Digitrac video correlator for binary detection of radar targets

The video correlator performs several tasks in a modern radar surveillance system. It acts as a noise, interference, and jamming suppressor for both operator evaluation and automatic data processing. Jamming can be suppressed by random radar triggering. Furthermore, the correlator is an accurate measuring device for digital target plotting, which is essential to automatic tracking. The digital output of the correlator makes possible virtually any type of data processing that may be required. A very-important processing example not mentioned before is digital narrow-band transmission of radar information. The correlator performs the necessary data reduction and analogue-to-digital conversion of radar information to make such transmission possible. Our Natrap system can be used for radar data transmission via telephone lines without loss of information accuracy. In summary the correlator is an important instrument for converting radar information to a form suitable for large-scale data processing, which in turn is necessary to control our increasingly complex air traffic.