🔍 Key Concepts

• Ion discharge (TR) cell location in the RADAR waveguide/antenna system • Difference between protecting transmitter vs protecting receiver components • What happens to the receiver front end (mixer) during the high‑power transmit pulse

💭 Think About

• Think about when the ion discharge (TR) cell actually conducts: is it during transmit, receive, or both? What does that tell you about what it protects? • Which RADAR component is most vulnerable to damage from the very high‑power transmit pulse: the transmitter, the antenna, or the sensitive receiver front end? • Ask yourself: is a TR cell part of tuning/optimizing performance, or is it mainly a protection/switching device?

✅ Before You Answer

• Verify whether a TR cell is part of the duplexer that switches the antenna between transmit and receive. • Check which RADAR stage (transmitter, local oscillator, or receiver mixer) operates at very low power and is therefore easily damaged by high‑power pulses. • Confirm whether a TR cell has anything to do with SWR (standing wave ratio) or noise figure, or if those are handled by different circuit elements.