ELECTRONICS
January 1946

By Lt. Col. Harold A. Zahl
and
Major John W. Marchetti
Page 98 - 104

John Marchetti at Camp Evans
building 20 - January 1999

Combining high power with light weight, the TPS-3 radar detects approaching bombers at
120 miles, yet can be carried by hand and set up by a four-man crew. This first of two arti-
cles on the equipment furnishes an important example of 600-mc technique

at the test site on March 1, 1943. The next two weeks were spent in calibrating and determining operational performance of this equipment in comparison with three other lightweight equipments. At the conclusion of the tests it was definitely determined that the AN/TPS-3 (then known as the 602-T8) had a range in excess of 110 miles and could be mass-produced. This performance was sufficient to indicate an immediate combat requirement. The model was flown back to Camp Evans, Belmar, N. J., on March 18, 1943. The engineers responsible for the design of the equipment took all of the information available to a manufacturer, along with the model, so that production might start as soon as possible. Nine hundred sets were ordered, and the first started coming off the production line about a year later.
To cover the interim period it was necessary to produce on a crash basis a small number of sets for immediate air shipment to critical theater areas. Accordingly, it was decided to construct 12 models within the Camp Evans Signal Laboratory. These 12 models were completed in three months with the aid of GI crews who later formed the operating teams for the equipment and were flown directly to the theaters.

The production models of this set found their way to all the theaters of the war. The first 25 were produced in time to take an active part in the Normandy invasion.

General Description

The AN/TPS-3 was designed chiefly for medium-long-range early warning against aircraft. It is composed of units which are small and light enough to be either transported by air or hand-carried. Its total weight (including spare parts and power units) when packed for air transport is 1200 lbs. Maximum weight of any single component is 200 lbs. The set can be completely assembled and put on the air by a crew of four men within thirty minutes of arrival at a site. A typical installation is shown in Fig. 1.

The major component is a console which houses the receiver, the transmitter, the indicator, part of the modulating system and part of the r-f system. This unit is shown in Fig. 2. The console is normally housed in a tent which is provided with the set and acts as both a light-proof covering and a shelter. A section of transmission line with very heavy steel walls plugs into the top of the console and forms a pedestal upon which a 10-ft parabolic-reflector antenna system is mounted. This section of transmission line is braced by two wooden struts whose ends are buried in the ground. The top of the parabolic reflector is further secured by three guy wires and the entire structure is so made that the antenna can rotate continuously in either direction or be inched

ELECTRONICS -January 1946 99

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ELECTRONICS January 1946

ELECTRONICS
January 1946