S 600 series (Marconi)
Description of the radar set, tactical-technical characteristics
Figure 1: S 600 (Marconi) used by the former Yugoslavian Army, in the background: the height-finder S 613, © www.mycity.rs, CC-BY-SA 2.0
Figure 1: S 600 (Marconi) used by the former Yugoslavian Army, in the background: the height-finder S 613
© www.mycity.rs (CC-BY-SA 2.0)
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| frequency: | 590 … 610 MHz
(UHF-Band) |
| pulse repetition time (PRT): | |
| pulse repetition frequency (PRF): | 600 Hz |
| pulsewidth (τ): | 3.2 µs |
| receive time: | |
| dead time: | |
| peak power: | 500 kW |
| average power: | |
| instrumented range: | 220 NM (≙ 410 km) |
| range resolution: | |
| accuracy: | |
| beamwidth: | |
| hits per scan: | |
| antenna rotation: | 7.5 or 10 min-1 |
| MTBCF: | |
| MTTR: | |
S 600 series (Marconi)
The S 600 was an operating in UHF-Band family of transportable military and Air Traffic Control (ATC) long-range radars using a large linear-fed reflector, fed by a so-called squintless feed to provide tapered illumination of the main reflector. This results in good sidelobe performance across the band. The series includes the radar sets S 650 (standard), S 650H (higher output-power), and S 670 (larger antenna).
All radars use a fully coherent crystal controlled system with a long-life Traveling Wave Tube drive and a klystron output stage. The great advantage of this frequency band was the ability to penetrate the heaviest precipitation, and a long radar range by moderate transmitted power. The disadvantage was the relatively wide beamwidth but this could be managed with a large aperture antenna.
The first public announcement of the S 600 series was in May 1967. A fully operational system was demonstrated at the SBAC Air Show at Farnborough (United Kingdom) in 1968. The 600 MHz band was available for ATC at that time, although it was ultimately withdrawn some twenty five years later and re-allocated to television. The radars were redesigned to S-Band, but with less success.
These radars were mostly completed with a separate nodding height-finder of type S 613.