Strange occurences near a radar station

Right, to me this seems the best forum to post this in, so here goes:

It seems a radar station in Trimingham, Norfolk, England has caused quite a lot of problems to people recently. There have been many times where people have driven past, and things have happened to the electronic systems in their cars. The link to the news page on the local news paperis here:
:news about radar station

If you go on this site, I think the site is at these Grid co-ordinates

Ordnance survey: use Get a map feature (underneath the title View maps Online)

Has anyone ever heard of a radar system doing this before?

[edit on 23-2-2006 by apex]

Originally posted by apex
Has anyone ever heard of a radar system doing this before?

Yes.

A strong electromagnetic pulse of any kind can shut off a car's ignition and otherwise screw up electronics. It doesn't take a nuclear EMP weapon just a good dose of microwaves will work fine.

I've heard, second-hand, of florescent lights being affected by radar sweeps, and I knew of a fellow USAF photographer who suffered severe burns from the effects of a pocketful of flash bulbs and a clueless 2nd Lieutenant ("...and be sure you DON'T TURN ON THE RADAR!" "ROGER! TURN ON THE RADAR!" ).

There's actually a thread about it here that has some pretty good information in it.

Right thanks, but doesn't an EMP always make it unusable afterwards?

Also, It can't really be that useful as a weapon can it. After all it dissipates over a short distance, as it only obeys an inverse square law.

It's not a true emp. It's just building up a charge in the cars that causes interference. No it can't be used as a weapon, as it would affect your own systems as much as the enemy systems. It just happens that it's on a similar frequency as the cars to cause interference.

Originally posted by Zaphod58
It's not a true emp. It's just building up a charge in the cars that causes interference. No it can't be used as a weapon, as it would affect your own systems as much as the enemy systems. It just happens that it's on a similar frequency as the cars to cause interference.

Hmmm...no, radar can't cause a charge build-up, as such, if you are thinking about a static electric charge or capacitive charge. It actually is an electromagnetically induced electrical current which causes the interference. On a computer-controlled system, the stray currents can be strong enough to scramble the car's own programming. On on older vehicle, a stong signal can cause enough parasitic oscillation in the coil to prevent a spark, or cause a spark at the wrong time. It can, of sourse, also cause a arc and short out vital systems (think of aluminum foil in a microwave oven). Any radio energy will induce current in conductors (that's how radio works).

In fact, since a radar transmitter is basically the same as a microwave oven, just better aimed ans sometimes stronger (the first microwave oven was invented during WWII, the effect discovered during an early radar test, and, yes, they made popcorn), all the things that apply to your favorite appliance apply to the big rigs.

As for being used as a weapon, we already do it. Radar jamming aircraft can swamp an enemies radar installations, and even burn out critical circuits if they're not shielded or fused properly. An "Amana RadarRange(er)" could be effective at a respctable distance: the FAA considers some 2-megawatt UHF transmitters to be deadly (yes, DEADLY) at a range of 200 meters, which is, conveniently, also the effective range of an assault rifle.

derived from
FAA Order 3910.3a
FIGURE 33
RADARS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING POWER DENSITIES IN EXCESS OF THE PEL
...
Radar: AN/FPS60 2.0 (Diplex)
Transmitter Power Used For Calculatons
---Peak* (MW): 2.0
---Average (W): 8638
Transmitter Frequency (MHZ): 1300
PEL** (Permissible Exposure Level) (mW/cm2): 4.3
Clearance*** (Feet): 630

*This is equivilant to the pulse energy.
**Exposure above PEL can lead to radiation sickness and death.
****Calculated Distance from Antenna to Point on Main Beam Where Power Density Equals the PEL

And, of course, cops are looking at emp, too.

From The Guardian

Police test hi-tech zapper that could end car chases
A hi-tech device that can bring speeding cars to a halt at the flick of a switch...Police forces in Britain and the US have ordered tests of the new system that delivers a blast of radio waves powerful enough to knock out vital engine electronics...