SATCOM Wideband digital channel analyzer

ABSTRACT: Welkin Sciences proposes to design and build a Wideband Digital Channelizer for SATCOM (WDCS) to address the Air Force"s needs to reduce size, weight and power (SWaP) of future SATCOM terminal equipment. Our proposed solution for the WDCS will facilitate the introduction of additional Digital IF technology, such as all digital modems and all digital spectrum monitoring equipment, into the Air Force"s future SATCOM terminals, yielding additional SWaP savings for those devices. For transportable SATCOM terminals, a reduction in SWaP and interface complexity throughout the post-IF terminal equipment string will also yield a reduction in the time required for the warfighter to the get the terminal"on the air". Welkin Sciences ongoing involvement in the evolving standardization of Digital IF technology, such as the Army"s Future Advanced SATCOM (FAST) working group, will help assure SATCOM community acceptance of the WDCS Digital IF interfaces to downstream Digital IF equipment. BENEFIT: Converting SATCOM terminal functions from analog to digital offers several size, weight, power and cost advantages. If the conversion is done early in the signal plane then devices downstream such as modems and spectrum analyzers do not need to have expensive conversion equipment. Likewise analog fiber can be replaced with digital fiber offering better signal fidelity. Analog amplifiers, power dividers and switches are replaced with smaller and less costly Digital IF dividers and high speed network equipment. SATCOM terminals can be deployed in smaller packages allowing for more transportable systems.