aircraft has been an incredible tool to collect in situ wind velocity and precipitation data for
NOAA’s customers in the fields of hurricane research and reconnaissance. Over the years the
Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) has modified and upgraded the TDR which has improved data
collection and has even allowed the transmission of real time data to the users on the ground.
However, the current system is becoming obsolete due to the age of major radio frequency (RF)
components. Some components are no longer manufactured while others are cost prohibitive to
have made for the specialized system. The engineering staff at AOC has developed a new TDR
design with modern commercial off the shelf components. The new RF components all have a
very tight set of specifications that are critical to the success of the design. It is necessary to test
each component using solid proven engineering analysis in order to determine if each device
complies with manufacturing specifications and can be successfully used with the newly
designed NOAA TDR. The TDR modification has provided a way to maintain the improvements
of data collection while using a more cost-effective design. This ensures the preservation of life
and property by continuing to provide accurate hurricane and atmospheric weather information
in a timely manner.
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