signal modulated at 400Hz frequency . It is made up by morse code (2 dots per second). On the
aircraft the signal is received by 75 MHz marker receiver.
• When aircraft receiver picks the signal then pilot hears a tone from the loudspeaker or headphone
and a blue bulb lights up.
• DME unit can be used as a part of ILS to secure the right fixation on the localizer.

Middle Marker

• It marks a point of transition from an approach by instrument to a visual one.

• Located at a distance of 0.5 to 0.8 nautical mile.
• The audio signal corresponding to it is made up of 2 dashes or 6 dots per second.
 • Frequency of identification tone is 1300Hz.
• Bulb of amber color lights up to indicate the same.

Inner Marker

• It emits an AM wave with a modulated frequency of 3000 Hz.

• The identification signal corresponding to it is made up of series of dots in frequency of 6 dots
per second.
• It is located 60 m in front of runway threshold.
• Bulb of white color lights up to indicate the same.

LIGHTING SYSTEM (Radiant 4.10)

• General
o Approach light system (ALS)- Installed on approach end of runway.
o Sequenced flashing light (SFL)
o Touchdown zone lights (TDZ)
o Center line lights (CLL)
 • Runway visibility measurement
o In order to land the pilot must be able to see appropriate visual aids not later than the
arrival at the decision height (DH) or the missed approach point (MAP).
o The instrument designed to provide the visibility information is called transmissiometer.
It is located adjacent to the runway.
o The readour is calibrated in feet of visibility and is called runway visual range (RVR).
• Runway visual range
o Maximum distance in direction of takeoff/landing at which the runway (or lights /markers)
can be seen from a height corresponding to the average eye level of pilots at touchdown.
o Usually expressed in 100’s of feets
o RVR24 means visual range along the runway is 2400ft
o In weather report it is expressed as eg : R36/4000/FT/D means runway 36 is 4000ft and is
decreasing.

ILS LIMITATIONS (Photostat 137)

• Site sensitivity and high installation costs

• Single approach path
• Multipath interference
• Channel limitations 40 channels only

MICROWAVE LANDING SYSTEMS (Photostat 137)

• It is a time referenced standard precision approach system to replace ILS.
• Provides precision navigation guidance for alignment and descent of aircraft on approach to a
landing . It has 200 channels are available between 5031 and 5090 MHz.
• The system may be divided into 5 functions
o Approach Azimuth
o Back Azimuth
o Approach elevation
o Range and
o Data communication
• Except DME all MLS signals are transmitted on a single frequency through time sharing. A
narrow beam sweeps across the coverage area at a fixed scan rate, both azimuth and elevation
may be calculated by an airborne receiver which measures the time interval between sweeps.
• The standard configuration of MLS ground system includes
o Azimuth station => To perform approach azimuth & data communication. Data
communication includes data associated with operation of the landing system, as well as
advisory data on the performance and state of the ground equipment.The maximum
coverage region is => + or – 40 degrees.
o Elevation station => To perform approach elevation . The elevation signal can provide
coverage upto +30 degrees above the ground level.
o DME => DME means distance measuring equipment. Both standard DME/N and
precision DME/P information can be retrieved. Here =>Precision
• The standard configuration can be upgraded to give enhanced capabilities by adding 1 or more
following functions of characteristics
o Back Azimuth => provides lateral guidance for missed approach and departure navigation
o Auxiliary data transmission => provides additional data, including refined airborne
positioning, meteorological data, runway status and other supplementary information.
 o Expanded service volume (ESV) => Proportional guidance to 62 degrees i.e azimuth
coverage region is extended from +-40 degrees to +-62 degrees.
• Advantages
o Broadcast Interference problems reduced unlike ILS system.
o Coverage increased from +-40=>+-60 from runway centerline, 0.9 degree => 15 degree
in elevation, and distance increased to 20NM.
o Capability to provide precision guidance to small landing areas like roof top heliports.
o Accommodation of both segments and curved approaches
o Availability of 200 channels (5 times ILS)
o Improved guidance quality with fewer flight path corrections required
o Provision of back azimuth for missed approaches and departure guidance.
o Elimination of service interruptions due to snow accumulation.
o Lower site preparation, repair, and maintenance costs.
o Continuous availability of a wide range of glide paths to accommodate STOL and VTOL
aircrafts and helicopters.
• Disadvantages
o Its cost is lower than ILS but still its high
o It is not available worldwide
o Only few airlines are equipped for MLS
o It has limitations of channel for DME/P component of the system

SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS (Radiant 4.14)

• Satellite navigation system or satnav system uses satellite to provide autonomous geo spatial
positioning.
• Longitude, Lattitude , altitude & time to high precision using time signals transmitted along a line
of sight by radio from satellites.
• Current local time can be calculated to high precision. The satellite broadcasts a signal that
contains orbital data & exact time the signal is transmitted.
• Works independent of internet or telephonic reception.
• The satellite uses atomic clock to maintain synchronization of all the satellites in the constellation.
The receiver compares the time of broadcast encoded in transmission with the time of reception
measured by internal clock, there by measuring the time of flight to the satellite which is used to
find distance to each satellite and there after performing some math calculation location is
determined.
• The receiver measures the signals from several satellites so that it can use triangulation method
to determine its location.
• Triangulation is the method of determining the location of point by measuring the angle to it from
2 known points.
• Parameters adding complexity are
 o Earth is not exact spherical
o Satellite move very fast
o Earth is not uniformly spaced or curved.

MAJOR SATELLITE NAVIGATION SYSTEMS (Photostat 137)

2 types are of major navigations are

• Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) =>Coverage world wide

1. Global Positioning System (GPS)
▪ U.S developed
▪ 24 satellites
2. Global satellite Navigation system (GLONASS)
▪ Russia developed
▪ 24 satellites
3. Galileo
▪ European Union developed
▪ 30 satellites
4. Compass (2nd gen BDS)
▪ China developed
▪ 35 satellites
• Regional navigation satellite systems=>Augments global system
1. Quasi-Zenith satellite system (QZSS)
▪ 3 Satellites
▪ Receivable within japan & Australia
▪ Mobile applications to provide communication & positioning based services
▪ 3 satellites 120 degrees apart in elliptical, geosynchronous orbit.
▪ 1 satellite always remain over japan
2. BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)
▪ 2 satellite constellations present they are
• BDS-1=>3 Satellites with limited coverage & applications. China uses it
• BDS-11(compass)=>Full scale global navigation system
3. Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS)
▪ Developed by ISRO

INERTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEMS (Radiant 4.17)

• Navigational aid for ships, aircrafts, submarines etc w.r.t a known starting point, orientation &
velocity.
• Uses following things to find position, orientation & velocity
o Computer
o Motion sensor (accelerometer) => 3 orthogonal sensors used. Measures linear acceleration
 o Rotation sensor (Gyroscopes) => 3 orthogonal sensors used. Measures angular velocity.
o Magnetic sensor (Magnetometer)

DOPPLER NAVIGATION SYSTEMS (DNS) (Radiant 4.19)

• Long navigational aid which provides aircraft velocity (3D) & position fix (3D).
• Aircraft velocity obtained using doppler radar. Then NAV computer fixes the position.
• SHF frequency =>8.8 to 9.8 GHz and 13.25 GHz to 13.40 GHz
• It transmits a beam to ground. Beam is reflected & observed at receiver aircraft.

Advantages

• Self contained so doesn’t need any outside source.

• Operate over land & water.
• Average velocity information is very accurate
• Receiver -Transmitter is very light, small and only low power is required.
• INS generates short term velocity error while DNS generates long term error only.

Disadvantages

• Velocity conversion error is high.

• Poor performance in extreme conditions of rain.
• While operation over water accuracy is degraded due to water motion.

GPS (Radiant 4.20)

• GPS or global positioning system provides location & time information provided in all weather
conditions anywhere on earth
• 24-30 satellites with 6 orbital planes are present which orbit earth every 12 hours at approximately
20,200km.
 • 4 or more satellite line of sight required. It is free to use. It uses 2 low power radio signals L1 and
L2.
• Applications =>GIS & remote sensing, surveying, mapping etc
• 3 main components are
o Space segment => Consists of satellites & transmitted signals.
o Control segment=> Consists of ground stations. Located around the world which ensures
satellites are working.
o User segment => Consists of receivers which is hand held or mounted in car.

Space Segment (Radiant 4.21)

• Consists of 24 satellites . The signals broadcasted by them allows user to calculate position,
velocity and time.
• Basic functions of satellite are
o To receive and store data uploaded by control segment.
o Maintain accurate time using onboard atomic clock
o Transit signals to users on TWO L-band frequencies.

