DAYTON, Ohio, 6 Oct. 2008. U.S. Air Force officials awarded the first Commercialization Pilot Program (CPP) to ITCN of Centerville, Ohio. The program involves a $700,000 investment to transition prototype 1553databus network test equipment into a ruggedized, deployable, commercial preproduction design in order to test embedded military systems under rigorous field conditions.

ITCN's equipment – the Bus Characterization and Integrity Toolset (BCIT) – is an all-in-one test instrument for troubleshooting cables, diagnosing bus health, and monitoring system performance. The BCIT was originally developed through an Air Force Small Business Innovative Research contract. During prototype testing, field engineers found they needed a more rugged unit to troubleshoot MIL-STD-1553 buses and embedded avionics systems on the flightline without concern for mechanical or environmental constraints, ITCN officials say.

"We are pleased and excited about being the first to receive the Air Force CPP award. The BCIT is a great test tool for maintenance and troubleshooting of embedded systems. It can pinpoint wiring and cabling problems to within 6 inches, and is a versatile, programmable test tool as well," says Roy Penwell, president of ITCN, Inc. "Now with more rugged features added through the CPP, it will also be a tough, weather-resistant piece of instrumentation, suitable for field maintenance."

"With military cutbacks and fewer personnel available, this tool will prove to be even more valuable as time passes," Penwell continues. "The BCIT will make development, maintenance, and troubleshooting quick and accurate."

Bus characterization testing provides data bus health monitoring for protocol errors, loading, status exceptions, and terminal response for as many as four dual redundant MIL-STD-1553 buses. This feature helps capture faults that impact bus protocol, such as faulty stubs or terminals, company officials say.

Bus integrity testing provides electrical analysis of cable networks via a high performance Time Domain Reflectometer (TDR). The TDR allows technicians to analyze MIL-STD-1553 cabling to locate opens, shorts, and faulty shields and couplers within six inches of the fault location for cables of as long as 1,000 feet. The BCIT can find intermittent faults easily by capturing data only when an anomaly occurs, such as when a cable is jiggled.

The BCIT's database driven user interface enables users to save and recall bus topology, test data, and historical reference data. This Windows-based software performs comparative analysis with data cataloging A historical database, making it easier to compare data over long periods of time by overlaying cataloged data with active tests.