• A COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR MEASUREMENT OF PRESSURE IN HYDRAULIC LINES

      Sprague, Susan; Chorney, Andrew; Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      This presentation summarizes a study characterizing strain gages and pressure transducers used to measure the fluid pressure within aircraft hydraulic lines. A series of laboratory calibrations and finite element analyses was performed to demonstrate the quality of data from both pressure transducers and strain gages under variations in both temperature and external strains on the hydraulic lines. Strain gages showed a marked susceptibility to external strains on hydraulic lines, and wide variations in susceptibility to temperature changes. Pressure transducers were found to be relatively immune to both conditions. It is recommended that strain gages be used for trend data only.
    • Electro-Optic Hybrid Rotary Joint (EOHRJ)

      Xu, Guoda; Bartha, John; Zhang, Sean; Qiu, Wei; Lin, Freddie; McNamee, Stuart; Rheaume, Larry; Physical Optics Corporation; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      An advanced electro-optic hybrid rotary joint (EOHRJ) has been developed in Phase II of an AF SBIR effort with Physical Optics Corporation (POC) to replace cable wrap structure for multi-channel rotation-to-fixed (RTF) signal transmission. The EOHRJ meets AFFTC and other range special needs with a generic, high performance, rotary joint solution. At the moment, we have successfully installed and tested the EOHRJ on our KTM tracker system with the following capabilities: 1) able to accommodate hundreds of transmission channels, including electrical power, control, feedback, and low-speed signals; 2) able to accommodate multiple channel, high data rate (over gigabits per second), and bi-directional signal transmission; 3) able to be reliable for harsh environmental operation, adaptive to stringent sized requirement, and accommodating existing electrical and mechanical interfaces. The completed EOHRJ contains three uniquely integrated functional rings. The first and the outmost one is power ring, which provides RTF transmission channels for over 50 high voltage and high current channels. The second and the middle one is low speed electrical signal ring, which provides RTF transmission for over hundred control, feedback, and low speed data signals. The third and the inmost one is optical fiber slip ring, which, incorporating with current advanced signal multiplexing technologies (either time division or wavelength division multiplexing ) is able to provide multiple channel, high data rate, and bi-directional signal transmission. At the moment, the prototype module of the tree-layer EOHRJ has been successfully assembled in Air Force’s tracker system, and is providing a satisfactory performance. This paper presents our joint work on this project.
    • DESCRIPTION AND PERFORMANCE RESULTS FOR THE ADVANCED RANGE TELEMETRY (ARTM) TIER II WAVEFORM

      Geoghegan, Mark; Nova Engineering, Inc. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      The Advanced Range Telemetry (ARTM) program is a tri-service telemetry modernization project whose goal is to assure that all Department of Defense (DoD) test and training ranges are able to use telemetry as necessary to carry out their respective missions. Multi-h Continuous Phase Modulation (CPM) has been selected by the ARTM JPO as the Tier II ARTM waveform, because it offers significant improvements over both legacy telemetry waveforms (PCM/FM) and the newly-introduced Tier I waveform (Feher-patented FQPSK) in terms of spectral containment and detection efficiency, while retaining a constant envelope characteristic. The paper describes the theoretical and measured performance of the ARTM Tier II multi-h CPM waveform, and the implementation of the trellis demodulator being developed for it.
    • AN OFF-LINE COHERENT FQPSK-B SOFTWARE REFERENCE RECEIVER

      Tsou, Haiping; Darden, Scott; Yan, Tsun-Yee; California Institute of Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Using Feher patented Quadrature Phase Shift Keying provides improved spectrum efficiency for high rate telemetry systems. This paper presents an off-line coherent FQPSK-B software reference receiver developed for hardware validation under contract from the Joint Services Advanced Range Telemetry (ARTM) program. This receiver is implemented in Matlab/Simulink that makes it easily configurable for different tasks and very flexible in handling many other types of QPSK signal or their derivatives with simple modifications. It also offers a cost-effective approach for end-to-end system design. The functionality and key features of this receiver (including its internal software transmitter) will be discussed in this paper. Results from end-to-end system simulations are included as examples.
    • NEAR-FAR RESISTANT PSEUDOLITE RANGING USING THE EXTENDED KALMAN FILTER

