A-display

From Glossary of Meteorology
A radar display on test test test which targets appear as vertical deflections from a horizontal line that represents elapsed time from the most recent transmitted pulse.

Distance to the target is indicated by the horizontal position of the deflection from the origin of the time axis; the amplitude of the vertical deflection is a function of the received signal strength. The A-display was the first type of radar display in common use. It may be produced by amplitude modulating the horizontal sweep of an oscilloscope with the received signal. An oscilloscope displaying this is called an A-scope. On an A-scope the difference between the coherent echoes produced by aircraft or ships and the rapidly fluctuating incoherent echoes from precipitation is readily apparent.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.