Passive radar reflector posts peak results

He told MJ that getting the EM230i manufactured has not been easy. “Over the last ten years the product has been made from our tooling by four specialist HF-PVC welding companies. At times we have been unable to meet demand as the manufacturers found the product was either too involved, time consuming or difficult to make.”

However, both past experience and the complexity of the product convinced him that Far East manufacture was not an option. “When the last manufacturer went into liquidation late last year we were left with two alternatives, drop the product or make it ourselves”, he explained.

Thus, over recent months Echomax has built a new workshop, installed two Radyne HF- PVC welding machines and a 27kva three phase generator to run them as there is no three phase power available at an affordable price. A further two Radyne HF foot – shuttle welders will be installed soon, enabling dedicated machines for specific jobs to speed up production.

The product has developed too. The Dupont metallised fabric stitched array is pulled into configuration when the soft cylindrical outer is inflated, and is fastened by 36 tags holding 98 components, constructed with 46 welding operations. Mr Simpson explained that getting the dimensions of the sleeve, which has to be a snug as possible without interfering with the alignment of the fabric array, took some work, as did the tensions.

The result of all this effort showed in the last test at QinetiQ’s Anechoic Chamber at Funtington, near Chichester UK, which returned a peak response of 25.6 sq/m and an average of 4.1 sq/m.

As an added extra, all units will be accompanied by a certified QinetiQ linear response diagram so people know what they are getting, concluded Mr Simpson.