HiSeasNet Modems 1SIO Aug '09

Spectrum analyzers  aka “SpecAn”  Measure energy in a given frequency bands  Axes are frequency (x-axis) and RF energy (y- axis)  Controls are  Frequency (where the center of the plot is)  Span (how wide the plot is)  Amplitude (how tall the carriers are)  Shows what is happening in space. Sensitive to antenna size and footprint position!  aka “SpecAn”  Measure energy in a given frequency bands  Axes are frequency (x-axis) and RF energy (y- axis)  Controls are  Frequency (where the center of the plot is)  Span (how wide the plot is)  Amplitude (how tall the carriers are)  Shows what is happening in space. Sensitive to antenna size and footprint position! SIO Aug '092

Spectrum analyzer use  Troubleshooting and system monitoring  They tell you:  How good a signal is  On/off the air  Quality/Level (shoulders? short? relative to other ships)  What your antenna is seeing  What kind of carriers  Which carriers  What satellite  All ships should have one to help see what is going on with your antenna  Troubleshooting and system monitoring  They tell you:  How good a signal is  On/off the air  Quality/Level (shoulders? short? relative to other ships)  What your antenna is seeing  What kind of carriers  Which carriers  What satellite  All ships should have one to help see what is going on with your antenna SIO Aug '093

Modem concepts  MODulation and DEModulation  Translate data packets of 0s and 1s into RF waveform wiggles  And back again on the other end (need pairs of modems to be useful)  2 carriers involved…uplink and downlink  Parameters are:  Frequency (Tx and Rx)  Data rate (Tx and Rx)  Forward Error Correction (FEC, Tx and Rx)  Power level and Tx mode (On/Off/RTI)  Spectral Inversion  Test Modes (Loopback, CW, etc.)  MODulation and DEModulation  Translate data packets of 0s and 1s into RF waveform wiggles  And back again on the other end (need pairs of modems to be useful)  2 carriers involved…uplink and downlink  Parameters are:  Frequency (Tx and Rx)  Data rate (Tx and Rx)  Forward Error Correction (FEC, Tx and Rx)  Power level and Tx mode (On/Off/RTI)  Spectral Inversion  Test Modes (Loopback, CW, etc.) SIO Aug '094

Modem monitoring  EbNo: Energy per bit over noise…”signal quality”  Rx parameters (Bit Error Rate)  Panel lights (Fault, Rx lock, Tx on/off, Online, Stored Events)  Error log and stored events  Serial port interface (EIA-530 is RS-422 in DB-25 package)  Web/SNMP in newer modems  EbNo: Energy per bit over noise…”signal quality”  Rx parameters (Bit Error Rate)  Panel lights (Fault, Rx lock, Tx on/off, Online, Stored Events)  Error log and stored events  Serial port interface (EIA-530 is RS-422 in DB-25 package)  Web/SNMP in newer modems SIO Aug '095

L-band additions  Block Uplink Converter  Power DC  10 MHz reference oscillator  FSK comms  Address  Low Noise Block downcoverter  Power  10 MHz reference oscillator or PLL (Phase Lock Loop)  Local Oscillator frequency  Block Uplink Converter  Power DC  10 MHz reference oscillator  FSK comms  Address  Low Noise Block downcoverter  Power  10 MHz reference oscillator or PLL (Phase Lock Loop)  Local Oscillator frequency SIO Aug '096

Features we don’t use  Automatic Uplink Power Control (AUPC)  Auto power level adjust based on the quality of the signal we receive  Used to compensate for rain fade  We cannot use it since we move around…power level change based on location is part of our bandwidth contract.  Alarm masks  Opens and closes pins on the 15-pin alram interface on the back panel.  Really…would you monitor your alarm port?  Automatic Uplink Power Control (AUPC)  Auto power level adjust based on the quality of the signal we receive  Used to compensate for rain fade  We cannot use it since we move around…power level change based on location is part of our bandwidth contract.  Alarm masks  Opens and closes pins on the 15-pin alram interface on the back panel.  Really…would you monitor your alarm port? SIO Aug '097

Spectrum  Power Equivalent Bandwidth (PEB)  Its how we pay for space segment bandwidth  Power allotted in dBw per MHz  So its like this:  Each satellite has so much power in its amplifier to use to repeat signals (~20 W)  Each satellite has so many transponders that operate on a fixed chunk of spectrum (generally 36 MHz)  Divide each MHz on satellite by total power, and you get how much power it can use per MHz.  We buy 1-2 MHz, therefore have a limit to the power we can use.  If we need more power for smaller dish, we buy more bandwidth that we will not occupy  Power Equivalent Bandwidth (PEB)  Its how we pay for space segment bandwidth  Power allotted in dBw per MHz  So its like this:  Each satellite has so much power in its amplifier to use to repeat signals (~20 W)  Each satellite has so many transponders that operate on a fixed chunk of spectrum (generally 36 MHz)  Divide each MHz on satellite by total power, and you get how much power it can use per MHz.  We buy 1-2 MHz, therefore have a limit to the power we can use.  If we need more power for smaller dish, we buy more bandwidth that we will not occupy SIO Aug '098