Radar head sites England and Wales
 

Does anyone know of a publically available "definitive" list of Mode-S and Mode A/C radar sites across England and Wales please.
Details to include location ,II /SI ident where applicable and rotation speed ?

For some reason there seems to be a lack of public information for England and Wales....and yet for Scotland , all of this data has been revealed in various wind farm location studies.

The info is required for experimental research into a method for positioning a/c in response to their interrogation by radar heads.

I could make a FOIA request , but that seems rather OTT.

Many thanks

For security reasons it may not be a particularly good idea to publicise such matters?

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...f?t=1306396749

I'm not sure I buy the security aspect....radar heads are easilly spotted and not exactly hidden . The rotation speed can be measured by simply looking at the revolving head.

All the data seems to be available where wind farm assesment is concerned , so why the secrecy?
I suspect its more to do with the competition between major contractors.

The theory certainly seems to work for both Mode-S as above and Mode A/c , but it would be nice to be able to fill in the gaps.

Nice gif! What's it from?

The gif is from COAA's PlanePlotter
PlanePlotter has developed its own unique multilateration system to locate and track Mode-S a/c and is now working on the radar interrogation/location system .

This is the Mode A/C system in action
http://i55.tinypic.com/2ut52qp.jpg

Why not write to NATS and ask them?

Or better still try Directorate of Airspace Policy (DAP), Civil Aviation Authority. There are other operators as well as NATS, and CAA will have records of them all along with the technical data you require.

Many thanks both I did try NATS , but no response, however the Directorate sounds a great idea !

You should also consider Ofcom since they license them.

(A search of Ofcom for Debden came up with a map of band L radars in 2 mins. Also found a table listing numbers of radars by type in another 3 mins.)

A search of the CAA web site with Debden came up with the coordinates of all primary and secondary radars for Stansted, Heathrow & Gatwick so it's not a big secret.

... and a quick look at Eurocontrol's web site found a paper with a map of all Scottish radar heads used for ATC.

Well all the information is freely and easily available on the NATS intranet if you're a member of NATS so I'm surprised you never got a response. Who did you write to? Did you try the Head of Surveillance Sensors at the Corporate HQ in Whiteley?

BD

In the 1980s I seem to remember the Irish Republican Army blew up the Mount Gabriel radar facility in Southern Ireland as they perceived it to be part of the "British War Machine"

google radnet; might bring forth some info

I googled Radnet cant find anything on radars just radiation!


ANN 534610N 0025930W 120
BUR 505600N 0035915W 180
CLE 522350N 0023600W 180
CLX 532700N 0001830W 250
DEB 515925N 0001550E 160
GDF 544100N 0022700W 250
JSY 491230N 0021145W 120
PEA 510500N 0001245W 160
H23 512825N 0002715W 80
H10 512820N 0002635W 80
G10 510840N 0001125W 60
S10 515255N 0001330E 60
M10 532100N 0021725W 60

:ok:

Just out of interest, why do some of the NATS HSA 23cm radars have 'golf-balls' while others are open to the elements? Is it just cost vv the 'windyness' of the site?

Radomes
 

As far as I understand it the radome (golf ball) protects the radar from the wind meaning that less power is required to turn the radar. The radome slightly weakens the radar signal as it passes through it.

In short windy sites, such as Lowther Hill in Scotland tend to have radomes whereas less windy sites do not.

Many thanks for all the replies and suggestions

As can be seen from the graphic below the site locations , rotation speed and pulse rates can be reverse engineered , but it would be preferable to tighten up the spec using the official info.
I have been advised that the request to the CAA has been accepted and should hear from them within 28 days.

The animation demonstrates the Mode A/C heads in action , white beams , plus two main Mode-S [red beams] which are Heathrow and Bournemouth which I have used as fill ins.
The site south of Teeside is actually misplaced by a few miles and is yet to be formally identified.



http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...images/Ezy.gif

It also means the radar can still turn in high winds in stead of being stopped.

Like the Type 80 at RAF Saxa Vord?
Redirect Notice

It did get rather windy a lot during the winter, but hardly any snow which is another reason for radomes, like the one at Great Dun Fell. Very convenient hill for the Saxa radar which enabled us to 'look down' and see the choppers coming off the rigs when the RAF did that work through Shetland Radar.

BD