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INTRODUCTION
TACAN stands for Tactical Air Navigation
Works between U.H.F. band 962 - 1,214 Mhz Gives continuous information about range and bearing from a beacon Airborne equipment consists of an interrogating transmitter and a receiver
INTRODUCTION
Provides distance info, from distance measuring eqpt (DME), & Brg (azimuth) info Info is usually provided by two meters
Distance in nautical miles from the surface beacon Direction of flight, in degrees-of-brg, to surface beacon
By using the TACAN equipment installed in the aircraft and TACAN ground equipment installed aboard a particular surface ship or shore station, bearing to and distance from that location can be obtained:
To fly directly to that particular location, or Use the bearing and distance from a specific beacon to fix geographic location
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TACAN PRINCIPLE
Radar-ranging determines distance by measuring the round-trip travel time of pulsed RF energy. The return signal (echo) of the radiated energy depends on the natural reflection of the radio waves. However, TACAN beacon-transponders generate artificial replies instead of depending on natural reflection Airborne eqpt generates timed interrogation pulse pairs that surface TACAN system receives and decodes. After a 50-sec delay, the transponder responds with a reply. The airborne DME then converts the round-trip time to distance from the TACAN facility. The frequency and identification code provide the geographic location of the transmitting beacon 5
TRANSPONDER RX GAIN
If receiver gain is increased, more pulse-pairs will exceed pre-set amplitude level and trigger circuit will fire more frequently: the converse applies when the receiver gain is decreased. Therefore number of pulse-pairs transmitted by the beacon varies directly with the gain and is continuously and automatically adjusted to produce 2,700 pulse pairs per sec. These pulse pairs are of constant amplitude and shape, but have a random recurrence frequency
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TRANSPONDER DUTY-CYCLE
TACAN transponder replies to aircraft interrogations at 30 pulse pairs-per-second, per airborne eqpt, to supply necessary distance data. The total pulse output of the transmitter constantly varies, according to the number of interrogating aircraft. In addition, random noise may trigger the transmitter Receiver uses automatic gain & squitter (noise generated output) controls to maintain a constant pulse output to the transmitter. If few interrogations are being received, the gain and squitter of the receiver increase and add noisegenerated pulses to the pulse train. If more interrogating aircraft come into range, gain and squitter decrease and reduce number of noise10 generated pulses
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If the beacon is interrogated by an airborne equipment, a 12 sec pulse pair with an amplitude well above the pre-set level will appear at the receiver output as at X in the figure. The trigger circuit therefore will fire and a reply will be transmitted to the aircraft amidst the pulse pairs produced irregularly by the noise from the receiver
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ACCURACY
DME accuracy varies from 3 % of total distance (6 NM at 200 miles out) up to being within 0.1 NM at all distances for the higher end receivers
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BEARING MEASUREMENT
The timing of the transmitted pulses supplies the actual distance information to the aircraft. TACAN beacon-transponder modulates the strength of the pulse to convey bearing info by producing a specific directional-radiating pattern rotated around a vertical axis. This signal, when properly referenced, indicates the aircrafts direction from the TACAN facility. This signal and distance data give a two-piece fix (distance and direction) for determining specific aircraft location
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BEARING MEASUREMENT
The aircraft TACAN equipment obtains bearing information by comparing the 15-Hz modulated signal with a 15-Hz reference burst signal it receives from the ground facility. The phase relationship between the 15-Hz modulated signal and the 15-Hz reference burst signal depends on the location of the aircraft in the cardioid pattern. The 15-Hz reference burst signals are transmitted when the maximum signal of the cardioid pattern aims due East. This group of 12 pulse pairs is commonly referred to as the North or main reference burst. An additional phase comparison of 135 Hz further reduces the 16 error and improves accuracy.
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LIMITATIONS
Interference To overcome possible mutual interference, the operational requirement for each beacon for coverage in range and altitude has been specified. Each ground installation has been protected against interference up to the stated range and altitude. Outside the protected range and altitude, interference may occur and navigational information may be unreliable. Accuracy Brg indications 0.5 Distance 0.1 nm or 1% of distance, whichever is greater.
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AIR-TO-AIR TACAN
Enables suitably equipped a/c to measure the range between each other, up to a maximum of 195 nm; bearing information is not available. The changeover between air-to-ground and air-to-air operation is controlled by a selector switch on the airborne equipment. The maximum number of interrogating aircraft to which one responder can reply simultaneously is theoretically 33. To remain locked-on an aircraft must receive replies to 90% of its transmissions. If 33 were locked-on and a further interrogation was attempted, the responder would reply to this interrogation, but lock would be lost for one or more of 21 the aircraft.
TACAN DATA
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TACAN CHANNELS
There are 126 Tx and Rx channels
CHANNEL FREQUENCY
Total channels Range Transmitting Channel Receiver channel 126 for Tx and 126 for Rx 962 1213 Mc 1025 1150 Mc 1 Mc spacing 63 between 962 1024 and 63 between 1151 1213 Mc
17 NM 29 NM
CONE OF SILENCE
AT 30,000 Feet AT 50,000 Feet
Channel
TACAN
Yes Yes No 126 Yes Numerical
DME
No Yes Yes 100 No By Veh Freq
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Max range
ESS DC ESS AC
CP upper
FREQUENCY ALLOCATION
Low band 962 1024 MC 100 KC High band 1151 1213 100 KC Intermediate Freq 63 70 KC Airborne Tx Freq 1025 - 1150 MC 100 KC Control panel flight control pedestal R/T ID 310 range indicator (B Model) ID 307 bearing indicator (B Model) 161 B Couplers (2) (E Model) Antenna
COMPONENTS
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