  We report on the installation and first results of one compact oceanographic
radar in the region of Nice for a long-term observation of the coastal surface
currents in the North-West Mediterranean Sea. We describe the specific
processing and calibration techniques which were developed at the laboratory to
produce high-quality radial surface current maps. In particular, we propose an
original self-calibration technique of the antenna patterns, which is based on
the sole analysis of the databasis and does not require any shipborne
transponder or other external transmitters. The relevance of the
self-calibration technique and the accuracy of inverted surface currents have
been assessed with the launch of 40 drifters that remained under the radar
coverage for about 10 days.
