Solid State Ground Beacon.
Abstract
The design and development of two completely solid-state radar beacons, one at X-band and one at Ku-band, is described. These beacons were constructed as experimental models to demonstrate the feasibility of using varactor diodes (of the 'step-recovery,' and 'punch-through,' type) in a crystal-controlled frequency multiplier chain to generate useful amounts of microwave power output. A major portion of the effort was concentrated on the evaluation of available varactor diodes and circuit techniques for this type of device. A peak power output of 0.25 watts was obtained from a x3 multiplier at X-band, and peak power of 0.14 watts was obtained from a x5 multiplier at Ku-band. With the exception of these final multiplier stages and the microwave front-end circuitry, the two beacons are identical. A crystal-video receiver was designed using field effect transistors to provide a receiver sensitivity of -42 dBm. The power drain of the complete beacon during standby operation is seven milliwatts. Field tests of the X-band beacon were conducted at the Rome Air Development Center using an airborned AN/APN-59 radar. Good beacon coverage was obtained at ranges out to at least twenty miles under realistic operating conditions. It is concluded that useful performance can be provided by miniature beacons of this type. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0857821
Entities
People
- John T. Zimmer
Organizations
- RTX