Vista Controls to conduct vetronics architecture studies for Future Combat Systems
Engineers from Vista Controls Corp. in Santa Clarita, Calif., are conducting two vetronics studies with an eye toward improving U.S. Army armored vehicles under the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. Vista experts are working under the direction of The Boeing Co. and Science Applications International Corp., which make up the lead systems integrator team for FCS project. The first Vista study centers on consolidating the large number of electronics boxes — or line-replaceable units (LRUs) — on armored vehicles into fewer, smaller, and lighter boxes to streamline armored vehicle designs. Vista also is studying alternatives to conduction cooling of electronic components aboard combat vehicles. For more information contact Vista on the World Wide Web at http://www.vistacontrols.com/.
International Rectifier and Mitsubishi unveil efficient new power conditionerEngineers from International Rectifier in El Segundo, Calif., and Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Co. Ltd. in Tokyo are introducing a 90-percent efficient all-hybrid electronic power conditioner for space applications. The device converts the primary bus voltage of satellites into regulated secondary output rails for the host solid-state power amplifier, which is part of satellite communications systems, International Rectifier officials say. The new power conditioner will enable spacecraft system designers to reduce power management circuit size and weight. For more information contact International Rectifier on the World Wide Web at http://www.irf.com/.
DDC offers MIL-STD-1553 multichip hybrid interface terminals in BGA packagesDesigners at Data Device Corp. in Bohemia, N.Y., are offering their enhanced Mini-ACE MIL-STD-113 component in a ball grid array (BGA) package. The new product is called the Micro-ACE. The new device comes in three versions — the remote terminal-only BU-61740B3-202 with 4K by 16 RAM, and the bus controller/remote terminal/monitor BU-61840B3-202 with 4K by 16 RAM, and the BU-61860B3-202 with 64K by 17 RAM, DDC officials say. These devices are built on FR4 material that matches the temperature coefficient of all PC boards, and operates in temperatures between -40 and 85 degrees Celsius, officials say. For more information contact DDC on the World Wide Web at http://www.ddc-web.com/.
CMC Electronics sells military communications division to Ultra ElectronicsLeaders of CMC Electronics in Ville Saint-Laurent, Quebec, are selling their military communications division to Ultra Electronics of Greenford, England. The deal bolsters Ultra's capability to build UHF tactical military radios, and enables CMC to get rid of what its leaders consider to be "non-core assets," company officials say. CMC leaders seek to concentrate on avionics, infrared systems, and space electronics. The sale was for about $34 million. In addition, CMC signed multi-year agreements to supply Ultra with electronic components, as well as manufacturing and office space in Canada. Ultra officials say they plan to continue operating the military communications at the CMC Electronics facility in Canada. For more information contact CMC Electronics on the World Wide Web at http://www.cmcelectronics.ca/.
Thales introduces off-the-shelf 19-inch airborne VME rackComponent engineers at Thales Computers in Raleigh, N.C., are offering a 19-inch 2U VME rack called the RA2064X to for compact avionics applications. The device, which meets the RTCA/DO-160D standard for avionics is suitable for pressurized cabins and operates in temperatures between -40 and 65 degrees Celsius, Thales officials say. The rack, which has front-panel output voltage indicators, has two available power supplies — a 28-volt DC supply or an 85 to 265-volt AC supply. For more information contact Thales Computer on the World Wide Web at http://www.thalescomputers.com/.
Amphenol offers new connector series for bus bars and backplanesOfficials of Amphenol Industrial Operations in Sidney, N.Y., are offering their Amphe-Base connector series to provide power to bus bars and backplane assemblies. The connectors come in two- or three-position patterns and have a 50-amp current capacity per position with 8-AWG (American Wire Gauge) wire and 100-amp capacity with 4 AWG wire. The connectors offer easy one-handed mating, company officials say, and have circuit identification designed into the connectors. For more information contact Judy Ogden at Amphenol Military/Aerospace Industrial Operations, by phone at 800-678-0141, by fax at 607-563-5157, by post at 40-60 Delaware Ave., Sidney, N.Y., 13838-1395, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.amphenol-industrial.com/.
BTC starts offering PC mount cylindrical military-type connectorsOfficials of BTC Electronic components have begun offering surface-mounted cylindrical military-type connectors. BTC also can customize the connectors with printed circuit contacts to different diameters and lengths for any printed circuit design, company officials say. Different mounting hardware, such as clinch nuts and plates, are available to specific requirements. For more information contact BTC by phone at 800-526-2828, by e-mail at
[email protected], by fax at 919-878-5222, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.btcelectronics.com/.
Pyramid offers automatic positioning system for directing UAVsOfficials at Pyramid Vision Technologies of Princeton, N.J., are offering the Acadia Video-GPS automatic video geo-positioning system for directing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and improving tactical decision-making. The portable Video-GPS system connects to UAV ground stations, places live video images from UAVs into geographical context, and simultaneously corrects poor video quality and broadens narrow views. The system "turns raw, narrow-view, shaky video into highly useful military intelligence," says Deepam Mishra, Pyramid's vice president of marketing. For more information contact Pyramid Vision by phone at 609-419-0418, by fax at 609-514-4041, by post at P.O. Box 7957, Princeton, N.J. 08543-7957, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.pyramidvision.com/.
Kontron unveils PCI-based single-board computer that meets PICMG 1.2Leaders of Kontron in San Diego are offering a single-board computer that meets the new PICMG 1.2 embedded PCI-X specification to extend PCI/PCI-X capabilities to embedded and applied computing applications. The e-PCI-100 is a half-size Intel 810E chipset-based single-board computer with an 866 MHz Intel Pentium III microprocessor. The board is for applications that need high density and high processing power in an affordable board form factor, Kontron officials say. Applications include industrial control, data communications, computer telephony, and point of sales. For more information contact Jennifer Rodriguez of Kontron by phone at 858-0877, by e-mail at
[email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.kontron.com/.
Green Hills offers emulation support for IBM PowerPC 4xx processorsEngineers at Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif., are offering enhanced emulation support for the IBM Power PC 4xx family or processors, including the new 440GP and 405GPr, company officials announced. The Green Hills MULTI debugger, together with the Agilent E5904B family of trace port analyzers provide monitoring and control for real-time trace to help with debugging. For more information contact Lynn Robinson at Green Hills Software by phone at 805-965-6044, by fax at 805-965-6343, by e-mail at
[email protected], by post at 30 West Sola St., Santa Barbara, Calif., 93101, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ghs.com/.