Ground to Air Applications

Ground to Air Applications 1

Table of Contents: 7000 VHF Multimode Digital Radio series 3 Configurations of 7000 series - Single Radio Setup 5 > General 5 > Remote Audio and PTT only 5 > Long Range Audio and PTT 6 > Limited Remote Access Radio control 6 > Full Remote Access to Radio Control 7 > Long Range Remote Access through PC and RACS programme 8 Multiple Radio Setup 9 > Small Airport 9 > Extended Coverage Systems 10 > Medium Sized Airport 11 ATC Multiple Site Setup 12 Remote Radio Control via MUX 13 Antenna Configurations Series 7000 Main/Standby Transceiver 14 > Applications requiring filter 15 > Antenna Sharing 15 System Description RACS III 16 > Possibilities with RACS III Software 17 > System Functions 18 > Site Functions 19 > Radio Functions 20 2

7000 VHF Multimode Digital Radio Series Excellent RF performance in congested areas Careful analogue design is still the key issue to achieve the best collocation capabilities possible. The 7000 series of radios is designed with no compromises regarding the synthesizers and analogue front end. This together with a linear power amplifier design, strictly controlled by an ultra fast digital signal processor, makes the radio the ultimate choice for professional GtA applications. Advanced digital signal processing (DSP) The receiver and transmitter use the most powerful digital signal processors to perform the intermediate frequency (IF) and the audio frequency (AF) filtering. In addition, all the modulation and demodulation tasks are performed in the signal processor. This means improved product control, less tuneable parts and improved reliability. Remote control over Ethernet / RS232 / RS485 The radio units have alternative ways of being remotely controlled, making them easy to fit into an existing infrastructure already available on the site. The radio units are controlled using SNMP v.2 (Simple Network Management Protocol) over UDP (User Datagram Protocol), which together with 100BaseT Ethernet interface makes it easy to control the radios. Either by using Jotron s dedicated Radio Access and Control System - RACS III or by a standard SNMP management application. Alternatively, set up and control can be done using the serial RS232 or RS485 ports. The 7000 series VHF/AM radio system includes separate Receiver (RX) and Transmitter (TX) modules (Fig. 1). Each module has facilities for being connected to other modules as a part of a main/standby chain, and as a transceiver configuration. TR-775 7750/TR 0/TR-7725/TR 7725/TR-7710 7710 Transceiver Receiver Transmitter Power Supply Unit RA-7203 TA-7650/25/10 PSU-7002 Fig. 1 No Tuneable Parts There are no tuneable parts inside the radio units. No tuning, nor special tools are necessary when changing frequency / modulation or to maintain the radio. Easy set-up and control All parameters can be set and adjusted electronically from the front panel or from the remote interface. The front panel contains a graphic display, menu buttons and switches that are used to set up the radio no external equipment like a PC or a signal generator are necessary to control the frequency or to adjust any parameter internally in the radio. AM and D8PSK operation The radio can be operated in the following modes: AM voice, AM data (ACARS) or D8PSK (VDL 3