Control Segment (Radiant 4.22)

• Consists of 5 tracking stations =>Hawaii, Ascension island, Diego Garcia, Kwajalein and the
Colorado Springs (master control ).
• Newly added stations => Washington DC, England, Ecuador, Argentina, Bahrain & Australia.
• They measure signals from space vehicles which are incorporated into orbital models for each
satellites
• Master station => Collects data continuously from other tracking stations. It process the tracking
data for computation of satellite co-ordinates (ephemerides) & clock data to space vehicles
(satellites). It can also monitor the position of satellites at any instant of time, the functional
capacity of satellites & variation of the navigation data.
• The space vehicles => send orbital ephemeris data to GPS receivers over radio signals.

User Segment (Radiant 4.22)

• Consists GPS receiver & user community

• GPS receiver converts space vehicle signals into position, velocity & time estimates.
• 4 satellites are required to compute 4 dimensions of X,Y,Z (position) & time.
• Applications
o Road Traffic congestion
o Tectonics => earthquake intensity measurement
o GPS & Terrorism =>In gurudaspur strike GPS was 1st set to Pakistan location then it was
programmed to Punjab location , thus terrorists were identified.
o GPS of mining =>Provides cm level tracking accuracy
 o Navigation
o Disaster Relief => flood, wildfire, earthquake relief activities.
o GPS -Equi Radio sondes & dropsondes =>Measures atmospheric pressure, wind speed &
direction up to 27km from earth’s surface.
o Fleet Tracking => To identify, locate & maintain contact reports with 1 r more fleet
vehicles in real time.
o Cellular Telephony =>Inter cell handoff, emergency calls etc support

DGPS (Radiant 4.25+internet)

• DGPS or Differential GPS developed in 1980’s is used to increase accuracy of receiver by adding
a local reference station to augment the information available from satellites. It also improves the
integrity of whole GPS system by identifying certain errors.
• DGPS uses 1 unit at a known location & a rover. The stationary unit compares its calculates GPS
location with the actual location & computes the error. The rover data is adjusted for the error
• DGPS requires that a GPS receiver be st up on a precisely known location. This GPS receiver is
the base or reference station. The base station receiver calculates its position based on satellite
signals and compares this location to the known location.
• The difference is applied to the GPS data recorded by the 2nd GPS receiver which is known as the
roving receiver. The corrected information can be applied to data from the roving receiver in real
time in the field using radio signals .
• Advantages
o Helps to know perfect location on earth
o Provides accurate data within a minute
o Makes aircraft landing precise oppose to ILS and MLS
• Limitations
o Coverage area is limited
o More stations are needed to increase coverage area
 o Position accuracy degrades as separation between DGPS and aircraft GPS -receiver
increases.
• Applications
o Air navigation
o Weather forecasting
o Train control
o Avoiding collision & routing
o Marine & ship navigation

GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM (GNSS) (Radiant 4.21)

• A system of satellites that provides autonomous geo spatial positioning with global coverage.
• Small electronic GPS receivers can receive radio signals from satellite.
• A satellite navigation system with global coverage may be termed a GNSS
• Global coverage of each constellation is achieved by a satellite constellation of 20-30 medium
earth orbit (MEO) satellites spread between several orbital planes. The actual system vary, but
use orbit inclination >50 degrees and orbital velocity of roughly 12 hours
• Classification
o GNSS-1
▪ 1ST generation system
▪ GNSS-1 =GPS+GLONASS+SBAS (Satellite based augmentation system) or
GBAS (ground based augmentation systems)
▪ In US satellite based component is => WAAS (wide area augmentation system)
▪ In europe satellite based component is => EGNOS (European Navigation overlay
service)
▪ In Japan satellite based component is => MSAS (Multi functional satellite
augmentation system)
▪ Ground based augmentation is provided by systems like Local area augmentation
system (LAAS)
▪
o GNSS-2
▪ 2ND generation system
▪ Provides full civilian navigation system (exemplified by European galileo
positioning system)
▪ Consists of L1 and L2 frequencies for civil use and L5 for system integrity.
▪ GPS => U.S, GLONASS =>Russia, CO. SBAS MPASS =>China, GALILEO
=>Europe
▪ Satellite based augmentation systems =>Eg Omni star and star Fire
▪ Regional SBAS : WAAS => U.S, EGNOS => EU, MSAS =>Japan, GAGAN
=>India.
 ▪ Regional satellite navigation systems : Beidou =>china, IRNSS => India, QZSS
=> Japan
▪ Continental ground based augmentation system : GRAS => Australia, DGPS =>
U.S
▪ Regional scale GBAS => CORS network
▪
•