Antenna front-end concepts of a low-cost coherent radar demonstrator for S-band application

Some of the concepts of an AESA antenna frontend for a low-cost coherent radar system demonstrator intended for maritime applications in the S-band are presented in this contribution. Manufacturing and maintenance cost reduction with respect to present commercial systems is achieved by replacing the conventionally used magnetron RF power generation and the mechanically rotated antenna by a semiconductor transmitter and an AESA antenna with custom-developed mixedsignal integrated circuits as core components of its T/R-modules. The operation with coherent signals facilitates the application of modern signal processing techniques in order to compensate for the heavily reduced peak transmit power

Search for red imported fire ant 'Solenopsis invicta' Burren in NSW from 2004-2006

The search in New South Wales for red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Burren) as part of the national surveillance program from July 2004 to June 2006 is summarized. Extensive surveillance coupled with a public awareness campaign resulted in 1779 premises inspected with 1536 ant samples submitted for identification, including 216 from the public or as a result of contacts with the public. A total of 40 ant species were identified contributing to a revised understanding of the distribution of ants in New South Wales. Inspections of port and shipping container facilities made up 34% of activities, followed by residences (16%) and nurseries (14%). Red imported fire ants was not detected however yellow crazy ant (Anoplolepis gracilipes Jerdon) was confirmed at three locations.4 page(s

Radar demonstrator for bird monitoring in wind farms

Potential collisions of birds with power plants frequently result in temporary shutdown of concerned turbines enforceable by law. Thus, the need of appropriate sensors for bird monitoring in wind farms is growing. As radar in general has the potential to become one of these sensors, a purpose-built demonstrator is presented in this work. It aims for investigating the chances and problems of radar for bird monitoring inside wind farms