mode 2). The AM channel bandwidth for voice operation (8.33 or 25 khz) is automatically selected by the frequency choice. AM-MSK mode is used when the radio is operated as the physical layer of an ACARS ground station. The D8PSK mode is used when the radio is operated as the physical layer of a VDL ground station. BITE system that detects failures The BITE system continuously monitors vital points in the radio units. An error is instantly detected and reported in multiple ways. The unique main/standby concept of the Jotron 7000 series can automatically switch the operation to a standby set upon an error, providing seamless communication for the user. Keying options ons Keying options available in the transmitter includes positive and negative voltages (up to 50V), keying to ground and phantom keying on the audio line. In addition the keying option includes configurable in-band tone signalling both ways: PTT and squelch with any tones between 100 and 5000 Hz for easy integration with any VCCS system Continuous duty cycle The transmitter is designed for continuous duty cycle. This makes the radio the perfect choice for VOLMET and ATIS applications requiring continuous transmission. The unique cooling concept used on the transmitter, keeps the temperature low, and the operational lifetime of the equipment high. Offset operation Setting the offset carrier is just as easy as setting the frequency of the transmitter. Up to 4 carriers offset is available using the standard temperature controlled oscillator in the transmitter. 5 carrier offset requires an optional oven controlled oscillator. For Main ain/standby configuration with one common antenna When one antenna is used for Main/Standby configuration, an antenna-changeover unit is required to handle switching between main and standby radio. Alarm output and a Select input for automatic and/or manual main/standby selection. The transmitters have a Key/Mute output used to mute associated receivers during transmitting periods. Antenna Change Over Unit The antenna change over unit can be used in several applications, either as external main/standby radio switch or a main/standby antenna switch. The unit is 14 TE wide and is mounted in a 19 sub-rack. (can room ex. 6 units ) The change over unit is basically a RF relay with control circuit, interface and internal power supply. The RF relay has three connectors (common, NC (main) and NO (standby)). The unit can be hot wired to the alarm outputs from the radios, or controlled from a remote control unit. For maximum flexibility the input signals are optocouplers that covers a large voltage range. In addition the control logic can be inverted. The unit has several outputs that can be used for monitoring the current status or controlling external units. Logic outputs: Relay, dry contact that closes when active. 1. RF con. N-female 2. RF con. N-female 3. RF con. N-female 4. DC con. 5. GND tag 6. Remote con 7. AC con. 4

Configurations of 7000 series -Sin Single Radio Setup General The radio modules can be controlled directly from the front panel, or via a range of remote equipment and accessories. Remote Audio and PTT Only The operator at the remote site(s) is able to monitor traffic, and to communicate on the current frequency of the local transceiver, through the Audio Remote Control unit (ARC MkII). A red LED indicator on the ARC will alert the operator if there is an alarm on the local radio unit (Fig. 2). It is possible to connect more than one ARC MkII to the same radio. The number of wires can be reduced to two wires, but in this case the ARC will loose functionality (the sq, alarm indicator will not be available). Local Site ARC MkII Remote Site Paralell Audio + DC line Fig. 2 Transceiver The maximum distance between ARC and radio unit is approximately 2 km, provided a high quality screened cable is used. To connect a pair of radio units as main/standby, the alarm output from the main unit is connected to the select input of the standby unit. Also, the initial main unit must be configured as a MAIN unit via its user interface in order to switch its operation into the standby unit in case of an alarm. The standby radio unit is automatically selected if there is an alarm on the main unit. The switch is a built-in coaxial relay. The selection may also be done manually from the front panel of the ARC MkII (Fig. 3). Local Site ARC MkII Remote Site Transceiver + ACU 6-wires Audio + DC line Transceiver Standby Fig. 3 5

Long Range Audio and PTT P Communication via leased lines is made possible by use of the Audio/PTT modem (APM) (Fig. 4). One APM unit is able to access two transceivers (i.e. Main + ). In the below ex. with the APM modem, the APM uses inband and FSK signalling and demands uncompressed audio line. Local Site ARC Fig. 4 Remote Site Transceiver + ACU APM Local Transceiver 2 or 4-wire leased line APM Remote The Audio/PTT modem uses in-band tones for transfer of Squelch and PTT. Alarm (Main and ) and Main/Standby selection uses FSK data. The set-up for 2 or 4 wires must be specified when ordering the Audio/PTT modems. Limited Remote Access to Radio Control Adding an Operators Remote Control unit (ORC) to the set-up shown in Fig. 3, enables the operator to toggle between the frequencies that have been pre-programmed into the radios (Fig. 5). In this configuration it is recommended to use an ADAM-4510/4510S repeater to extend the range and quality of the RS485 serial communication between the remote control and the radios. The repeater extends the communication range to more than 2000m and compensate for any ground potential differences between sites. Local Site Remote Site RS-485/ adam repeater Fig. 5 ARC ORC Transceiver Transceiver 6-wires Audio + DC line and RS-485 6

