Skyjob. like a lot of airline weather radar info, my manual said not a lot, compared to what it could have said.
Give me the credit of sufficient experience, 17+k hours, NOT to activate the radar within 15m of live people. This is an OM limitation.
Give me the credit, having consulted the AMM on disc in the ground engineers office, for NOT activating it within 300 feet of any bowser, terminal wall, aircraft side or other reflecting surface which would reflect sufficient of its normally weak pulse into its own orifice sufficient to risk damage to the sensitive receiver circuitry. How many out there are aware of this limitation?
I always performed a "confidence check" of the Wx radar before departure when anticipating those weather conditions specified as unacceptable in the DDG/MEL for operation with unserviceable radar.
This procedure for the confidence check was IAW the MM and taking the same precautions.
I carried out this check and used the Wx radar airborne all the time so I did not end up in the news with a smashed radome, damaged forward-facing surfaces and frightened pax like some others in the Flight Safety pages.
Please quote to me, chapter and verse, where it says I may NOT taxi out with the radar active having observed the aforementioned precautions.
And what adverse effect would it cause on the approaching aircraft by so doing?