Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)
Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)
Radar
Radar systems come in a variety of sizes and have
different performance specifications.
Some radar systems are used for air-traffic control
at airports and others are used for long range
surveillance and early-warning systems.
Primary Radar
A Primary Radar transmits high-frequency signals which are
reflected at targets. The arisen echoes are received and evaluated. This
means, unlike secondary radar sets a primary radar unit receive its
own emitted signals as an echo again.
Primary radar sets are fitted with an additional interrogator as
secondary radar mostly, to combine the advantages of both systems.
Secondary Radar
At secondary radar sets the airplane must have a transponder
(transmitting responder) on board and this transponder responds to
interrogation by transmitting a coded reply signal.
This response can contain much more information, than a primary
radar unit is able to acquire (E.g. an altitude, an identification code or
also any technical problems on board such as a radio contact loss ...).
Secondary Surveillance Radar
Secondary Surveillance Radar is a radar
Although 4096 different identity codes available in a mode A reply may seem
enough, purposes the once particular codes have been reserved for emergency
and other special number is significantly reduced. Ideally an aircraft would keep
the same code from take-off until landing as it is used at the air traffic control
centre to display the aircraft's callsign using a process known as code/callsign
conversion. Clearly the same mode A code should not be given to two aircraft at
the same time as the controller on the ground could be given the wrong callsign
with which to communicate with the aircraft. There have also been cases where
an aircraft was delayed from takeoff as no mode A code for that route was
available until another aircraft had landed.
Mode-C
Mode S system was intended to operate with just a single reply from an
aircraft, a system known as monopulse. The accompanying diagram
shows a conventional main beam of an SSR antenna to which has been
added a "difference" beam. The produce the main, or "sum" beam
the signal is distributed horizontally across the antenna aperture.
This feed system is divided into two equal halves and then added to produce the original sum
beam. However it is subtracted to produce a difference output. A signal arriving exactly
normal, or boresight, to the antenna will produce a maximum output in the sum beam but a
zero signal in the difference beam. Away from boresight the signal in the sum beam will be
less but there will be a non-zero signal in the difference beam. The angle of arrival of the
signal can be determined by measuring the ration of the signals in the sum and difference
beams. The ambiguity about boresight can be resolved as there is a 180° phase change in the
difference signal either side of boresight. Bearing measurements can be made on a single
pulse, hence monopulse, but accuracy can be improved by averaging measurements made on
several or all of the pulses received in a reply from an aircraft.
Comparison Mode A,C,S
Replies per
20 - 30 4-8 1
scan
Range accuracy 230m rms 13m rms 7m rms
Bearing
0.08° rms 0.04° rms 0.04° rms
accuracy
Height
100 ft 100 ft 25 ft
resolution
Garble
poor good best
resistance
Data capacity
0 0 56 - 1280 bits
(uplink)
Data capacity
23 bits 23 bits 56 - 1280 bits
(downlink)
Identity
4096 4096 16 million
permutations
Accessories
Transponder
Identification Friend or Foe(Military use)
Transponder
A transponder is an electronic device that produces
a response when it receives a radio-frequency
interrogation. In aviation, aircraft have transponders to
assist in identifying them on radar and on other aircraft's
collision avoidance systems.
Myeik Airport