Developing a dual-frequency FM-CW radar to study precipitation

Using support from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) Innovative Research Program, an inexpensive dual-frequency vertically pointing precipitation radar was developed utilizing technologies initially developed for the mobile phone, the police radar, and the video game industries. One radar operated in the frequency band used for point-to-point Internet service (5.8 GHz). And the other radar operated in the police radar frequency band (10.5 GHz). The radar hardware for both radar systems cost less than US$ 12 000. Both radars used the Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FM-CW) technique to observe at a 5-m range resolution from near the surface to over 300 m. A two Fourier transform (FFT) technique was used to estimate Doppler velocity power spectra at each range at a rate of 12 spectra per second. Another innovation of this project was using the parallel processing of the Cell Broadband Engine installed in a Sony Playstaion 3 to perform all post-data collection signal processing.