Passive Radar
Develoment project Passive Radar
Project description
Based on the EPAK TV Quattro series, the passive radar systems are automatic tracking antennas designed for maritime applications. However, in addition to the satellite tracking mode, they realise a special tracking functionality. The system consists of two separate tracking antennas, called reference antenna and radar antenna. Reference and radar roles can be set via the web interface of the respective ACU.
After selecting the role and starting the radar mode, the radar antenna can be steered via externally specified azimuth and elevation target angles in the horizontal coordinate system.
The radar antenna is mounted on the same moving platform and compensates for the movement of the platform using the inertial data from the reference antenna.
Basics
Each system consists of two large units, the antenna (ODU Outdoor Unit) and the control unit (ACU or IDU Indoor Unit). The ODU is protected by a UV-stabilised, sea-climate resistant and easy-to-maintain radome. The antenna uses a 3-axis motion system with automatic skew.
The ACU (Antenna Control Unit) communicates with the antenna. This ACU provides an easy-to-use web interface for configuring the antenna, checking the current status of the antenna and configuring your network, as well as selecting the radar or reference role. For the radar antenna, the web interface integrates the network video stream from a connected webcam.
Webcam
The webcam signal and power supply is realised via a coaxial connection. The radar antenna includes not only the webcam, but also a coax-to-PoE adapter. On the outside of the ODU, a coax-to-PoE adapter with DC power supply is connected to the CAM port of the ODU and the Ethernet port to the local network.
If the webcam is connected to the same network as the ACUs, the webcam output stream is displayed in the ACU web interface of the radar antenna ACU.