Wave Illustration for Radar Bands/Frequencies?

[Tallyho]

Ok, so for most of us who have been using RD's for awhile we can get a pretty good assessment of the threat level by using a combination of the band, signal strength and our own knowledge of the situation and circumstances. I've always thought about the different radar bands by trying to visualize their wave width. For example:

X band: Seems as wide as two football fields and completely blankets an area with its extremely wide radar signature. It is easy to pick up in all directions (off-axis) and it's relative signal strength seems very high so that it travels the furthest of any traffic radar wave. If trying to visualize it would be the equivalent of a cone shaped wave that covers an entire highway in both directions.

K Band: Seems to be about half the size of X band , maybe a football field wide radar signature. It is moderately easy to pick up in all directions (off-axis) and it's relative signal strength seems high to middle range. If trying to visualize it would be the equivalent of a cone shaped wave that covers one side highway.

Ka Band: Seems to be about half the size of K band, maybe half a football field wide radar signature. It is difficult to pick up in all direction (off-axis) and it's relative signal strength seems low. If trying to visualize it would be the equivalent of a cone shaped wave that covers a few lanes.

[For comparison Laser: At 1000 feet is about 3 feet in width and can target a single vehicle from over 2,000 feet away. ]

At least, that's my less than scientific mental visualization of radar bands. Which leads me to my question: Do we have any hard data that would allow somebody with far more talent than I to make an accurate, to scale graphical illustration of each band wave at say 250, 500 and 1000 feet for reference purposes?

 

[RedRocket]

Ok, so for most of us who have been using RD's for awhile we can get a pretty good assessment of the threat level by using a combination of the band, signal strength and our own knowledge of the situation and circumstances. I've always thought about the different radar bands by trying to visualize their wave width. For example:

X band: Seems as wide as two football fields and completely blankets an area with its extremely wide radar signature. It is easy to pick up in all directions (off-axis) and it's relative signal strength seems very high so that it travels the furthest of any traffic radar wave. If trying to visualize it would be the equivalent of a cone shaped wave that covers an entire highway in both directions.

K Band: Seems to be about half the size of X band , maybe a football field wide radar signature. It is moderately easy to pick up in all directions (off-axis) and it's relative signal strength seems high to middle range. If trying to visualize it would be the equivalent of a cone shaped wave that covers one side highway.

Ka Band: Seems to be about half the size of K band, maybe half a football field wide radar signature. It is difficult to pick up in all direction (off-axis) and it's relative signal strength seems low. If trying to visualize it would be the equivalent of a cone shaped wave that covers a few lanes.

[For comparison Laser: At 1000 feet is about 3 feet in width and can target a single vehicle from over 2,000 feet away. ]

At least, that's my less than scientific mental visualization of radar bands. Which leads me to my question: Do we have any hard data that would allow somebody with far more talent than I to make an accurate, to scale graphical illustration of each band wave at say 250, 500 and 1000 feet for reference purposes?

The FWHM of the radar antennas Main Lobe(& "side-lobes") is the determinate of the wave front divergence width at any distant point from its aperture.