U.S. Army officials needed VHF radios with the capability of sending and receiving data at rates sufficient to send pseudo-real-time video over tactical wireless networks. They found their solution in the Falcon II high-speed tactical radio from the Harris Corp. RF Communications division in Rochester, N.Y.
Key to the Falcon II is its ability to send and receive data at 64 kilobits per second, its embedded Global Positioning System (GPS), embedded encryption, planned future compatibility with existing U.S. military Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) and Have Quick, and ability to use multiplexing to send voice and data simultaneously on the same channel, says Harold McDougall, product manager for networking systems at Harris RF.
"SINCGARS and other competitors have maximum data rates of only 16 kilobits per second," McDougall says. "This limits them in a tactical internet and in tactical data capability." The Harris customer for the Falcon II prohibits McDougall to specify who it is, other than a U.S. Army activity.
The radio`s embedded modem achieves its high data rate with trellis-coded modulation - better known as TCM. Coupling the modem with MPEG digital compression technology, the Falcon II can transmit video as fast as five frames per second, McDougall says. The embedded GPS, which automatically transmits the radio`s location over a wireless tactical network, can help commanders keep track of their forces, and the radio`s encryption and frequency-hopping capability can safeguard its data from hostile eavesdroppers. - J.K.
For more information on the Falcon II, contact Susan Giuseppetti, the Harris RF marketing communications manager, by telephone at 716-242-3926, by fax at 716-244-2917, by mail at 1680 University Ave., Rochester, N.Y., 14610, or on the World Wide Web at http://www. harris.com/rfc/falconII/index.html.
The Harris Falcon II radio is compatible with existing U.S. Army radios.
