TACALDO, WILLIAM ANGELO K.

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Year and Section: BSMT2-B Date:

LEARNING ACTIVITY NO. 13 for week no. 12

Course Operational use of RADAR / ARPA

Topic 9: Methods of Target Acquisition and its Limitations
Topic 10: Relative Motion Triangle
Topic
LO2.10: Identify the different methods of target acquisition and its
limitations.
Learning
Outcome(s) LO2.11: Construct true and relative vectors, graphic representation of
target information and danger areas

Instructor Capt. Raymundo Rafael B. Cabrejas

LESSON MAP

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 Operational use of
RADAR/ARPA

Methods of Target
Relative Motion
Acquisition and its
Triangle
Limitations

ARPA

LO 2.10 Identify the different methods of target acquisition and its

limitations.

Methods of Acquisition

1. MANUAL ACQUISITION 

Manual acquisition is recommended for restricted coastal waters or in bad weather

conditions. Pressing the ‘acquire’ button will enter the target into the computer memory and
pressing ‘cancel’ will delete it, after the risk of collision has passed. It must be appreciated
that using manual acquisition requires more radar display observation time by the
operator.In ARPA acquisition, targets not detected in 5 consecutive scans become lost
targets.ARPA will provide true data after about two minutes of tracking.

3.4.1
On Kongsberg simulator

How to manually acquire a target

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• Click
. The button begins flashing.

• Click on the desired target(s). 10 seconds after activating the button or no tracking
selected the button will de-activate itself.

• A flashing rectangle and a two-digit number – referring to target number - is

displayed
on top of the target. The flashing stops when the radar is tracking the target.
Note: It can take up to two minutes after a target is detected before correct target
data is presented.

• If a target is stationary (dead in water as a rock, buoy etc) the letter “z” is
presented on
top of the target.

2. AUTOMATIC ACQUISITION 

The automatic acquisition facility is best used in open waters and good weather
conditions, when it can help to ensure that no target is missed in zones specified by the
operator. Note however that, because of its limitations, it will never constitute maintaining a
safe lookout. Automatic acquisition should always be used with care because small targets
can still be missed. It can also collect clutter, noise and interference, which will cause alarms
to go off unnecessarily. This can happen almost continually, which is why there are only a
few occasions when it will be of any real use. As the target tracking system has a finite
number of targets that it can plot and monitor, a further risk is that, if you use the automatic
acquisition option, this finite number can be reached and some targets which might be
important will not be acquired. Manual deletion of unimportant targets is an essential part of
automatic acquisition.

This button enables/disables the automatic detection and tracking

of targets inside the auto track zone, as specified in the ‘ARPA’ menu. When the
button, is activated the auto acquire zone is displayed on the PPI. Click the active

on the ARPA menu page to turn off the drawn auto acquire zone
presentation.

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When in mode and a new target enters the auto track zone a warning is

indicated by a flashing Acknowledge the alarm by clicking the button.

3. GLOBAL AND ZONAL AUTOMATIC ACQUISITION ZONES

Automatic acquisition zones may be ‘Global’ or ‘Zonal’.

With global automatic acquisition, the search area is all around own ship, with its
dimensions adjustable by the operator. All targets entering this area are acquired
automatically.

With zonal automatic acquisition, targets are only acquired when they enter specific
detection zones.

4.  THE GUARD ZONE 

Most target tracking devices incorporate guard zones, whereby a target entering the zone
activates an alarm which both makes a sound and shows up on screen with a flashing
symbol or other means of display. There are usually up to two zones available and their arc
and depth are defined by the operator. Consideration must always be given to the possibility
of radar returns from small targets (e.g. a yacht or small fishing vessels). These can appear
inside the inner limit of a guard zone and subsequently will not set off any warning alarms.

ARPA Page 1

This menu is only available when the ARPA function is enabled.

It specifies the borders of the auto track zone, within which the auto track function is
programmed to detect and track targets.

Click to open the second ARPA page.

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 Click to display the auto track zone on the PPI. It has a general form as
shown in the figure to the left. Use the pointing device to adjust the

distances from the centre to the various borders by scrolling up or down with the

and buttons.