Full Remote Access to Radio Control Adding a Data Remote Control unit (DRC) to the set-up shown in Fig. 3, gives the operator access to control the frequency and monitor bites on the radios (Fig. 6). The configuration shown will work for distances up to 2000m between the radios and the operator position. For distances over 2 km, the Audio and PTT modem is required. Local Site RS-485/ adam repeater Remote Site ARC DRC + ACU 6-wires Audio + DC line RS-485 Fig. 6 Local Site Remote Site RS-485 ARC DRC + ACU APM Local 4-wire DC Line APM Remote Fig. 7 7

Long Range Remote Access through PC and RACS programme The Site Controller Unit (SCU) hardware, acts as a remote interface unit between radio units on a site and a central computer or VCCS. One site control unit can handle up to 64 radio modules at the same location. The unit will continuously monitor all operating aspects of the connected modules and give an alarm if any unit reports an error. The SCU communicates with the central control system on a LAN/WAN using UDP/IP or on a RS-232 serial link, either directly or via modem and telephone lines. Communication with the local radio units is on a multi-drop RS-485 bus to the 7000 MKI and MkII series radios, and an Ethernet 802.3connection to the 3000/4000 radios and 7000 series MkIII (VDL ). The PC must have RACS (Remote Access and Control System) licensed programme installed. (Fig. 8). The Site controller unit can give access to up to 64 radio units. The system automatically recognises radio units added to the network and reports these in the central management program. Audio and PTT is either assumed to be controlled by a VCCS, or by the APM, which gives access to one pair of radio units (Main/Standby Transceiver). Additional APM and ARC units must be added as number of radio units increases. Alternatively, a Com260 and TE10-39 controller panels can be used (Ref. Fig. 9). Local Site Remote Site TD-32 modem TD-32 modem Leased line or telephone line Site-Controller ARC MkII APM Local APM Remote 2/4-wire Leased Telephone Line Line (in-band signalling) Fig. 8 8

Multiple Radio Setup Small Airport The example shows a small airport with 3 operators, of which one is a supervisor. The airport has 3 operating frequencies. Each frequency is configured with Main and Standby transceiver. The radios are located in the equipment room and remotely operated from the tower. Each operator has one TE10-39 terminal with access to all three radio frequencies, and to each other via intercom. Supervisor has full access to all parameters of all radios via PC with RACS (Fig. 8). Tower Supervisor TD-32 modem Equipment room TD-32 modem TE10-39 Approach Operator A TE10-39 Approach Ground Movement Ground Movement Operator B Emmergency TE10-39 Emmergency Com 260 4-wire leased line Fig. 9 9

Extended Coverage Systems (can be combined with voting software) Control Site 2/4 wire inband signalling Site 1 Site controller TD-32 modem TE10-39 TE10-39 APM Com 260 Site controller PC with RACS program installed for monitoring several radios Site 2 TD-32 modems APM Site Controller Site 3 2 wire dial-up line APM 2 wire dial-up line 2/4 wire inband signalling Fig. 10 4-wire inband/local wiring 10

Medium sized Airport The example shows an airport with 6 operating frequencies and 3 operators (Main/Standby). Radio units are placed in separate TX and RX sites (Fig.11). The Supervisor is controlling the radios frequencies etc. via the RACS Remote Access and Control program on a PC, having the voice control via the TE-10-39 operator s panel. Tower PC with RACS TE10-39 Transmitter site TWR Supervisor Approach Approach II Operator B Ground Movemente Com4500 ATC Transp. Emergency Operator C ACU Com4500 ATC Receiver site TWR, Appr. Appr. II Ground Movement, Trans, Emergency PC-program with touch-screen display Com4500 ATC COM4500 ATC Modem Fig.11 The operator A and B are here using the COM4500 ATC voice communication System that can handle Ground to Air, Ground to Ground, Telephone and Intercom communication from one Operator Terminal. This COM4500 consists of a Touch Screen or a mouse/ keyboard operated PC combined with a 19 console loudspeakers and a gooseneck microphone. 11

