Radar Power Consumption

[lstitcher]

I'm confused over the power consumption between:

24 VDC (DRS12A-NXT): 5.0 A max. and
DRS12A X-Class 24 VDC - 4.5amp

I'd have thought the solid state radar would use less power?

 

[Johnny Electron]

Numbers are correct. If power is great concern a dome would be the recommended as most of the power draw on a radar is the motor. There is not really much if any power savings of a Magnetron versus large power transistors used for solid state. The solid state is lower power in regards to output power/transmission power. It is also more efficient and offers doppler abilities. It is an interesting difference that I never noticed.

 

[jp498]

The open arrays have a cooling fan that runs continuously inside the pedestal, that probably uses a few watts. The dome's moving antenna does not have to be weatherproof or rugged, so it's not just smaller, but much much lighter and easier to motivate.