The ‘AUTO TRACK ZONE has the following borders:

FORWARD
STARBOARD
PORT
MINIMUM TRACK RANGE
STERN BLIND SECTOR

ARPA page 2

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5. AUTOMATIC IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM (AIS) - is a Very High Frequency (VHF)
radio system which can be used in conjunction with target tracking devices. It not only helps
with target tracking but also: • Identifies vessels • Assists in situational awareness •
Simplifies safety-related information exchange between vessels and between vessels and
the shore AIS is mandatory on all SOLAS vessels over 300 gt and they must have Class A
AIS equipment onboard. Class B standard has been agreed for other vessels.
The AIS system continuously exchanges navigational information between own ship, other
vessels, and shore stations. The information it exchanges includes: • ‘Static’ parameters
such as MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identification) number, vessel’s name, call sign, IMO
number, type, length, cargo, position of aerials, draught and route plan • ‘Dynamic’ data
including position, heading and SOG.

LO2.11: Construct true and relative vectors, graphic representation of target

information and danger areas

PREDICTED AREA OF DANGER

THE AREA SURROUNDING A TARGET’S POTENTIAL COLLISION POINT TOWARD

WHICH OWN SHIP MUST NOT STEER IF A PRE-SELECTED MINIMUM DESIRABLE CPA
IS TO BE MAINTAINED WITH RESPECT TO THAT TARGET.THE SIZE OF THE PAD IS
LARGELY DETERMINED BY THE PRE-SET CPA SAFE LIMITS. PAD’S ARE
PROPRIETARY FUNCTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE ON SPERRY RASCAR TYPE.

RELATIVE VECTOR

THE GRAPHICAL INDICATION OF THE PREDICTED DIRECTION OF RELATIVE MOTION

AND SPEED OF RELATIVE MOTION FOR ANY GIVEN TRACKED ARPA TARGET IN THE
IMMEDIATE FUTURE.

SAFE LIMITS

OPERATOR SELECTED VALUES OF CPA AND TCPA THAT DETERMINE WHETHER

ANY TRACKED TARGET WILL BE DISPLAYED AS A DANGER TARGET.

Student Reflection:

Write a min. of 100-words per question. Write in your own words and submit your
work before the deadline.

1. What was the most important things you have learnt from the following topics
methods of target acquisition and its limitations and about predicted point of
collision?
For this week, one of the things that I learned from this subjects is about the
methods of acquisition. For confined coastal waters or in inclement weather,
manual acquisition is suggested. After the risk of collision has passed, pressing
the 'acquire' button will save the target to the computer's memory, and pressing
'cancel' will delete it. Manual acquisition, on the other hand, necessitates more
radar display observation time by the operator. In ARPA acquisition, targets that

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 are not detected in 5 consecutive scans are considered lost targets. ARPA will
provide true data after about two minutes of tracking.

2. What area/s of the topic did you fail to grasp on the methods of acquisition and
true and relative vector?
So far this topic has been discussed clearly by our instructor. He had shown and
introduced the ARPA that is currently in in the academy. We were shown its
functions and uses. There we learned many things about the actual ARPA
system. Although, it would be nice if we could really operate it first hand when we
are back at the academy.
3. Which point/s of the topics on predicted area of danger is/are still not clear
enough in your mind?
Although this topic has a lot of plotting to do in it, the important thing for me is that
I understood the steps on how to plot with the guidance of our instructor.

Student Additional Activity:

1. Watch the following videos: Methods of acquisition and Predicted point of
collision

Links: Principal ARPA system

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUKofW0UXPY

Predicted Point of Collision

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfRWrl9i63M&t=2s

2. Make an insight of the videos about methods of acquisition and its limitations
and about plotting predicted point of collision. Write your summary below.
Write with your own words. Minimum of 200 words.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the availability of low-cost microprocessors and the
advancement of advanced computer technology made it possible to use computer
techniques to improve commercial marine radar systems. Automatic Radar Plotting
Aids were developed using this technique by radar manufacturers (ARPA). ARPAs
are computer-aided radar data processing systems that produce predicted vectors
and other ship movement data. From the time radar was first introduced to the
present day the radar picture has been presented on the screen of a cathode ray
tube. Although the cathode ray tube has retained its function over the years, the way
in which the picture is presented has changed considerably. From about the mid-
1980s the first raster-scan displays appeared. The radial-scan PPI was replaced by
a raster-scan PPI generated on a television type of display. The integral ARPA and
conventional radar units with a raster-scan display will gradually replace the radial-
scan radar sets. A raster-scan synthetic display's radar picture is created on a
television screen and is made up of a huge number of horizontal lines that form a
raster pattern. This form of display is far more complicated than a radial-scan
synthetic display and necessitates a lot of memory. There are a lot of benefits for the
operator of a raster-scan display, but there are also some drawbacks. The
brightness of the image is the most obvious benefit of a raster-scan display. This
allows the spectator to see the screen in practically any ambient light condition. It is

