277Q radar antenna and walkway. A walkway was provided for the met techs in order to service the anemometers, windspeed indicators and other related instruments mounted on the mast.  It was an enclosed, fenced walkway, since personnel could have gone  up there in a rolling sea.
	277Q electronics.  Frank Statham reminisces on the 277Q equipment. "My experience with the AP radar was on the newest weather ships, the Vancouver and Quadra.  The 277 radars were moved over as backup to the Sperry balloon tracking radar (AN/FPQ-10). I loved operating the 277 because there were lots of wheels and knobs to turn.  There was a gap in the waveguide to allow for ship movement. It was  between the magnetron box and the aerial waveguide. We used to run a screwdriver across the gap to make some awesome sparks to impress the visitors to the radar office".
	Checking the elevation of a weather balloon.
	Checking the distance to an aircraft.
All photos in this table are from the collection of Bob Manning

Frank Statham provides the instructions on how to flash up the 277Q radar along with some additional notes of explanation.

"I always enjoyed rotating the variac to bring the generator voltage up to 10kV.  I could hear the singing of the primary AC voltage increase and then what I would call the 'tenseness in the air' as the voltage took hold.

The angle information at the bottom of the instruction sheet refers to the antenna position required to find the weather balloon at launch.  Of course the antenna azimuth would be astern, as the ship would turn into the wind so that balloon would blow free and clear of the vessel.  The higher the wind speed at launch, the lower antenna angle required.

Often the operator would accidentally acquire the balloon on an antenna side lobe, but that would be noticed within a few minutes as the balloon ascended and the pip faded out much too soon".

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Credits and References:

1) Bob Manning ( now deceased)
2) Frank Statham <fstatham(at)gmail.com>

 Back To Weather Ships

Oct 15/14