ATC Multiple Site Setup ATC centre TX site TD-32 Modem Operator A ATC centre Supervisor TE10-39 Frq. 1 Frq.2 Frq. 3 Operator COM4500 ATC COM4500 ATC Frq. 4 Frq. 5 TD-32 modem Emmergency Com 4500 ATC Remote site(s) Frq. 1 Frq. 1 Emmergency Emmergency Frq. 1, 2, 3 GND, Trans., Emmerg. Com 4500 ATC ATC centre RXsite Com 260 Fig. 12 12

Remote Radio Control via MUX It is possible to remote control the radio units, using state of the art technology audio compression (13.3:1) One 64kB data channel gives full individual control of up to 8 radios (Main/standby transceiver configurations = 16) plus 1 RS232 connection at 9600bps (Fig. 10). Operations centre Com 260 TDM Operator A Operator B TE10-39 TE10-39 RS232 4 pcs 4-wire E&M PC with RACS V35 64Kb NTU: (National Telecom Utility) Existing VCCS: Lines only can also be delivered to be connected to ext. system. Microwave link (Satellite link/etc) Radio Site NTU: (National Telecom Utility) V35 64Kb Com 260 TDM Frq. 1 Frq. 1 Frq. 2 Frq. 2 Fig. 13 13

Antenna Configurations Series 7000 Main/Standby Transceiver One Antenna Two Antennas One per transceiver Two Antennas One TX, one RX Four Antennas Two TX, TwoRX Fig. 14 14

Applications requiring filter Transmitting and receiving more than one frequency through the same antenna. Antennas are located close together. Use filters to attenuate unwanted frequencies. Antenna sharing Use Transmitter Cavity Combiners when several transmitters are using the same antenna. Use Receiver combiners when several receivers are using the same antenna. It is also recommended to use a Multicoupler to connect several receivers to the same antenna. Jotron AS supply different types of filters, multicouplers, combiners and splitters for both the VHF and the UHF equipment. We tailor a system to your needs that will fully comply to your critical co-location and frequency allocations. Fig. 15 15

System Description RACS III The technical management system (RACS III) is used to monitor, and perform regular control of each individual radio and the complete radio system. The system is based on Ethernet connections to the different radios via an existing LAN/WAN where udp multicast and point-to-point messages are allowed to flow through the LAN/WAN between the radio sites and the computer(s). One computer placed in a central location is used as the main server and is used for logging events and to keep historical data for the radios. This computer will run the server version of the RACS III software. The server computer will be able to show system status for each radio, each site and the complete system, as well as setting various parameters on each radio. Other computers will run the client version of the software and will be able to do the same tasks as the server, but need an IP connection to the server to show historical data for the radios. The user level is defined by passwords and is used to differ between the various tasks that the users are allowed to perform. Three user levels are defined: System owner, Technical manager and Super User. GPIO SITE 1 IP address 4 (192.0.0.0/29) RCU Multicast 1 224.0.0.0/28 IP address 1 (192.0.0.0/29) IP address 2 (192.0.0.0/29) IP address 3 (192.0.0.0/29) Radio1 Radio2 Radio3 RS485 Router Router PC SITE 2 IP address 4 (192.0.0.0/29) RCU GPIO Multicast 2 224.0.0.0/28 Interlan (WAN) Router PC IP address 1 (192.0.0.0/29) IP address 2 (192.0.0.0/29) IP address 3 (192.0.0.0/29) Radio1 Radio2 Radio3 RS485 Router Figure 16 Configuration technical management system with VHF radios (RACS III) Router PC An example hardware configuration with only 2 sites is shown in Figure 16. The addressing scheme of the system is based on using class-c IP networks for all radios and local controllers. Each radio must be assigned a unique IP address, which is defined during installation. In addition a radio group (site) must be assigned a common multicast address where all messages from the radio are sent. This multicast address is used to separate the different sites from each other on the management system. All routers in the system must be enabled for multicast traffic; usually this can easily be accomplished with newer Cisco routers. The PC s shown in the diagram are the workstations that allow monitoring and control of the radios. Each workstation must be configured to receive messages on the multicast addresses defined and will automatically detect all the radios on a specific site. 16

