Apple Valley FAA Radar Site

Apple Valley FAA Radar Site (1960s-Active) - A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Long Range Radar (LLR) site established between 1959 and 1966 near Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota. The site is used to identify and track military and civilian aircraft movements within a 200-mile radius and to provide air-ground radio communication with those aircraft. Assigned an FAA ID of QJE. Active FAA Radar Site. Also Known as Minneapolis FAA Radar Site. History This site became an FAA radar site between 1959 and 1966, furnishing radar track data to the FAA ARTCC's and to USAF Direction Centers. The initial FAA ARSR-1 search radar was later modified to become an ARSR-1E and remained in operation until it was modified 23 Aug 2012 to become a Common Air Route Surveillance Radar (CARSR) with a 7172 antenna. When first built this site was literally out in the woods but today it is in the middle of a housing area on a small 1.15-acre lot surrounded by residential homes. Historical aerial photographs show the radar site in 1966 but the 1957 version shows no radar site at all. A FYQ-47 Common Digitizer was probably placed in service by February 1973 when the USAF/FAA FST-2 to FYQ-47 replacement program was completed. By 1990 the site was equipped with an ARSR-1E search radar and a CD-2A Common Digitizer. The Apple Valley CD-2A was scheduled to receive an upgrade kit to implement three level weather data processing in March 1992. CARSR Radar The nationwide replacement program converting FAA legacy radar systems to the CARSR radar configuration was completed by 17 Aug 2015 and Apple Valley FAA Radar Site was a part of that program. Legacy FAA radars underwent a Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) that replaced key components in the vintage ARSR-1, ARSR-2, FPS-20, FPS-66 and FPS-67 radars. The CARSR program replaced legacy klystron radar transmitters with a solid-state transmitter as well as renovating the radar receiver and signal processor. The CARSR modification also included common digitizer functionality making a separate common digitizer unnecessary. The Apple Valley FAA Radar Site is now operating with the CARSR radar. At the time of the CARSR changeout, the legacy radar in place was an ARSR-1E and the CARSR conversion included a 7172 Antenna. The secondary radar for the site is the ATCBI-6 Beacon set. The radar site data is now available to the USAF/NORAD Battle Control System-Fixed (BCS-F) operations centers (EADS & WADS) as well as the FAA Minneapolis ARTCC (ZMP) and adjacent ARTCCs. Other federal agencies have access to the data under the Homeland Security umbrella. Apple Valley FAA Radar Site Major Equipment List Search Radar HF Radar Data Systems IFF/SIF/Beacon ARSR-1 ARSR-1E CARSR FYQ-47 CD-2A ATCBI-6 Current Status Active FAA facility near Apple Valley in Dakota County, Minnesota. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: 13591 Harwell Path, Apple Valley, MN 55124. Maps & Images Lat: 44.75264 Long: -93.22767 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 1,117' GPS Locations: 44.75264, -93.22767 Apple Valley FAA Radar Site See Also: Minneapolis ARTCC JSS System FAA Air Route Traffic Control Centers US Radar Sets Sources: Dakota County Tax Records for 13591 Harwell Path, Apple Valley, MN 55124 Historic Aerial Photos for coordinates 44.75264, -93.22767 See 1957 and 1966 versions. FAA - Site Listing of Legacy Radars as of 23 Dec 2016. U.S. DoT - Recommendation on Transition from Primary/Secondary Radar to Secondary-Only Radar Capability 1994. FAA - Three Level Weather For ARTCC Displays - Project Implementation Plan, FAA Order 7110.14A, 14 Feb 1990. FAA - SSR/DMTI Modification - Project Implementation Plan, FAA Order 6340.20, 6 Jul 1988. Links: Wikipedia - Joint Surveillance System Visited: No