More on Black and White Radar

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The topic of black and white radar seems to piqued some interest, specifically, how could I have a photo that shows the whole radar if it faded quickly? The answer is that it was a time exposure (i.e., I kept the lens open until the radar swept all the way around).

Here is what a non-time exposure shot looked like:

While there were no thunderstorms on the 'scope when I took this picture, it should illustrate the point. Only a narrow "slice" was fully illuminated at any given moment. The echoes began to fade quickly after the sweep went by, which is why radar before 1976 had to be viewed in a darkened room.

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