Thread: Just a little RADAR

Heading off to be setup on the oil rig type platform.

That would be the "Blue Marlin" that the rig is sitting on I reckon?

Yep did you see her with the Cole on board?

That looks like the Florida Keys. I'm guessing that gets a lot of use in finding the drug courier planes.

The Arctic used to be littered with sites like that, it was called the DEW line, and south of that was the Pine Tree line. I have a picture somewhere here of a decomissioned one on the glacial plateau of eastern Greenland called "Sob Story"

Greg

A bit bigger than what I work on, the self propelled RADAR platform is 50,000 tons and the Blue Marlin is lifting her with ease. Our Anzac Frigates ar 3,600 tons.

50,000 tons:eek: Wow, that is a serious installation. Does the deck movement affect the sensitivity of the radar, Benny? That is one huge antenna-looks like it could see a bird 100 NM out.

And there was me thinking it was a Seppo attempt at a giant Faberge Egg

Yep, saw the Cole sitting skewiff on it.

I believe that the platform it is lifting in that pic is 'just' a little one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Blue_Marlin

Shows the Blue Marlin lifting 60, 000 tons of oil rig: carried it from the ship making yard in Korea to the Gulf of Mexico.
17, 160 BHP output from the donk.

Originally Posted by gregoryq

50,000 tons:eek: Wow, that is a serious installation. Does the deck movement affect the sensitivity of the radar, Benny? That is one huge antenna-looks like it could see a bird 100 NM out.

It can probably get well over the 200 nm + I would guess, not sure which band it is but looks to be either a lower band or a high band with heaps of grunt. Being at sea no ground clutter to worry it either, just sea clutter.

The nav system will use the gyros to provide pitch and roll etc so the deck movement will be totally nulled. An Anzac has no trouble bouncing through rough sea so this one should hardly move anyway.

Apart from Jindalee (sp?) is there an over-the horizon radar? I seem to recall a balloon mounted radar used in Key West for drug interdiction. That was back in the days of the DEA flying ex-Navy planes.

Greg

Jindalee is the only one I'm aware of but I'm sure there are more. The balloon would not have been as it whould have been a high band radar. OTH Radar is HF and the antenna arrays spread for miles. Our uses HF transmitters that the Seppos had surplus if I remember right. It's all in the processing as they use skip to get the range.

http://defence-data.com/features/fpage37.htm

Yeah, I know all about HF and skip. I have spent far far too many hours listening to the universe's pops and crackles while monitoring HF on oceanic crossings before the days of selcal and satcom.

Some times when the skip is right I can listen to the Arctic weather reports on HF from Canada.

Greg

I spent a lot of time as a kid, before tv was around (old), listening to whatever I could on the old HMV valve radio on Shortwave. Lots to listen too but the beacons tended to get a bit boring lol.

I have restored her, french polished and all working, she lives in the lounge room still. My Mum bought it for her father in 1938.