WX-radar: solid green line
 

Sometimes, usually during the cruise, you get this solid green return on the wx radar that looks like a solid green line reaching from your position to the edge of the screen. You know what I mean.

What causes this? I heard anything from AWACS to aliens... :)

I think what you are decribing is known as spoking and it's caused from interference with the signals from other aircraft radar beams

Thanks Boeing man. Found this thread with you help.
http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/23466...cture-too.html

Probably an AWACs or interceptor. If you fly near an aircraft carrier, you'll get the same thing. They're watching you...

That's an aviation myth, fantom - completely different frequencies.

The freq does not matter sometimes as military radars can emit that much energy that it can scramble the whole band (they want to detect flies, too)

Radar jamming and deception - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Theory here. Pointing a 1Kw emitter at a radar designed to recieve faint return pulses reflected from weather and you will overcome the gain of the radar, the result being a line on the radar. The relationship for returns is an D^3 relationship, wheras the power emmitted from the other radar is only proportional to D.

There is a range called "burn through" that we use that effectively means the radar recieving jamming can overcome the technique.

Other than changing PRF or freq can you overcome this issue.

Fly anywhere near Nuremberg and you'll get that spike. Not sure exactly what it is but I've been told it's a powerful military radar.

Also Wunstorf (ETNW) near HAJ and Itzehoe/Hungry Wolf (EDHF) near HAM, but that was long ago - many air bases along the wall those days, and powerful radars.