Search and Rescue Radar Transponder
Search and rescue transponder , short radar SART or SART is a device that upon impact of a radar beam sends back a radar signal and thus generates on the radar screen a strong and distinctive "Echo". Such transponders are used on ships and aircraft so that they can be found more quickly by the rescue services in the event of a sea emergency or air accident . However, the SART only reacts to frequencies that are sent on the 9 to 9.8 GHz X-band . A SART is one of the radio rescue equipment in the GMDSS . The acronym SART generally refers to Search and Rescue Transponder and includes e.g. B. also the AIS-SARTs based on GPS and VHF radio technology .
Representation on the radar display
When searching ships, the radar device should be set to a range of 6 to 12 nautical miles. If a SART is more than 5 nautical miles away from your own radar antenna, you will see 6 to 12 dots or lines on the screen that point in your own direction and symbolize a distance of 0.64 nautical miles (1.2 km). At a distance of one to five nautical miles, the points turn into a cone with a point as a separate facility. At a distance of less than a nautical mile, the SART echo can be seen in the form of semicircles or full circles around your own system.
commitment
In the survival kits of free-fall boats and life rafts of ships equipped with SART, there are extension poles that can be screwed onto the roof of the survival vehicle. The SART is then screwed onto the extension rod for a larger reception radius.
More responders
RACON uses a similar technique and is used on navigation signs so that they appear as unmistakable objects in the radar image.
The simpler Radar Target Enhancers (RTE) also react to received radar signals by amplifying them and re-emitting them. In this way they generate a simple, highly amplified radar echo.
