Introduction

A cost-effective solution for real-time weather monitoring based on small-size, low-power, chain of interconnected radar sensors. These lightweight radars are easy to install, maintain & operate and require only live internet connection to the central servers. Using the latest innovation in X-band radar technology, specially developed meteorological firmware, storm cell detection & sophisticated software solutions improving Signal-to-noise reflectivity ratio readings make it possible to cover large areas with multiple overlaps, even with 70-90W ERP (6, 12 or 25 kW impulses).

This concept of such small radars, interconnected in a live matrix, has many advantages over huge & expensive conventional weather monitoring tools. For example, in a mountainous country, with considerable terrain elevations, valleys or lower areas are often hidden (or being obscured, rendering them invisible) from large, central locators. In contrast, smaller & cheaper radar sensors can be placed in a greater number ideally – still cost effectively - to monitor all these airspaces. The radar sensors & antennas are so small, that they usually do not require any dedicated building, mast or installation. The whole scanner unit (sensor+transmitter+antenna+control electronics) weighting less than 45 kg (~100 pounds), can easily be placed on top of any existing pole, roof or other local elevation (min. 10-15 m above the ground level suggested).

The individual sensors operate very quietly, barely making a sound even on a silent night. They transmit pre-processed meteorological imagery in a special, compressed intermediate format live through the Internet to a central location, where dedicated servers create a reflectivity matrix using this stream. One medium-capacity server can usually handle 4 radar scanner unit’s live stream. In the last stage, a master server collects the reflectivity matrixes and overlaps them to create the composit. This all happens in real-time, with a 1-minute update frequency and the resulting output is a double-range, HD++, crystal clear, detailed imagery of storms, hail, rain or other precipetation.

Main features

1 minute image updates
HD resolution (150 m/pixel)
user-friendly outputs (Google Maps, dedicated online application)
TV quality videos (Metra WeatherscapeXT compatible)

Sample radar picture