Was the radar harmful to the watch crew?

maillemaker · 01-20-14, 02:08 PM

With the radar with the rotating mast, the mast is right up there with the watch crew. Did the radiation from the radar harm the watch crew?

Steve

Herr-Berbunch · 01-20-14, 04:10 PM

I'll say it it wouldn't have been the best place to be, certainly not for prolonged periods.

Marcello · 01-20-14, 05:04 PM

Generally the Kriegsmarine was paranoid about radar giving off their units positions so it was not used that much. A FuMO-30 was rated 8-10 Kw which would be equivalent to about as many microwave ovens in terms of output power, but the wave lenght was 81,5 cm. Frankly in the late war environment I suspect it would not be high on my list of concerns.

maillemaker · 01-20-14, 06:22 PM

But strangely standing watch didn't seem so cold anymore...

Steve

RConch · 01-21-14, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maillemaker

But strangely standing watch didn't seem so cold anymore...

Steve

Now that is funny!

flag4 · 01-21-14, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcello

Generally the Kriegsmarine was paranoid about radar giving off their units positions so it was not used that much. A FuMO-30 was rated 8-10 Kw which would be equivalent to about as many microwave ovens in terms of output power, but the wave lenght was 81,5 cm. Frankly in the late war environment I suspect it would not be high on my list of concerns.

interesting answer, thank you.

Gustav Schiebert · 01-29-14, 11:41 AM

The wavelengths would not be harmful to humans - microwaves are technically only found between 1 GHz to 100 GHz, whereas the FuMO's on a U-Boat were never greater than 82 MHz.

Even within those 'microwave' brackets, the power has to be very high to cause any health effects - and even then, the effects are short-term (ie burns) rather than any long-term effects associated with ionizing radiation, which is I suspect what you were after?

So radio waves like these are harmless.

The issue with that is, of course, that due to the casualty rates in the U-Boat force in World War 2, the number of survivors (about ten thousand) would not be large enough to observe any statistically valid health patterns in later life - so if for some freak reason contrary to medical knowledge it did cause any problems, we would almost certainly never know about it.

maillemaker · 01-29-14, 01:22 PM

I was just remembering that the F15 or something has a safety switch that shuts down the radar when the wheels are on the ground. Evidently it puts out enough power to cook a turkey in 30 seconds or some such.

I guess the uboat radar was pretty low power.

As an aside, I shall whine and say that I find radar in the game to be pretty useless. It broadcasts your position far more than it finds things in range. And if you have map updates turned off you have to manually man and use the radar to find things. By the time you've jiggered with it long enough to get a hit and determine range and bearing you will probably have a visual sighting.

The stuff mounted on the front of the tower is even more useless. The time you really want it is in low visibility which is usually rough seas, and if a wave touches the radar array it shuts off. Which means the radar keeps shutting itself down about every 15 seconds.

Steve

01-20-14, 02:08 PM	#1
maillemaker Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,639 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	Was the radar harmful to the watch crew? With the radar with the rotating mast, the mast is right up there with the watch crew. Did the radiation from the radar harm the watch crew? Steve

01-20-14, 04:10 PM	#2
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	I'll say it it wouldn't have been the best place to be, certainly not for prolonged periods. __________________

01-29-14, 11:41 AM	#7
Gustav Schiebert Sparky Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: AM52 Posts: 151 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	The wavelengths would not be harmful to humans - microwaves are technically only found between 1 GHz to 100 GHz, whereas the FuMO's on a U-Boat were never greater than 82 MHz. Even within those 'microwave' brackets, the power has to be very high to cause any health effects - and even then, the effects are short-term (ie burns) rather than any long-term effects associated with ionizing radiation, which is I suspect what you were after? So radio waves like these are harmless. The issue with that is, of course, that due to the casualty rates in the U-Boat force in World War 2, the number of survivors (about ten thousand) would not be large enough to observe any statistically valid health patterns in later life - so if for some freak reason contrary to medical knowledge it *did* cause any problems, we would almost certainly never know about it. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] GWX 3 + OLC Gold + 100% Realism + Commander "Attack! Always attack!"

01-20-14, 05:04 PM	#3
Marcello Planesman Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 183 Downloads: 49 Uploads: 0	Generally the Kriegsmarine was paranoid about radar giving off their units positions so it was not used that much. A FuMO-30 was rated 8-10 Kw which would be equivalent to about as many microwave ovens in terms of output power, but the wave lenght was 81,5 cm. Frankly in the late war environment I suspect it would not be high on my list of concerns.

01-20-14, 06:22 PM	#4
maillemaker Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,639 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	But strangely standing watch didn't seem so cold anymore... Steve

01-29-14, 01:22 PM	#8
maillemaker Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,639 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	I was just remembering that the F15 or something has a safety switch that shuts down the radar when the wheels are on the ground. Evidently it puts out enough power to cook a turkey in 30 seconds or some such. I guess the uboat radar was pretty low power. As an aside, I shall whine and say that I find radar in the game to be pretty useless. It broadcasts your position far more than it finds things in range. And if you have map updates turned off you have to manually man and use the radar to find things. By the time you've jiggered with it long enough to get a hit and determine range and bearing you will probably have a visual sighting. The stuff mounted on the front of the tower is even more useless. The time you really want it is in low visibility which is usually rough seas, and if a wave touches the radar array it shuts off. Which means the radar keeps shutting itself down about every 15 seconds. Steve