Radar System
As illustrated, in Point Lay, Alaska, the main AN/FPS-19 search radar is in the dome, flanked by two AN/FRC-45 lateral communications dishes (or AN/FRC-102, depending on the date). To the left are the much larger southbound AN/FRC-101 communications dishes. Not visible is the AN/FPS-23 "gap filler" doppler antenna.
The DEW Line was upgraded with fifteen new AN/FPS-117 phased-array radar systems between 1985 and 1994, and the line was then renamed the North Warning System.
Operating Characteristics of the An/TPS-1D (Mod c) Search Radar
- Frequency range 1.22 to 1.35 GHz
- Peak power output 160 kilowatts
Average power output 400 watts
- Pulse rate 400 pulses per second
Pulse width 6.0 microsecond Range 1000 yards to 160 nautical miles
- Antenna radiation pattern
- Horizontal 2.8 degree elevation
- Vertical cosecant (elevation single) ??
- Receiver noise figure 11.7 dB
- IF bandwidth and frequency 5.0 MHz and 60 MHz
- Required prime power 8.5 kW
- Weight of radar about 4800 pounds
- Total volume of radar electronics about 1000 cubic feet
Modifications to each operating radar station occurred during the construction phase of the DEW Line system. This was due to the extreme winds, frigid temperatures, and the ground conditions due to permafrost and ice. There were two significant electronic modifications that were also crucial to the functioning of these radar stations in an arctic environment. One reduced the effects of vibration in correlation to temperature change, the other increased the pulse duration from two to six microseconds. It also began using a crystal oscillator for more stable readings and accurate accounts of movement within the air.
Read more about this topic: Distant Early Warning Line
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