A Summary of the Results Achieved by the GPS Disciplined References of the NetRAD and NeXtRAD Multistatic Radars

The NetRAD multistatic radar was developed at UCL and was limited to 100 m baselines by its cable synchronisation system. UCT contributed three low-cost quartz-based GPS synchronised oscillators relying on the pulse per second signal from a GPS timing receiver. NetRAD has now been replaced by NeXtRAD, a fully polarimetric, dual L- and X-Band radar. The objective of this paper is to draw conclusions on the performance of the GPS disciplined oscillators (GPSDOs) and compare results achieved in the field with theoretical predictions. It is shown how the sidelobe breakthrough across the baseline could be used in combination with the low-cost GPS synchronisation to achieve phase coherence approaching that of the monostatic receiver. These results are useful for the growing community working with networks of radar sensors where synchronisation over long distances is not possible through a physical connection.