A PCMCIA BASED TELEMETRY AND ACQUISITION SYSTEM

Abstract

In this paper, the Miniature Data Acquisition Transceiver System (Mini-DAT), a Type II PC-Card based data acquisition and transceiver system is described. The Mini-DAT was developed by ViaSat and is currently in use at the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) at Eglin AFB. AFRL is investigating the use of this Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band system for data collection with advanced munitions. The Mini-DAT combines the advantages of PC-Card technology with an off the shelf interfacing and packaging approach to provide a large array of capabilities in a very small package. The system provides everything needed to collect analog, discrete and digital data, process the data and transfer the data in a wireless fashion using the latest license free spread spectrum modulation technology. The advanced design of the Mini-DAT allows for operation in harsh remote environments, collecting data unattended and accessed remotely. A graphical user interface (GUI) is provided via a Windows 3.x and 95 software package that can be easily customized for specific applications. The Mini-DAT provides fast and reliable error-free data transfer over the 2.4GHz ISM communication band. It operates over a shared 80MHz bandwidth, allowing multiple access of a number of portable units operating simultaneously in the same band.