yap@me.utoronto.ca (Davin Yap) (01/05/90)
crisp@mips.COM (Richard Crisp) writes: >Along the lines of the discussion of RADAR jamming/blasting, I recall a funny >comment an M.E. friend of mine that worked on the F16 project at G.D. once >said. He told me how some of his buddies at G.D. were putting RAM on the front >of their cars to help elude RADAR traps. I asked "gee why RAMs?". >After a bit of discussion, we came to the conclusion that to an M.E. RAM >does not mean the same as it does to an E.E. > >To an M.E. (working on the F16) RAM = Radar Absorbent Material When I was with the Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics I use to play around with RAM (though we never called it that, likely because we were doing radio astronomy not macho defense stuff :-) and often thought of coating a car with it (sigh, to be ninteen again). You'll want the graphite embedded paint if you're considering going this route (Eccosorb Inc., Chicago? makes an extensive line of absorbing material). Make sure it's spec'd for the appropriate bandwidth, that you put on a good 1/8" thickness, and that you're prepared to live with the ugliest car in the world - she'll be flatte black. For all your effort you'll get a max of 3 dB attenuation. If you're cursed with a car with a flat front part i.e. upright radiator, this isn't for you. Nor could you mount the pyramidal absorbers appropriate for X and K band wavelengths; though _extremely_ effective, they'd be much too long to be practical, they couldn't take the beating administered to them by your forays beyond the speed limit. Besides, your car would look almost as stupid as the the Chrysler Laser I saw last night that was decked out to look like a Lamborghini Countach, complete with the spoiler, painted-on intake scoops, and an obscene shroud that obstructed one's rearward view - some people! Caveat: the last speeding ticket I got, they caught me from behind. Regards, DAvin _______________leave_nothing_to_the_imagination_of_those_without_______________ GOAL: To dance the light fan- |Davin Yap, Mechanical Engineering, U of Toronto tastic in the face of derision,| yap@me.toronto.edu yap@me.utoronto.bitnet from those bland at heart. | ...{pyramid,uunet}!utai!utme!yap --