      Iltis, Ronald A.; University of California (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Pseudolites have been proposed for augmentation/replacement of the GPS system in radiolocation applications. However, a terrestrial pseudolite system suffers from the near-far effect due to received power disparities. Conventional code tracking loops as employed in GPS receivers are unable to suppress near-far interference. Here, a multiuser code tracking algorithm is presented based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF.) The EKF jointly tracks the delays and amplitudes of multiple received pseudolite waveforms. A modified EKF based on an approximate Bayesian estimator (BEKF) is also developed, which can in principle both acquire and track code delays, as well as detect loss-of-lock. Representative simulation results for the BEKF are presented for code tracking with 2 and 5 users.
    • AUTOMATIC TOOLS FOR TELEMETRY TEST RANGE SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT

      Woolsey, Roy B.; Technology for Communications International (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Automatic spectrum management and monitoring systems are very useful to manage frequencies at test ranges and assure interference-free transmission of telemetry signals. Spectrum management systems assign telemetry frequencies using database information on available and occupied channels and analysis tools which can determine whether a data link will support telemetry. Modern, DSP-based spectrum monitoring systems, in fixed or mobile configurations, automate the process of performing spectrum occupancy to verify clear channels and identify and locate sources of interference; they are integrated with and utilize the management system database. Such systems are important to assure reliable communications channels for telemetry.
    • A HORSE POWER MEASUREMENT SYSTEM FOR NEXT GENERATION AIRCRAFT

      Mangino, Fred; L-3 Communications (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Understanding the horsepower demands that electrical and hydraulic systems place on an aircraft engine is critical since this directly effects engine performance. The current methods of measuring horsepower have been mainly limited to lower rpm engines and are not suitable for higher rpm jet engines. L-3 Telemetry East has developed instrumentation for the F-22 instrumentation group that is capable of measuring horsepower loads on engine shafts that are rotating at up to 18000RPM. This paper describes the operation of this system.
    • ADVANCED SUBMINIATURE TELEMETRY: A NEXT GENERATION INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM

      Harrison, William D.; Copeland, Frank S.; Eglin Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      In performing its mission, the Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office (AFSEO) conducts a wide variety of tests with heavy emphasis on open-air flight tests. As budget pressures drive a reduction in the number of test sorties, maximizing the amount of quality data from each flight test is of paramount importance. This paper describes an AFSEO effort to develop a low cost, intelligent, subminiature telemetry and sensor system based on modern commercial wireless technologies. The instrumentation system is completely self-contained and can be externally mounted, thus eliminating the requirement for extensive aircraft modifications and minimizing the need for specially instrumented test aircraft. The system will make maximum use of Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) components to reduce cost and insure availability. MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) technology will be incorporated as the technology matures.
    • DIGITAL DATA RECORDING: NEW WAYS IN DATA PROCESSING

      Mueller, Guenter; DASA (EADS) (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      With the introduction of digital data recorders new ways of data processing have been developed. The three most important improvements are discussed in this paper: A) By processing PCM Data from a digital recorder by using the SCSI-Interface our ground station has developed software to detect the synchronization pattern of the PCM data and then perform software frame decommutation. Many advantages will be found with this method. B) New digital recorders already use the CCSDS Standard as the internal recording format. Once this technique is implemented in our ground station’s software and becomes part of our software engineering team’s general know-how, the switch to CCSDS telemetry in the future will require no quantum leap in effort. C) Digital recorders offer a very new application: Writing data to a digital tape in the recorder’s own format, allows the replay of data using the recorder’s interfaces; i.e. writing vibration data from the host system to tape, using the analog format of the digital recorder, allows the analysis of the data either in analog form, using the analog interface of the recorder, or in digital form.
    • NATO ADVANCED DATA STORAGE STANDARD STANAG 4575

