Weather Radar Monitoring using the Sun

In this technical report a tool for checking the antenna pointing and for on-line monitoring of the sensitivity of the radar receiver based on solar observations is presented. The monitoring tool does not interfere with the operational scanning of the weather radars: it merely analyzes the reflectivity volume scans which are produced in real-time. It is concluded that the potential of the ``solar monitoring' tool is clearly demonstrated and that it should be consulted by the maintenance staff on a daily basis.