HF radars can be used to measure surface currents and wave spectra. The Coastal Radar (CODAR) used by the University of Hamburg was designed for current mapping only. It has been operated for 15 field experiments during the past 15 years. Recently, a new HF radar called Wellen Radar (WERA) has been developed at the University of Hamburg. One main advantage of the system is the possibility of connecting different configurations of receive antennas. When operated with a linear array, information on the sea state can be obtained via second-order spectral bands. A further advantage is the flexibility in range resolution between 0.3 and 1.2 km, instead of the fixed resolution of about 2 km of CODAR. This is achieved by transmitting frequency-mod- ulated continuous wave (FMCW) chirps instead of continuous wave (CW) pulses. In addition, this technique avoids the blind range of about 3 km in front of the CODAR. The technical design of WERA is described and first experimental results are presented.
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