      Feuer, Gary; Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      NATO NAFAG Air Group IV (AG IV) established the NATO Advanced Data Storage Technical Support Team (NADS TST) to investigate the technology and to develop an interface Standardization Agreement (STANAG) for recording, storage, and exchange of imagery data. Government agencies and industry involved in these technologies are participating in this effort.
    • SHOCK & VIBRATION TESTING OF AN AIRBORNE INSTRUMENTATION DIGITAL RECORDER

      Smedley, Mark; Simpson, Gary; Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division; Metrum-Datatape Inc. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Shock and vibration testing was performed on the Metrum-Datatape Inc. 32HE recorder to determine its viability as an airborne instrumentation recorder. A secondary goal of the testing was to characterize the recorder operational shock and vibration envelope. Both flight testing and laboratory environmental testing of the recorder was performed to make these determinations. This paper addresses the laboratory portion of the shock and vibration testing and addresses the test methodology and rationale, test set-up, results, challenges, and lessons learned.
    • NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME FOR SOLID STATE

      Berard, Al; Nixon, Chris; Lockard, Michael; Eglin Air Force Base; Data General Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      For the last 30 years Magnetic Tape Systems have been the primary means of recording data from airborne instrumentation systems. Increasing data rates and harsh environmental requirements have often exceeded the ability of tape-based systems to keep pace with technology. Throughout this time data recordings have been made mostly with analog longitudinal systems and most recently with digital recording systems that record on commercial DLT, and super VHS tape media. The recordings are played back with the same type of tape device allowing for the data to be processed and/or archived. Since not all data reduction facilities can process the same type of tape media, often tapes are dubbed from one type of tape media format to another, corrupting the translated data. This paper examines operational and data reduction benefits, and life cycle cost of Solid State Recorders as a replacement for existing airborne tape recorders.
    • EMBEDDED VIDEO TRANSMISSION IN A CAIS DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

      Brauer, David A.; L-3 Communications Telemetry-East (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Acquiring real-time video data, during flight testing, has become an integral component in aircraft design and performance evaluation. This unique data acquisition capability has been successfully integrated into the JSF (Joint Strike Fighter), CAIS compliant, FTIDAS (Flight Test Instrumentation Data Acquisition System) developed by L-3 Communications Telemetry-East.
    • PRODUCTION DESIGN OF GOVERNMENT STANDARDIZED SPECTRALLY EFFICIENT FQPSK TRANSMITTERS©

      Bottenfield, Joe; Carle, John; Heft, David; Herley Industries, Inc. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      Herley Industries has applied state of the art design for production techniques to develop of a line of dual use spectrally efficient digital data transmitters. Herley has been a global leader in the design and production of high tech RF and microwave products for more than 30 years. The resulting transmitters support variable data rates up to 20 Mbps and output power levels to 10 Watts in both the L and S frequency bands. The transmitter product line implements Feher’s-patented Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (FQPSK) modulation technique, effectively doubling the spectral efficiency of conventional PCM-FM techniques. While the development of this transmitter product line represents the initial offering of Herley in the blossoming FQPSK industry, the design team has relied upon its extensive experience in producing RF and microwave products that represent the state of the art in design and manufacturing techniques. The end result has been the production of cost effective transmitters that meet the vibration, shock, EMI, altitude, and temperature requirements of missile and aircraft environments.
    • AN XML VOCABULARY FOR TMATS

      Downing, Bob; SYMVIONICS, Inc. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      XML is a simple, powerful way to agree on data transfers between organizations, applications and/or computer systems. XML was originally developed to separate data content definition from the display of data on a web page. XML is based on a subset of the Standardized General Markup Language (SGML), which means XML uses a tag-based syntax similar to Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). Whereas HTML uses fixed tags to display data, XML uses custom designed tags to describe data. XML provides a simple, standard, portable, and flexible way to transfer data between applications. This could provide a useful way to transfer telemetry attributes data between customers and systems. Currently, there is not a significant amount of support for the use of the Telemetry Attributes Transfer Standard (TMATS). Telemetry vendors still use their own formats, customers maintain their own databases, and support facilities/ranges promote the use of their own implementations. TMATS was supposed to define a common ground to transfer data definitions, but the tools to TMATS have not come about. TMATS is a well defined, structured specification that maps into XML extremely well. Even though XML is a fairly new technology, there are already many tools available to support XML parsing with more becoming available. This makes XML an excellent choice to supplement TMATS for the interchange of telemetry attribute information. This paper provides an initial attempt at defining the language and structure for an XML vocabulary of TMATS.
    • FIBER OPTIC COMMUNICATIONS IN A TELEMETRY SYSTEM

