GE ICS-8553 Quick start guide

Brand: GE

Model: ICS-8553

Type: Quick start guide

radio and

radar

Intelligent Platforms

You can have the peace of mind that comes

from working with a proven supplier.

As a global leader in the design and manu-

facture of rugged, high-performance signal

processing electronics, we have the experi-

ence and the staying power you’re looking

for. GE Intelligent Platforms is one of the

leading independent suppliers of board-level

‘commercial-off-the-shelf’ (COTS) digital

signal processing components to the global

defense, aerospace and security market.

Our solutions are in use in a wide range

of commercial, military and paramilitary

systems worldwide, including ship and air-

borne radar systems, fixed and mobile radio

systems, and signals intelligence equip-

ment. Even in operating environments that

are extremely hostile to electronics, we’ve

repeatedly proven that we are up to the task.

Our research and development operations

help to ensure that your solutions remain

at the leading edge of signal processing

technology. Whether it is the advanced

algorithms needed to provide specialized

capabilities, or the integration of the latest

and most powerful FPGAs (Field Programma-

ble Gate Arrays), we continue to expand what

is possible in signal and sensor processing.

The company is approved to ISO 9001:2000

and AS/EN 9100 for design and manufacture,

and is committed to long-term support of

your application. A full Product Lifecycle

Management package is available for all

products, and it has kept some programs

running for 20 years or more.

Leading technology

from a leading company.

RADIO AND RADAR

Compact, efficient digital electronics are the brains behind

the latest high-performance radar and radio systems.

Exploiting the

digital revolution.

As the computing power of digital electron-

ics increases, while their size and weight

decrease for a given performance level, so

does the amount of analog circuitry being

replaced by DSPs and software. Mathemati-

cal functions do not add noise. And while

adding a new waveform in an analog radio

means changing the hardware, adding a

new waveform to a digital radio can usually

be accomplished with new software. (Hence

the term Software Defined Radio).

But before a system architect can exploit

the many benefits of software defined radio,

the first requirement is to convert the ana-

log signals to a digital data stream, which

is what GE sensor processing products do.

The key components of our products are

Analog to Digital Converters (ADCs) and

Digital to Analog Converters (DACs). These

devices convert analog signals to digital

data streams and vice versa.

Placing ADCs/DACs as close to the antenna

as possible provides the maximum benefit

in terms of software control and flexibility of

the radio, but also requires high frequency

wideband converters with very good signal-

to-noise ratio (SNR) and spurious-free

dynamic range (SFDR). Although suitable

components do not yet exist to allow many

UHF and higher frequency signals to be

digitized close to the antenna, it is possible to

achieve this with excellent SNR and SFDR for

many VHF and some UHF signals. Processing

signals in higher RF bands requires the use of

analog heterodyne circuits, which adds cost

and reduces the flexibility of the design.

Whatever the case, we have an extensive

selection of product choices available to

the system architect, plus the experience

and engineering capabilities to modify a

standard product to meet a special need or

create an entirely new product if need be.

In addition, because many of our board level

products include FPGAs, they inherently

offer the designer tremendous flexibility.

Transferring technology from

the storefront to the battlefront.

Rugged applications have benefited tremendously

from advances made in ordinary consumer devices.

RADIO AND RADAR

COTS signal processing silicon has made

dramatic advances in the last few decades

due to the explosive growth of technolo-

gies in the consumer marketplace. As a

global rugged COTS provider, we have

exploited many of these technologies in

order to provide system integrators with

board level components.

This has allowed them to design very high

performance radar and radio systems such

as small yet extremely capable tactical

radios (SDR); mobile signals intelligence;

spectrum monitoring; airborne, maritime

and fixed radar systems; RF Test & Mea-

surement and UAV/UUV telemetry systems.

Detecting Improvised

Explosive Devices

The ICS-8552B rugged

IF receiver is used in a

spectrum monitoring

application to detect

and locate IEDs, which

can be detonated with

garage door openers, handheld PCS radios

and cell phones. The range of frequencies is

so wide that the spectrum must be repeat-

edly scanned to provide coverage.

A tunable analog front end shifts signals

from the low GHz to an intermediate fre-

quency (IF) of 70MHz. The IF is directly digi-

tized by the ICS-8552B, providing a usable

instantaneous bandwidth of 40MHz. This 40

MHz slice of spectrum is passed back to the

host processor, which looks for signals of

interest that can be interrogated using the

narrowband tuner ASICs on the card. The

dual data path memory architecture of the

ICS-8552B permits concurrent acquisition

of the wideband and narrowband signals.

