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Aviation Glossary :: Radar  Aviation Glossary :: Radar FAA Written Test Preparation
Aviation Glossary Welcome to the Dauntless Aviation Glossary!

At Dauntless, our editorial staff maintains the web's largest unified glossary of aviation terms. This glossary is built from a combination of official, quasi-official, and proprietary sources (including original material that we develop oursselves). Uniquely, we often provide multiple definitions of a given term so that you can find that which best applies to you. In order to maximize your learning efficiency, this glossary (and similar ones for our international users) is incresingly fully integrated into our aviation learning apps, including our FAA written test prep and FAA practical test prep software and apps. If you like this glossary, you'll love them with their polished learning environments and world's best and clearest content (please do give them a try.).

Radar
Radar
An electronic instrument used for the detection and ranging of distant objects of such composition that they scatter or reflect radio energy. Since hydrometeors can scatter radio energy, weather radars, operating on certain frequency bands, can detect the presence of precipitation, clouds, or both.
source: FAA Aviation Weather for Pilots (AC 00-6A)
A device which, by measuring the time interval between transmission and reception of radio pulses and correlating the angular orientation of the radiated antenna beam or beams in azimuth and/or elevation, provides information on range, azimuth, and/or elevation of objects in the path of the transmitted pulses.
  1. Primary Radar- A radar system in which a minute portion of a radio pulse transmitted from a site is reflected by an object and then received back at that site for processing and display at an air traffic control facility.
  2. Secondary Radar/Radar Beacon (ATCRBS)- A radar system in which the object to be detected is fitted with cooperative equipment in the form of a radio receiver/transmitter (transponder). Radar pulses transmitted from the searching transmitter/receiver (interrogator) site are received in the cooperative equipment and used to trigger a distinctive transmission from the transponder. This reply transmission, rather than a reflected signal, is then received back at the transmitter/receiver site for processing and display at an air traffic control facility. (See INTERROGATOR.) (See TRANSPONDER.) (See RADAR.)
source: FAA Pilot/Controller Glossary
As used in the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS), any one of the 4096 selectable Mode 3/A aircraft transponder codes except those ending in zero zero; e.g., discrete codes: 0010, 1201, 2317, 7777; nondiscrete codes: 0100, 1200, 7700. Nondiscrete codes are normally reserved for radar facilities that are not equipped with discrete decoding capability and for other purposes such as emergencies (7700), VFR aircraft (1200), etc.
source: FAA Pilot/Controller Glossary

A device which, by measuring the time interval between transmission and reception of radio pulses and correlating the angular orientation of the radiated antenna beam or beams in azimuth and/or elevation, provides information on range, azimuth, and/or elevation of objects in the path of the transmitted pulses.

  1. Primary Radar- A radar system in which a minute portion of a radio pulse transmitted from a site is reflected by an object and then received back at that site for processing and display at an air traffic control facility.
  2. Secondary Radar/Radar Beacon (ATCRBS)- A radar system in which the object to be detected is fitted with cooperative equipment in the form of a radio receiver/transmitter (transponder). Radar pulses transmitted from the searching transmitter/receiver (interrogator) site are received in the cooperative equipment and used to trigger a distinctive transmission from the transponder. This reply transmission, rather than a reflected signal, is then received back at the transmitter/receiver site for processing and display at an air traffic control facility. (See INTERROGATOR.) (See TRANSPONDER.) (See RADAR.)

A radio detection device which provides information on range, azimuth and/or elevation of objects.

  1. Primary Radar- Radar system which uses reflected radio signals.
  2. Secondary Radar- Radar system wherein a radio signal transmitted from a radar station initiates the transmission of a radio signal from another station.

source: FAA Pilot/Controller Glossary
Radio Detection And Ranging.
source: FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25A)
Acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging; a radio device or system for locating an object by means of ultrahigh-frequency radio waves reflected from the object and received, observed, and analyzed by the receiving part of the device in such a way that characteristics (as distance and direction) of the object may be determined.
source: NOAA National Weather Service Glossary
Originally spelled (in all caps) as RADAR; an acronym of radio detection and ranging.
  1. A method of detecting distant objects and determining their position, velocity, or other characteristics by analysis of sent radio waves (usually microwaves) reflected from their surfaces
  2. A type of system using such method, differentiated by platform, configuration, frequency, power, and other technical attributes.
  3. An installation of such a system or of the transmitting and receiving apparatus.
  4. (countable, figuratively) A superior ability to detect something.
source: Wikitionary / Wikipedia and Related Sources (Edited)

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Disclaimer: While this glossary in most cases is likely to be highly accurate and useful, sometimes, for any number of editorial, transcription, technical, and other reasons, it might not be. Additionally, as somtimes you may have found yourself brought to this page through an automated term matching system, you may find definitions here that do not match the cotext or application in which you saw the original term. Please use your good judgement when using this resource.


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