What is the importance of calibration and alignment for ARPA accuracy?

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Multiple Choice

What is the importance of calibration and alignment for ARPA accuracy?

Calibration fixes systematic errors in the radar’s distance measurements, so the ranges you read to targets reflect true separation. Alignment ensures the radar’s boresight lines up correctly with the ship’s heading and the reference north, so the bearings you see correspond to real directions. When both are correct, ARPA can reliably track targets and compute relative motion, which is what CPA and TCPA depend on. Any drift in calibration or a misalignment introduces biases in range or bearing, leading to faulty CPA/TCPA predictions and potentially unsafe decisions.

Calibration fixes systematic errors in the radar’s distance measurements, so the ranges you read to targets reflect true separation. Alignment ensures the radar’s boresight lines up correctly with the ship’s heading and the reference north, so the bearings you see correspond to real directions. When both are correct, ARPA can reliably track targets and compute relative motion, which is what CPA and TCPA depend on. Any drift in calibration or a misalignment introduces biases in range or bearing, leading to faulty CPA/TCPA predictions and potentially unsafe decisions.

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