      Hicks, William T.; L3 Communications (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      This paper discusses the conversion of an existing telemetry system to the use of fiber optic communications. The change was implemented to provide expanded capabilities of existing capital assets with a minimum of investment. The paper reviews the design constraints and options considered for a specific flight test program. The different options, such as fiber type, connector type, wavelength, bit rate, and encoding method, are compared and discussed as to their applicability, reliability, and cost effectiveness in a telemetry environment. The paper discusses the solution selected and the capabilities of the final design, as compared to the initial system.
    • JTDMS: AN OBJECT ORIENTED APPROACH TO TELEMETRY ATTRIBUTES MANAGEMENT

      Morgan, Jon; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      This paper presents an overview of the telemetry attributes management system used to support the Advanced Data Acquisition and Processing System (ADAPS) at the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC). The Joint Test Data Management System is an object-oriented system used to store telemetry attributes. JTDMS accepts telemetry attributes in a variety of formats and provides setup files for the ADAPS system.
    • HIGH BANDWIDTH PORTABLE TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS USE OF xDSL TECHNOLOGY IN MILITARY AND INDUSTRIAL TELEMETRIC APPLICATIONS

      Umansky, Alec; Defence Communications Industry (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      This paper introduces new telemetry equipment based on Digital Subscriber Loop DSL technology (high speed transmission over copper cables) for military and industrial applications. A brief xDSL technology overview is followed with introduction of the new ‘P3’ product. A number of new applications for remote data transmission are presented and further highlighted in the Australian Army report detailing their recent equipment operational deployments.
    • AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO ROBUST FLIGHT TERMINATION FOR SMALL MISSILE TEST AND TRAINING RANGE USE

      Alves, Daniel F. Jr; Alpha Instrumentation And Information Management (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      This paper will investigate the areas that must be addressed to implement a truly integrated Range instrumentation system on a GPS-based Range, using a patented L-Band commanding scheme. Hardware issues will be highlighted as well the issues to be addressed in changing from an audio tone-frequency modulated command system to a digital system incorporating encryption and spread spectrum. Some thoughts addressing costs and schedule to incorporate this approach into the architecture of Joint Advanced Missile Instrumentation (JAMI) program are also presented, as well as a discussion of the benefits to be accrued over the existing system.
    • ULTRA HIGH BIT RATE (UP TO 1GBIT/S) BANDWIDTH EFFICIENT FQPSK ALL-DIGITAL MODULATOR/DEMODULATOR ARCHITECTURES AND NASA IMPLEMENTATIONS

      Ghuman, Parminder; Koubek, Steve; Winkert, Tom; Gray, Andrew; Lay, Norm; Yan, Tsun-Yee; National Aeronautics and Space Administration; California Institute of Technology (International Foundation for Telemetering, 2000-10)
      The paper presents ongoing efforts at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to develop ultra high bit rate bandwidth efficient FQPSK modulators and demodulators. The ability to transmit and receive ever-increasing amounts of extremely high rate data is an enduring challenge in the arena of near-earth space borne science missions. Reliable and efficient transmission of information at these data rates requires the use of power and bandwidth efficient modulations that exhibit low transmitter, receiver, and decoder complexity. Conventional high rate approaches for achieving spectral limiting typically employ sharp post amplifier filtering at the transmitter to limit the interference to the adjacent bands. However, using analog filtering alone can produce substantial intersymbol interference and other distortions that substantially affect the detection performance of the signal. In contrast, various theoretical classes of modulation waveforms can be tailored to provide varying degrees of bandwidth and power efficiency or robustness to non-linear transmitter distortions while incurring little or no performance losses. In order to realize many of these signal types, precise amplitude and phase control over the synthesis of these signals is required, typically necessitating the use of digital signal processing.