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this characteristic, more than any other, that has ensured the success of a raster-
scan radar.

Because of the high number of maritime accidents, particularly ship collisions,

marine traffic safety has become a major research topic in recent years. Measuring
the collision risk can help the navigator sail the ship based on the best collision
avoidance decision. The process of a vessel colliding with another can be described
by forecasting the point where the ships are most likely to collide and the likelihood
of a collision based on the geometry of the ship's position. The ship trajectory was
also used to determine the vessel's future position, which was compared to the
projected point in the geometry calculation result. When ships meet at the same
position at the same time based on the ship's movement projection, a collision risk
exists. As a result, the simplest model for assessing the danger of a ship collision
was developed utilizing matrices and a linear algorithm. The data from the Automatic
Identification System (AIS) is used in this paper, and a linear algorithm is used to
anticipate ship movement. This research determined the likelihood of a collision and
forecasted the ship's new coordinate position in t time. The proposed strategy might
be viewed as a first step in avoiding collisions and improving ship navigation in
narrow and shallow rivers.

Formative Assessment:

Construct true and relative vectors, graphic representation of target information and plot
danger areas

I - Illustrate True and Relative vectors on a plotting sheet.

Own ship course is 015° T, Own ship speed is 14 knots

Rule: 12 minutes
No. 1 Target
1st time of observation: 2200 Hrs, Bearing of target: 060° T, Range of 10.0 nm
2nd time of observation: 2212 Hrs, Bearing of target: 060° T, Range of 7.0 nm

No. 2 Target
1st time of observation: 2200 Hrs, Bearing of target: 340° T, Range of 8.0 nm
2nd time of observation: 2212 Hrs, Bearing of target: 340° T, Range of 5.5 nm

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II - Plot Predicted area of danger

Own ship course is 010° T, Own ship speed is 12 knots

Rule 12 minutes
With buffer zone of 2.0 nm port and stbd

1st time of observation: 2100 Hrs, Bearing of target: 055° T, Range of 10.0 nm
2nd time of observation: 2112 Hrs, Bearing of target: 055° T, Range of 7.0 nm

Find:
1. DRM = 235 deg
2. SRM = 15 kts
3. Target Course = 287 degrees

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4. Target Speed = 11 kts
5. P1 Bearing = 40 degrees
6. P1 Range = 6 NM
7. P2 Bearing = 344 degrees
8. P2 Range = 6.5 NM
9. PAD Graphics

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References :

 Radar and ARPA Manual, 3rd Edition, A. Bole, A. Wall, A. Norris., the Boulevard,
Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, OX5 1 GB, UK, ISBN 978-0-08-097752-2, 2014.

 Shipborne Navigation Radar, Liu Tong and Zhang Bin., Dalian Maritime University
Press, ISBN 978-7-5632-2937-6, 2013.

 Radar Observer's Handbook for Merchant Navy Officers, 9th Edition., W. Burger.,
Glasgow, Brown, Son and Ferguson LTD., ISBN 0-85174-666-7, 1998, Reprinted 2008.

 Radar for Mariners, David F. Burch, Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Burch, David, ISBN 0-07-139867-8, 2005.

 A Guide to the Collision Avoidance Rules, 5th Edition., A.N. Cockcroft and J.N.F.
Lameijer, Oxford, Heinemann Professional Publishing, ISBN 0-434-90274-8, 1996.

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 Electronic Aids to Navigation: Radar and ARPA, R. Lownsborough and D. Calcutt.,
London, Edward Arnold, ISBN 0-340-59258-3, 1993.

 Parallel Indexing Techniques, I. Smith and R. A. Mulroney, Warsash Publishing, ISBN 0

948646 55 1, 1979.

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