The system was so powerful that it was found that a carcinotron operating on an aircraft would begin to be effective even before it rose above the radar horizon. As it swept through the frequencies it would broadcast on the radar's operating frequency at what were effectively random times, filling the display with random dots any time the antenna was pointed near it, perhaps 3 degrees on either side of the target. There were so many dots that the display simply filled with white noise in that area. As it approached the station, the signal would also begin to appear in the antenna's sidelobes, creating further areas that were blanked out by noise. At close range, on the order of , the entire radar display would be completely filled with noise, rendering it useless.