This allows close inspection of interesting

signals and wideband spectrum scanning

to occur simultaneously.

Spectrum Monitoring

In applications such as

spectrum monitoring,

bands of interest may be

several GHz wide, which

exceeds the capabili-

ties of even the fastest

sampling converters. In this situation, the

re-tuning speed of the analog front end

can become the factor limiting system

performance. While front end re-tuning

cannot be eliminated, using a high sample

rate ADC to maximize instantaneous band-

width can greatly reduce the frequency of

front end adjustments.

For example, the 4-channel ICS-1556 digital

receiver features a very high sampling rate

of up to 400 MHz per channel, and very

high resolution of 14 bits—a combination

that offers unsurpassed performance for

spectrum monitoring applications.

Transferring technology from

the storefront to the battlefront.

Advanced Signals Intelligence

Signals intelligence is one

of the most rapidly grow-

ing application areas for

armed forces in many

parts of the world. It is

also a very demanding

application, requiring significant process-

ing power in small, lightweight systems

that consume low power and that can be

deployed in harsh environments.

Our CL11 single board computers and ICS-

1555A high-speed AD (analog-to-digital)

PMCs are currently being used by a major

global defense contractor to meet these

demands. Our products are integrated into

their signals intelligence solutions to support

intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance

(ISR) information in tactical environments.

Multifunctional Radar

Today’s sophisticated

r adar processing is

reliant on three key

elements:

1. New multi-core

processors that offer increased

computational power within stringent

heat and power constraints;

The PDW informs back-end command and

control logic of the hostile radar’s param-

eters without transmitting all the raw data.

This can reduce ELINT system data traffic

by several orders of magnitude. However,

it requires substantial real-time DSP to be

performed very close to the antenna.

Products like the ICS-8553 allow ELINT

architects to design such systems because

they combine the latest multi-GHz data

converters with massively parallel data

processing resources.

2. Serial switched fabrics which offer enor-

mous improvements in board-to-board

data transfers so that multiprocessor

configurations are not only more capable,

but also more flexible;

3. A new generation of powerful yet easy-to-

use software tools which has provided

important improvements in developer

productivity.

We offer all these to help you meet grow-

ing requirements for scalability, the need to

adapt to constantly changing applications,

and the absolute necessity of fielding new

radar applications as rapidly as possible.

Electronic Countermeasures

Rather than destroy hos-

tile radar, military tacti-

cians may choose to dis-

able them, or feed them

deceptive information.

Electronic intelligence

(ELINT) receivers characterize the radar

and then jam it, or create false returns. For

pulsed radar, front end DSPs can generate a

pulse descriptor word (PDW).

Regardless of your application, we

have invaluable experience to offer.

As a veteran of major programs around the world, we have learned the hard lessons of service in the ﬁeld. This experience

is incorporated into each of our high-performance boards. For you, this can provide greater peace of mind, and a faster,

smoother path to deployment. With complete conﬁdence, you can choose from PMC, XMC, VPX, and PCI Express

form

factors, covering sample rates of 100MHz to 3GHz and resolutions from 8 to 16 bits. Plus software support for Windows

VxWorks

, and Linux

and hardware development kits that allow you to insert your own IP for data preprocessing. Custom

design services are also available for product customization, including FPGA cores.

Surface Scan Radar

6 We offer the tools needed

to develop the latest radar

applications and field them

as rapidly as possible.

Telemetry

6 Moving data from remote

sensors to a centralized

decision-making center is

critical for effective battle

space management.

Electronic Countermeasures

6 Our hardware is the basis for

advanced applications designed

to create confusion and false

information.

Video Tracking/Mapping

6 Proven products for one of the fastest-

growing application areas.

Satellite Uplink/Downlink

6 High reliability for satellite

communications in harsh

environments.

Spectrum Monitoring

6 Due to its high sampling rate and

high resolution, the ICS-1556

digital receiver offers unparalleled

performance levels.

Manpacks

6 Our small form factor ADC cards

are ideal for portable applications

that require high performance

during continuous operation.

03.10 10M GFA-1326

GE Intelligent Platforms Contact Information

Americas: 1 800 433-2682 or 1 434 978 5100

Global regional phone numbers are listed by location on our web site at www.ge-ip.com/contact

www.ge-ip.com

All other brands or names are property of their respective holders.

GE ICS-8553 Quick start guide

GE ICS-8553 Quick start guide

GE ICS-8553 Quick start guide

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