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PX-10k

Polarimetric X-band 10,000
PX-10k is a transportable, solid-state, polarimetric (independent H/V channels) radar providing educators and students with a unique and versatile approach to data collection for meteorological and radar engineering research.

System Overview

Designed, fabricated, and operated by the ARRC, and in collaboration with Nanowave Technologies, Inc., the PX-10k is a dual-channel independent transmit chain opens up possibilities of novel waveform diversity for improving polarimetric radar quality. In addition to advanced signal processing developments such as spectral analysis and adaptive clutter filtering, real-time acquisition of time-series data also facilitates pulse compression development, for example. The PX-10k is well suited for long-term field campaigns.

System characteristics

  • Radiating Center Height is 8 feet AGL (2.5 m)
  • 1,600 W total peak power using two 800-W solid-state power amplifiers (SSPA)
  • Operation frequency is 9300-9400 MHz (X-band)
    • Wavelength: 3.24 cm
    • Pulse length: 1-100 μsec
    • Pulse repetition frequency: 1-10,000 Hz
  • 1.8-m parabolic reflector by Seavey Engineering
    • 1.4° beamwidth @ -3 dB points
    • Gain: 42.0 dBi
    • Sidelobe level: Better than -25 dB one-way
    • Cross-pol isolation better than 35 dB
  • Rotation rate: Up to 360° sec-1
  • Sensitivity using pulse compression
    • Better than 5 dBZ at 50 km
  • Simultaneous dual-polarization
  • Flexible computing platform for real-time algorithm development
  • Real-time I/Q data recording/processing
    • A/D converter resolution: 16 bit
    • Receiver bandwidth: 50 MHz
    • Gate spacing: up to 3 m
    • Number of range gates: up to 65,536

Open for Collaboration

The University of Oklahoma encourages academic, government, and private sector collaborations focused on advancing weather radar technology and science. PX‐10k is open for business as a platform to foster and support such relationships. Joint projects are welcome in signal processing, radar system design, phased array radar, profiling radar, QPE, radar polarimetry, retrieval algorithms, and severe storm observations. Please contact the ARRC Director for specific inquires.

Publication of PX-10k Data

The use of PX-10k data in formal publications and research projects is strongly encouraged. For publications, please use the following acknowledgement: "PX-10k is maintained and operated by the Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC) of the University of Oklahoma."

Data Access

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing access to data collected during past field campaigns. To request data from this system, please contact data@arrc.ou.edu. In addition, you can find example datasets available to be downloaded at the Data page.