THE DESIGN OF A 21st CENTURY TELEMTRY SYSTEM WITH SOQPSK MODULATION AND INTEGRATED CONTROL

Abstract

This paper describes a telemetry system developed for the EA-18G Flight Test program. The program requires transmission of a number of data streams, in IRIG-106 Chapter 4 PCM, Chapter 8 Mux-All 1553, Ethernet, and Fibre Channel formats. The initial requested data rate was in excess of 30 Mbits/sec. The telemetry system must operate at a range up to about 120 miles, at several test ranges, and with several different aircraft maneuvering configurations. To achieve these requirements, the Flight Test Instrumentation group at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in Saint Louis, developed a telemetry system in conjunction with industry partners and test range customers. The system transmits two telemetry streams with a total aggregate rate on the order of 20 Mbits/sec. Each telemetry stream consists of up to four PCM streams, combined in a Teletronics Technology Corporation (TTC) Miniature Adaptable Real-Time Multiplexer Unit (MARM) data combiner. It uses Nova Engineering multi-mode transmitters capable of transmitting PCM-FM or Shaped Offset Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (SOQPSK). The transmitter also provides Turbo-Product Code (TPC) Forward Error Correction (FEC) to enhance range and improve link performance. Data collection units purchased from outside vendors or developed by Saint Louis Flight Test Instrumentation, translate Ethernet and Fibre Channel information into traditional PCM streams. A Boeing Flight Test Instrumentation developed control system provides flexible selection of streams to be combined into each telemetry stream, and functional control of antenna selection and transmitter operation.