Possibilities with RACS III Software The RACS III software presents an easy and user-friendly management access to all radios in a large nationwide communication system. The user is responsible for configuring the radios with IP addresses and multicast addresses. The user must also set up the appropriate multicast groups on the PC. In addition the user is responsible for placing the site symbol on an approximate location. Apart from this there is no configuration needed on the PC or radio as long as the routers on the way between them are enabled for multicast traffic. The RACS III software will automatically start to listen on the assigned multicast address for each site, and monitor the messages that are regularly sent from the radio units. The radios update its status information with intervals of approximately 5 seconds (depending on the number of radio units connected to one Site Controller Unit), or by a change in its status. The program monitors all status information sent from the radio units, and gives the user a warning if some parameters on the radio are out of range or if the communication to a site is lost. From the main window of the program it is possible to monitor all sites connected by intuitive green/yellow/red dots for each site, the meaning of the different colours are explained later. The main window does also have functions to customize the program by setting various default values. In addition the main window shows the current total status of the complete system. The site windows give an overview of each site in the system. From the site window it is possible to view online status and historical data, both for the complete site and for each individual radio. It is also possible to access each individual radio and perform bite analyses and set up all parameters in the radio. Access to a radio is just as easy as using the local control panel of the radio it self. Records for each radio may be entered and stored in the radio from the site window. Data for each radio is stored continuously on the server; these data are stored every time the operational status of the radio changes; On error, On OK, On Active and On Not available. Values from the automatic self test are also stored, in this way it is possible to go back to historical data to see if any changes have happened to the radio during operation. These data is used for Availability calculations, A(o). When a PC running the client version of the software asks for historical data, they are collected from the server and presented on the screen. 17

System functions Figure 17 Main window Technical Management Software RACSIII The main window gives the user an overview of all sites that are defined on a map, and the total operational status. The various sites are shown with a dot with the following colour code: A green dot indicates that all radios are operational. A yellow dot indicates that one or more radios are not operational or has reduced functionality. A red dot indicates that all radios on a site are not operational or that the communication to the site is lost. In addition, a three view is shown that can be expanded down to module level for each individual radio on a site. Each site is defined by its multicast address or range of multicast addresses (up to 16). In addition the radios on a site can be limited to a range of IP addresses. This allows the user to set up a number of sites in a logical and maintainable way. A new site is defined by right clicking anywhere in the map, the properties for an existing site are configurable by right clicking on a site symbol. See Figure 18 for details. 18

Figure 18 Configuration of a site Various functions definitions and setup menus are available from the main window of the program. These settings define the user passwords, default test frequencies, default test times and more. Several profiles may be stored on the computer. The profiles may contain different maps and different site configurations. This allows supervision of larger and smaller geographical areas dependent on the profile in use. Site functions Figure 19 Screen shot of a site with 7 transceivers Figure 19 shows a typical site with 7 transceivers. Each radio is shown with its type number (TR4325), its operating frequency (320.000), and operating mode (AM Narrow). In addition there are various status lamps in the bottom of the radio view, these lamps indicates the radios status regarding PTT operation, Squelch operation for main and guard receivers and the control mode, Local, Remote or External. On the right hand side a field shows the user-defined name of the radio, the last 3 nibbles of the IP address and an error indication (or OK). This field will be shown in green indicating that the radio is operating normally, yellow indicating that the radio has reduced performance, or red indicating that the radio bite system has detected failures. In addition the field will be shown in cyan colour if the connection to the radio is lost. 19

From a pop-up menu in the site window, the user may select how the radio is shown; Maximized, Normal or Minimized: Maximized radio symbol Normal radio symbol Minimized radio symbol In addition, the user may select to view the operational availability of the site. Radio functions Figure 20 Selecting a radio By clicking on one of the radios in the site window, one of the radios on the current site may be selected. Now a pop-up menu with different options is available for the radio; The user may select to view the operational availability of the radio, Set up automatic self-test intervals, view bite information or store user defined text in the radio Figure 21 Automatic self-test setup Please contact the sales department for further information and prices. sales@jotron.com 20