ABOUT THE COLLECTION

The International Telemetering Conference/USA (ITC/USA) is dedicated to the promotion and stimulation of technical growth in telemetering and its allied arts and sciences. It is the premier annual forum and technical exhibition providing telemetry specific short courses, technical papers from professionals and students, and exhibits of the industry’s leading companies. ITC/USA is sponsored by the International Foundation for Telemetering (IFT), a non-profit corporation dedicated to serving the technical and professional interests of the telemetering community.

This collection contains the proceedings of the thirty-third International Telemetering Conference, October 27-30, 1997. The conference, sponsored by the International Foundation for Telemetering, was held at the Riviera Hotel and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.


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Recent Submissions

  • International Telemetering Conference Proceedings, Volume 33 (1997)

    International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10
  • BER ANALYSIS OF AN F-16 TEST RUN AT EDWARDS AFB

    Rice, Michael; Friend, Daniel; Brigham Young University (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper analyzes the bit error rates (BER) using data recorded during an F-16 test at Edwards Air Force Base in September, 1996. The effects of multipath fading on BER are presented. It is shown that significant increases in BER can occur when the received signal power remains at an acceptable level. Recordings of the received power spectrum during the test show that these BER increases are caused by frequency selective fades due to multipath interference. This paper illustrates that in these cases, significant data degradation can occur without drops in the received signal power.
  • AIRBORNE DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM FOR THE RAH-66 COMANCHE AIRCRAFT

    Cebik, James A.; Connor, William J.; Boeing/Sikorsky Combined Test Team (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    The RAH-66 Comanche flight test program required a state of the art Airborne Data Acquisition System consisting of: 1) A modular distributed system that uses a series of software programmable building blocks capable of signal conditioning all types of sensors. 2) A digital multiplexing system capable of combining various types of digital streams at high rates including Synchronous and Asynchronous PCM, MIL-STD-1553B, and RS-422 data streams. 3) A Data Combiner Unit that accepts synchronous PCM data streams from one to eight sources at 4 MBPS or less and a frame size of up to 8128 words each that outputs four independent PCM streams at 8 MBPS or less and a frame size of up to 16384 words. 4) A Data System Control Unit that controls the tape recorder, serves as the interface to the Pilot’s Control Unit and monitors/reports status of the data acquisition system to the Pilots Control Unit. 5) An Airborne Computer that provides the control and interface to the pilot & copilot instrumentation displays. 6) A Cockpit Instrumentation Pilot Display System consisting of a Main Unit Multi- Function Display, a Load Factor/Hub Moment Display and a Right Wing Flight Control Position Display. The Main Unit Multi-Function Display has the capability to display multiple graphic pages generated by the Airborne Computer. 7) The ability to record high speed avionics buses from the (Mission Equipment Package) MEP such as MIL-STD-1553B, (High Speed Data Bus) HSDB, (Processor Interconnect) PI Bus, (Data Flow Network) DFN and PCM utilizing the Ampex DCRsi-107 Tape Recorder.
  • AERONAUTICAL TELEMETRY FADING SOURCES AT TEST RANGES

    Rice, Michael; Law, Eugene; Brigham Young University; NAWCWPNS (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper describes the two main causes of fading encountered at test ranges. The first cause of fading results from nulls in the transmit antenna gain pattern. Variations in the received signal level are a result of changes in the gain pattern as the spatial relationship between transmitter and receiver change. The second cause of fading is due to multipath interference. This occurs when multiple copies of the transmitted signal with different delays arrive at the receiver and are phased relative to each other so that destructive interference occurs.
  • Development Goals for a Digital Airborne Recorder

    Smith, Darren C.; Tenderholt, Dean; Naval Air Warfare Center - Weapons Division; Edwards Air Force Base (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper addresses the development requirements for a digital recorder to be used for fighter environment and attack Helicopter applications. This development is focused on triservice requirements to allow for a common system to meet the needs of various test centers.
  • F16 MID-LIFE UPGRADE INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEM SOLVING THE PROBLEM OF SPACE IN THE AIRCRAFT AND IN THE RF SPECTRUM

    Siu, David P.; Edwards Air Force Base; Computer Sciences Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    The older F16 jet fighters are currently being flight tested to evaluate the upgraded electronics for aircraft avionics, flight control and weapons systems. An instrumentation system capable of recording three different video signals, recording four Military- Standard-1553B (Mil-Std-1553B) data streams, recording one PCM stream, transmitting the PCM stream, and transmitting two video signals was needed. Using off the shelf equipment, the F16 instrumentation system was design to meet the electronic specifications, limited available space of a small jet fighter, and limited space in the SBand frequency range.
  • THE RECURSIVE ALGORITHMS FOR GDOP AND POSITIONING SOLUTION IN GPS

