Editing Distant Early Warning Line (section)

==Radar system==
[[File:Point Lay Alaska DEW Line.jpg|thumb|DEW line station formerly at Point Lay, Alaska.]]
The [[Point Lay, Alaska#Military radar|Point Lay, Alaska]] DEW line station has a typical suite of systems. The main [[AN/FPS-19]] search radar is in the dome, flanked by two AN/FRC-45 lateral communications dishes (or AN/FRC-102, depending on the date). To the left are the much larger southbound AN/FRC-101 communications dishes. Not visible is the [[AN/FPS-23]] "gap filler" doppler antenna.<ref name="dew3"/>

The DEW Line was upgraded with fifteen new [[AN/FPS-117]] [[passive electronically scanned array]] radar systems between 1985 and 1994, and the line was then renamed the North Warning System.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20021125061702/http://mysite.freeserve.com/nuclear_bunkers/radar.html North American Radar – DEW Line Radar Update]</ref>

:Operating characteristics of the AN/TPS-1D (Mod c) search radar<ref>Naka, Robert F. and William W. Ward. "Distant Early Warning Line Radars: The Quest For Automatic Signal Detection." Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Vol 12. No. 2. 2000. 181–204.</ref>
* Frequency range 1.22 to 1.35 [[GHz]]
* Peak power output 160 kilowatts
Average power output 400 watts
* Pulse rate 400 pulses per second
** Pulse width 6.0 microsecond
* Range {{convert|1000|yd}} to {{convert|160|nmi|lk=in}}
* Antenna radiation pattern
** Horizontal 2.8-degree
** Vertical 30 deg cosecant<sup>2</sup> (elevation angle)
* Receiver noise figure 11.7&nbsp;dB
* IF bandwidth and frequency 5.0&nbsp;MHz and 60&nbsp;MHz
* Required prime power 8.5&nbsp;kW
* Weight of radar about {{convert|4800|lb|abbr=on}}
* Total volume of radar electronics about {{convert|1000|ft3|abbr=on}}

Modifications to each operating radar station occurred during the construction phase of the DEW Line system. This was due to the extreme winds, frigid temperatures, and the ground conditions due to [[permafrost]] and ice.<ref>Robert F. and William W. Ward. "Distant Early Warning Line Radars: The Quest For Automatic Signal Detection." Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Vol 12. No. 2. 2000. 184.</ref> There were two significant electronic modifications that were also crucial to the functioning of these radar stations in an Arctic environment. One reduced the effects of vibration in correlation to temperature change, the other increased the pulse duration from two to six microseconds. It also began using a [[crystal oscillator]] for more stable readings and accurate accounts of movement within the air.<ref>Robert F. and William W. Ward. "Distant Early Warning Line Radars: The Quest For Automatic Signal Detection." Lincoln Laboratory Journal, Vol 12. No. 2. 2000. 185.</ref>