 The
evolution towards Mode S ground stations and the parallel
increasing complexity of the ground station/transponder interaction,
demands
for a non-stop and real time monitoring of the behavior
of the ground station, the airborne transponders as well
as the environment
they are operating in.
The RTQC-Video system allows the
user to monitor and log non-stop (24h/24h) and almost
in real time the performance of a Mode S ground station
or standard SSR
and the airborne transponders and at the same time evaluate
the operational environment.
The RTQC tool is aimed to record Radar
Video signals (synchronous and FRUIT replies), radar interrogations
and optionally the radar
data stream. Starting from this information
the tool will perform a number of analysis operations
and produce valuable
statistical numbers.
The RTQC System consists out of three parts running
in parallel:
- Recording of video and interrogations data;
- Processing of this data;
- Displaying of results.
For the recording part, standard RASS-S
hardware is used. A Radar Video Recorder (RVR
481) and
a Radar Video Interface
(RVI 299) record the video data. The
recorded interrogations are decoded
and passed to the video recorder using a Radar Transmitter
and Encoder Monitor (RTE635). These features are also
included in the
RASS-S RES (Radar Environment Simulator)
or the RFT 181 (RF Test Set).
The data is recorded non-stop with a limited (user defined)
archive of recording units. This means that after a specific
time, the oldest recorded data is automatically replaced
with the new data. The amount of data that can be stored depends
only
on the size of the storage medium.
Processing of the recorded data is done
as soon as it is made available by the recording part.
This procedure allows
for
almost real time processing of the data. The results
of the processing can be stored in report files and/or
streamed to a real time
viewer. Contrary with the recorded data, the report
files are stored in an unlimited archive and can only
be removed manually
by the user. The RTQC processing tool can also produce
RASS-S/PTE compatible file formats.
Off-line displaying and analyzing of the
report files can be done with COTS mathematical analysis
or spreadsheet software. The processed data
can also be streamed to a real time viewer. This
allows the user to display and analyze the data as soon as it is processed.
The viewer can be customized to display histograms,
tables and polar graphs. The
user can apply filters to limit the amount of displayed data and sort the displayed
data for easy viewing.
The RTQC-Video can identify, catalog and report faulty (Mode
S) transponders based interrogation/reply video information.
At the same time the environment is monitored using sectorial
FRUIT/Reply counting and statistics. On top of that (Mode S)
interrogations are counted/analysed.
Why Do You Need an RTQC system?
If you own or plan to install a Mode S radar station, you will
require to monitor the performance of the station and
the environment.
Recent studies have proven that 5 % of the operational
transponders have severe problems, and should be observed to
make sure they are detected at all times by SSR or Mode S radars.
Additionally, you should monitor the amount of FRUIT
in your environment and tune PRF and Roll Call rates of the
radars
under your control to limit the FRUIT rates.
Given the fact that in the upcoming years, many new Mode
S radars are going to be installed, the requirement
to monitor the environment and performance of the transponders
will become essential.
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