I wonder if it is totally fake now or if it is at least still accurate to NWS dish even if they now used the final full sweep image once it is processed by NWS. I am guessing the former though since that is cheaper.
Would at least be cool if it was accurate to something IRL even if it wasn't really useful anymore.
I used to work in TV and I refused to use those things. But I also worked at a station that had two radars so we had the real thing. Our competitors started using 3, 4 and five radars with sweeps going all over and it was hilarious to see these sweeps going out over 500 miles.
It also bothers me when they say live radar. Unless you have a radar sitting on a tower in your control, it ain’t live. It’s quick, but it’s not live.
But I do remember when the old CRT display radars on boats used to do something similar to that.
While it wasn't a drawn line, you could see the distinct line moving around where the image refreshes If you had enough returns showing up.
I mean modern radar still does the same thing, I just remember it being more distinct on the older displays.
You are correct. The 'line' synced with the direction of the antenna. When there was a return signal, it would brighten the phosphorus on the screen as a dot that faded in roughly the equivalent of 1 sweep of the antenna. The line itself was very faint so as not to overpower the target returns.
SPA-25a(b/c/d/e/f/g) radar display if you want to look up more. Side story, I worked on the SPA-25B display and SPS-55 radar system. While I was still on active duty, the Nauticus Museum (now Hampton Roads Naval Museum) opened, they had a mock bridge that had a SPA-25D. 2 generations newer than the one still installed on the ship I was stationed on.
You are not wrong, but I can't help but feel that it is one more thing contributing to the dumbing down of society. And I can acknowledge that it's such a stupid thing for me to get pissed off about, too.
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u/OldSquid-71 1d ago
As someone who used to repair radars in the Navy decades ago, that sweep line on TV weather reports has pissed me off for years.