    Qing, Chang; Zhongkan, Liu; Qishan, Zhang (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper proves theoretically that GDOP decreases as the number of satellites is increased.This paper proposes two recursive algorithms for calculating the GDOP and positioning solution.These algorithms not only can recursively calculate the GDOP and positioning solution, but also is very flexible in obtaining the best four-satellite positioning solution ,the best five-satellite positioning solution and the all visible satellite positioning solution according to given requirements. In the need of the two algorithms,this paper extends the definition of the GDOP to the case in which the number of visible satellites is less than 4.
  • THE DESIGN OF C/A CODE GLONASS RECEIVER

    Hui, Liu; Leelung, Cheng; Qishan, Zhang (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    GLONASS is similar to GPS in many aspects such as system configuration, navigation mechanism, signal structure, etc.. There exists the possibility of receiving and processing GLONASS signals with GPS technology. The frequency plan of the GLONASS system is different from that of GPS. This makes the front-end of GLONASS receiver more complicated. The work here manifests our initial effort in GLONASS receiving. A design scheme is proposed of a C/A code GLONASS receiver.
  • GPS Receiver Testing on the Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track (SNORT)

    Meyer, Steven J.; Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    There is an interest in using Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers to find: Time Space Position Information (TSPI), miss distances between a missile and target, and using the data real time as an independent tracking aid for range safety. Ashtech, Inc. has several standalone GPS receivers they believe can work at high g levels. This paper investigates how the Ashtech GPS receivers work under high g loading in one axis. The telemetry system used to collect data from the receivers and the reconstruction of the data will also be discussed. The test was done at SNORT (Supersonic Naval Ordnance Research Track) located at NAWS, China Lake, CA. The g level obtained was about +23 g’s with a deceleration of -15 g’s. The velocity reached was about Mach 2.0. A summary of the errors is included.
  • Space-Based Flight Termination System Incorporating GPS Telecommand Link

    Alves, Daniel F., Jr.; Alpha Instrumentation and Information Management (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper will investigate the areas which 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 the U. S. Air Force Range Standardization and Automation (RSA) architecture, as a candidate GPS-based Range are also presented, as well as a discussion of the benefits to be accrued over the existing system, if this approach were adopted.
  • DIFFERENTIAL GPS APPLICATION FOR SEA-SKIMMING AERIAL TARGETS

    Spadaro, Martin J.; Vector Microwave Research Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    Low cost, commercial off-the-shelf Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers can be used to provide real-time track of ground launched subsonic, sea-skimming missile targets when integrated with existing telemetry equipment and commercial radio modems. GPS reference stations can be deployed that are capable of generating, broadcasting and monitoring Differential GPS corrections that effectively eliminate the deliberate position errors imposed by the Department of Defense. Commercial GPS receivers are effective and provide contiguous position data even during the boost phase of flight when G forces exceed the receiver manufacturer’s published specifications.
  • IMPLEMENTATION OF DGPS AS A FLIGHT TEST PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT TOOL

    Pedroza, Albert; Bombardier Flight Test Center (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    The accurate determination of test aircraft position and velocity is a very strong requirement in several certification and development flight test applications. This requirement often requires availability of test ranges properly instrumented with optical or radar tracking systems, precision time for data reduction and dependency on environmental and meteorological conditions. The capabilities of GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, in terms of data accuracy, speed of data availability and reduction of test operating cost, moved Bombardier Flight Test Center to make an investment and integrate a system utilizing GPS for extensive use in flight and ground test activity. Through the use of differential GPS (DGPS) procedures, Bombardier Flight Test Center was able to implement a complete system which could provide real-time data results to a very acceptable output rate and accuracy. Furthermore, the system was capable of providing post-processed data results which greatly exceeded required output rate and accuracy. Regardless of the type of aircraft testing conducted, the real-time or post-processed data could be generated for the same test. After conducting various types of testing, Bombardier Flight Test Center has accepted the DGPS as an acceptable and proper flight and ground test measurement tool for its various aircraft test platforms.
  • ANTI-INTERFERENCE STRATEGY AND THE SAFETY OF SPREAD SPECTRUM UNIFIED TT&C SYSTEM

    Jian, Zhang; Junxin, Ge; Futang, Zhang; Xinan Electronic Engineering Institute (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    In this paper, the basic ideas of advanced Spread Spectrum Unified Tracking Telemetry & Command System are introduced, the approaches and strategies to reject narrowband interference, multiple access interference and multipath interference are discussed. With effective interference-rejection, the safety and robustness of SS-UTTCS will be improved enormously.
  • M-ary SPREAD SPECTRUM COMMUNICATION IN TELEMETRY SYSTEMS

