ARPA Automatic Pointing Radar Course

Program required by the DGMM.
FOM ORDER 2296/2002
BOE 226, of September 20, 2002.
 Main types of ARPA / APRA systems and their presentation characteristics.
 Performance standards.
 Provisions of the STCW agreement.
 Risks due to overconfidence in the system.
 Knowledge of performance parameters with respect to different input data in the system.
 Effects of detector malfunction on data accuracy.
 Effects of limitations on radar range, bearing discrimination and accuracy.
 Effects of the imprecision of the input data (heading and speed). The factors that influence the precision of the vector.
 Target selection criteria for automatic capture.
 Factors for the correct choice of manual acquisition targets.
 Effects of target loss and fading on tracking.
 Circumstances that cause variation in the quality of the echo and its effects on the information presented.
 Treatment delays.
 Methodology for using operational notices: their advantages and limitations.
 Methods for checking malfunctions of ARPA systems, including automatic function testing
 Precautions to take in the event of a system malfunction.
 Automatic and manual target acquisition, limitations of both procedures.
 Risk assessment: Deduction of the maximum approach point.
 Effects of changes in course/speed of own ship and/or targets.
 Effects of errors regarding vectors and danger zones.
 Correct knowledge of the true and relative vectors: deduction of the true headings and speeds of the targets.
 Advantages of switching between relative and true vectors.
 Knowledge of the method of deduction of the previous situations of the targets that are followed and
recognition of historical data as a means of indicator of the targets' recent maneuvers and
as a procedure to check the validity of system monitoring.