Engineers of ECTEC Inc. took the commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) approach in developing their mobile communication signal generator system for the U.S. Army.
ECTEC, a small system integrator in Lancaster, Calif., which is involved in electronic combat, remote sensing, space telemetry, and data acquisition, is building a system that will serve as an emitter source supporting electronic support measures training and testing.
It will be a high-fidelity, multiple-channel communications signal generator for all voice and data signal requirements, including Morse code, single channel and frequency hopping radio, modems, pagers, cell phones, and satellite communications, says Bill Fitzhugh, ECTEC president .
Rather than use a specialized military signal source, Fitzhugh opted for the commercially available Model 625A Arbitrary Waveform Generator from Berkeley Nucleonics Corp. in San Rafael, Calif.
The design required a low cost per channel to allow for redundancy, interchangeability, and modularity since the system would be a key element in training and would be deployed in remote areas lacking a support base, Fitzhugh says.
Berkeley Nucleonics sells the waveform generator for $995, but Fitzhugh says another benefit is addressing obsolescence with technology insertion. "We`re getting a fine product at a fair price and the product exactly meets our need," he concludes. — J.R.
For more information about the 625A waveform generator contact John Yee, applications engineer, at Berkeley Nucleonics Corp., by phone at 800-234-7858 ext. 215, by fax at 415-453-9956, by mail at 3060 Kerner Blvd., #2, San Rafael, Calif., 94901, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.berkeleynucleonics.com
