A short-pulse Ka-band instrumentation radar for foliage attenuation measurements

A portable Ka-band instrumentation radar for foliage attenuation measurements has been designed. It uses direct dielectric resonator oscillator multiplier pulse modulation giving a half power pulse width of 17 ns. The dual conversion scalar receiver utilizes either a digital storage oscilloscope in envelope detection format or a special gated comparator arrangement providing 1 m resolution and associated led seven segment display for data analysis. The calibrated dynamic range is better than 37 dB with an equivalent noise floor of 0.005 dBsm at 25 m test range distance. First experiments indicate an effective beamwidth close to 1°. The total weight is below 5 kg and the unit can be mounted on a conventional photographic tripod. Power is supplied from a 12 V/6 A h sealed lead acid battery giving an operating time in excess of 10 h.