The EWR Advantage
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With over 300 radar systems deployed worldwide, EWR Radar Systems, Inc. has been the industry leader in portable/tactical weather radar systems since 1982. The Quality Management System (QMS) of EWR is ISO 9001:2015 certified and the company is dedicated to maintaining the highest level of operational availability in the most demanding military and commercial environments. EWR’s heritage in developing portable radar systems for use in tactical applications, in conjunction with the company’s dedication to the advancement of weather radar technology with state-of-the-art products and services, has made EWR the gold standard in weather radar. EWR is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA and provides products and services to a wide array of clients such as the multiple branches of the United States Department of Defense, NATO alliance members, international militaries, utility companies, oil companies, municipalities, first-alert responders, and many more.
EWR’s weather radar systems provide its clients a complete picture of the operational environment to maintain optimal awareness. EWR’s weather radar systems provide surveillance information through interrogation of weather phenomena and generate, display, store and distribute its products through user-friendly WeatherScout® software that allow key decision makers to plan, prepare, mitigate and adapt.
EWR offers many different products and services specifically designed to conform to the end-user’s unique performance requirements and technical specifications. EWR systems combine state-of-the-art solid-state transmitters, pulse compression and hybrid pulse technology with innovative design to provide safety, accuracy and reliability. EWR’s field-proven, full turnkey weather radar solutions are designed to minimize relative footprint and environmental impact of similar technology. EWR’s product offerings are all Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) items; however, EWR has the capability to fine-tune weather radar units to meet the specific needs of the end-user and the application.
In 2006, EWR released the revolutionary solid state E700 PDR system, creating a new category of portable Doppler weather radars. This ground breaking modular concept was designed for field use by military personnel – and was quickly adapted by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Air Force. The E700 PDR radar consists of three primary modules: a radome unit which contains all of the RF components, digital transceiver, and the antenna assembly; a radar processor enclosure; and a pneumatic mast. The radome unit was specifically designed to be mounted on the easily deployable pneumatic mast, which can raise to radar to a height of up to 50 feet. The modular architecture allows for easy field set-up and tear-down, and quick field replacement of components, which is critical to a highly dynamic field deployment. The E700 PDR can be unpacked, set-up, and operational within 30 minutes. A number of standard mounting options exist, which allow the user to mount the radar on top of a roof or building, or attach the mast to a mobile trailer or platform. The key enabling technology for this rugged, reliable, and highly portable radar system is the use of a solid state transmitter.
Traditionally, most commercial weather radars employed magnetrons or klystron tubes to generate the high power RF energy. In a solid state radar transmitter, the Radio Frequency (RF) energy is generated and amplified by transistors instead of a vacuum-tube based device. Today’s Solid State amplifiers offer a number of advantages over their tube-based cousins, particularly the lower-cost magnetron. These benefits should be carefully considered when selecting a system, particularly in mobile and portable radar applications.
Magnetrons are generally the lowest cost transmitter solution, particularly at higher frequencies such as X-band. However, the transient oscillation nature of a magnetron results in random phase operation. Pulses from a magnetron are not coherent and require the radar to use “coherent-on-receive” processing, which limits the clutter cancellation ability of the radar and limits some advanced phase-based algorithms for multi-trip echo correction, for example. Fully-coherent radars, such as those using solid-state or klystron transmitters generally have better clutter filtering capability and allow for more varied waveform selection (such as pulse compression waveforms) and pulse repetition interval selection. Moreover, solid-state amplifiers generally can switch pulse widths, frequency, and pulse repetition intervals at a pulse-by-pulse basis.
Magnetron transmitters are generally not frequency agile. Thus, the transmit frequency cannot be easily changed like in a solid-state radar. This can be problematic for mobile radars that may need to avoid particular frequencies for local interference issues. Klystrons allow for some frequency-variability, but are generally narrowband due to the device physics, whereas solid-state amplifiers at X-band may have an operating bandwidth in the hundreds of MHz.
In many weather radar applications portability and ruggedness are key driving factors in the selection of a system. The elimination of tube amplifiers greatly enhances the reliability of the radar, particularly during rough transport, and allows the radar to be operated immediately upon a cold start. In addition, the lifespan of a solid-state transmitter is generally much longer than for a magnetron based transmitter, where the magnetron may need to be replaced after just a few years of operation.
The high voltages required in tube-based radars may also be a concern for many users, particularly those that may need to service their systems in the field.
