Page 16 - Volumne 18 Number 5

And that’s the whole secret to using the CAL control with logic and skill: select CAL until a weather echo is displayed, then position the control to the middle of its range. (In the case of a stepped CAL control with click stops, select the next click greater than halfway to MID.) If you still see red, skedaddle.Using Cal To Look Inside EchoesTurning the CAL control down to the MID position will also cause the red and/or magenta to peel back, so that you get a look at what’s hidden down inside the echo, as you see in the accompanying illustrations; the left photos are at CAL, the right ones are CAL reduced to half. In addition, the radar beam diameter, in effect, becomes narrower; it’s like sharpening a pencil, so much greater detail is revealed. For instance, note that a classic hook is now seen at upper right in the second photo of the left-hand pair of illustrations that was obscured in the red before. In the line of weather below (CAL on the left, 1/2 CAL on the right), all that red with CAL reduced tells you it’s a line of severe storms and also reveals just where the heaviest rain and hail is located within the line.With practice, you’ll be amazed at all the helpful internal detail revealed by turning the CAL control to the MID position.(Incidentally, for those flying for an airline and the Collins WXR 700/701 radar series, you cannot turn CAL down, only up. Sorry, it’s a major fault in that radar design.)Turning Cal UpWith many radars, it’s not possible to turn CAL up at all; on many others, it can be turned up only slightly, in which case it will be a little helpful when searching for weather in the far distance and not for much else.If it’s possible to turn CAL up an appreciable amount with your radar, doing so results in three things –MADE IN THE USA$1370 $1785Phone (954) 966-7329 FAX: (954) 966-3584 5614 SW 25 St., Hollywood, FL 33023 web: www.survivalproductsinc.comemail: sales@survivalproductsinc.com14 • TWIN & TURBINEMAY 2014