    Honglin, Zhao; Shijie, Bi; Tingxian, Zhou (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper analyzes the performance of an M-ary spread spectrum system with orthogonal codes. A new scheme of M-ary spread spectrum communication with phase shifted msequence is proposed, and the method to implement code synchronization in the scheme is given. The performance of the new scheme is analyzed, and compared to conventional spread spectrum systems and orthogonal code M-ary systems. The results show that stronger anti-interference ability, and better data transmission efficiency, and lower complexity is achieved in the system employing phase shifted m-sequence.
  • Analysis of JDAM Tests at China Lake

    Rice, Michael; Welling, Kenneth; Brigham Young University (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    This paper examines telemetry signal levels of the Joint Direct Air Munition (JDAM) tests at China Lake NAWC. Significant received signal level variations were observed as the munition approached impact. This paper presents and examines two simple multipath models to explain the received signal variations. The first model assumes a flat earth and a single specular multipath reflection. The second model uses the actual contour of the earth and considers a number of specular multipath reflections. The first model (which assumes the single multipath reflection) more accurately reproduces the variations in the received signal level than the second.
  • SYSTEM PERFORMANCE OF THE ACTS MARITIME TERMINAL

    Rice, Michael; Perrins, Erik; Brigham Young University (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    The Advanced Communication Technology Satellite (ACTS) Mobile Terminal (AMT) has been deployed aboard the USS Princeton (CG 59) in an experiment to test the viability of K and Ka band technology in military communication applications. Pilot tone data recorded on-board the USS Princeton (CG 59) show that most variations in the received power level result from antenna tracking errors and did not appear to be caused by obstructions from the ship superstructure. The data also showed that multipath interference was negligible. The data studied in this paper were gathered during ship maneuvers in the Caribbean (13E 33’ N, 76E 16’ W) in late May 1997 and in the Eastern Pacific (6E 34’ N, 79E 40’ W) in early June 1997. The relationship between pitch/yaw/roll and received power levels is studied. Plots showing received power (time series) are presented to aid in link budget calculations.
  • Burst Analysis of Bit Errors on an F-16 Test Flight at Edwards AFB

    Rice, Michael; Welling, Kenneth; Landon, David; Brigham Young University (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    Bit errors induced by multipath interference occur in short bursts with relatively long intervals of error-free propagation. This paper analyzes the bursty nature of bit errors by examining synthetic error sequences generated from received voltage levels measured during low-altitude F-16 flights at Edwards AFB. The error gap distribution (which is a cumulative distribution function of the length of the error free intervals) and the block error probability are computed from the data. These parameters are useful in assessing the performance of error control coding strategies.
  • ANTI-JAM PERFORMANCE OF SEVERAL DIVERSITY COMBINERS

    Eng, Thomas; The Aerospace Corporation (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    The relative anti-jam (AJ) performance of several diversity combiners are investigated. The modulation is 8-ary frequency-shift-keying (FSK), the demodulation process consists of energy detection of the eight frequency bins at each hop and the subsequent combining of detector outputs. Three combiners are considered : the linear combiner, where the detector outputs of each hop (corresponding to the same frequency bin) are summed without any processing; the self-normalized combiner, where the eight detector outputs of any particular hop are normalized so that they add to unity; and the max-normalized combiner, where the eight detector outputs of any hop are divided by the maximum value among those eight outputs. Results indicate that under worst-case tone jamming, the selfnormalized combiner performs the best, the max-normalized combiner second best, and the linear combiner performs the worst among the three.
  • DEFINITION OF A FULLY COMPLIANT IRIG RECORDING SYSTEM FOR TELEMETRY

    Kibalo, Tom; Miles, Ben (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    Alliant Techsystems’ Advanced Technology Applications organization incorporates the latest IRIG standards for range equipment and operation. Over the past five years, our objective has been to assure interoperability among diverse data recording users while achieving technical excellence for our ADARIO(Analog Digital Adaptable Input Output) family of products. In this paper, we summarize 25 years of ADARIO development; technical challenges, risks and processes; as well as our five-year effort to modify and develop our recording system products to meet the evolutionary standards of technical excellence.
  • Development of a New IRIG Standard Flight Recorder

    Russ, Roger; Graham, Mark; Metrum Division of Bell Technologies; Computing Devices Co., Ltd. (International Foundation for Telemetering, 1997-10)
    An IRIG standard flight recorder has been developed that is based on half-inch helical scan technology. The recorder was developed by combining the data channel of existing ground-based recording systems with transport technology used in both flight test and operational fighter aircraft environments. The design goal was to achieve cross play compatibility with the defined IRIG 106.6 tape format. Significant margins were provided in the design to maintain compatibility with tapes recorded in fighter aircraft environments. Operation at up to 50,000 feet, a temperature range of -40EC to +55EC, and vibration sources to Mil Spec 5400T are requirements in this environment. How these technical problems were overcome during the development of this recorder is addressed in this paper.

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