>>2019903The radar works on the same principle of echolocation, like a bat uses to find a moth. The radar transmits a focused beam of energy in a specific wavelength, and listens for an echo in the same wavelength. If the beam hits something reflective, like water droplets, it will bounce off and reflect the energy. When the radar receives the reflected wave the signal is processed and displayed for the operator to interpret. The strength of the return can be analogous to the intensity of the precipitation; more reflective is typically heavier precipitation. The louder the echo the bigger the moth, and the radar return is even measured in decibels of reflectivity (dBz). The time that it took from pulse transmission to received echo will yield a distance, hence the ‘ranging’ part of “RADAR”. Conventional weather radars typically utilize a parabolic dish that swivels laterally and vertically to scan a good chunk of sky. The operator usually has control of the tilt angle and preset sweep angles, as well as antenna gain (sensitivity). That’s the gist of it.
Here is me attempting to paint an aircraft with an old lower-power weather radar. The system is receiving a return because metal is quite reflective, but since it observed two highly reflective targets at similar distances it thinks it is one larger return and mushes it together.
