"Anchor" wrote in message
news
Reading the responses, some valid, some not*, I guess the best
thing to try is:

o illuminate a surplus TVRO 12 ft dish with the magnetron
- collect and focus side lobes
- 36+ dbi gain
o use a regulated power supply the decrease the bandwidth
o use some form of bandpass filtering such as cavity resonators
o point the thing at the moon and listen for echos
o experiment using it as a ground mapping radar

I vaguely recall seeing something in a late 80's (?) magazine, may
be 73 or CQ VHF, that built a digital data link from a pair of 2 mbit
PC network cards and a magnetron.

* FYI:
o GSM cell phone bands = 850/1900 MHz for the Americas,
900/1850 MHz outside the Americas, not 2.4 GHz.
o microwave ovens with the door closed already interfere with
most 2.4 GHz ISM band FCC Part 15 devices in close proximity

The problem with the spectral width, and stability, of the magnetron limits
is usefulness for low signals. As mentioned before, see
http://www-personal.engin.umich.edu/...laes_tps04.pdf

Now I know what you are doing you might consider a "COHO/STALO" system, as
used in MTI RADARs, see http://www.alphalpha.org/radar/coho_e.html With
COHO/STALO, you could probably reduce the BW to near 1 Hz with digital
filtering.

You may also consider applying the free-space RADAR equation, to determine
the feasibility. With a nominal ERP of 4 MW you may be successful without
using COHO/STALO. Try pulsing the magnetron with a very low PRF, and use an
"A" scan monitor.

Regards,

Frank