Capn Bloggs;
I often use the "short of the ground-line" technique to spot buildups ahead. Put the near edge of the groundline at 80-ish miles and wait for the nasties to appear just inside that. Over the water, it's easier
Yup. That brings to memory the DC8's, and later the 727's analogue radar - that technique worked like a charm. I also recall the small "band" of slightly different signal on the screen that seemed to indicate the drift-angle of the aircraft...not sure that's what it was, but it seemed to work!