Spectrum Management

29 January 2014

Practical Application: 1005

Spectrum Management

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SpectrumManagement

IntroductionMilitaryoperationsarecomplicatedbyincreasinglycomplexdemandsontheElectromagneticSpectrum(EMS).AllmodernforcesdependontheEMS.TheEMSisaphysicalmediumthroughwhichjointforcesconductoperations.EMSdependentdevicesareusedbybothcivilianandmilitaryorganizationsandindividualsforintelligence;communications;position,navigation,andtiming;sensing;CommandandControl(C2);attack;ranging;Chemical,Biological,Radiological,andNuclear(CBRN)sensordatacollection/transmission;UnmannedAircraftSystems(UASs);civilinfrastructure;datatransmissionandinformationstorageandprocessing.TheimportanceoftheEMSanditsrelationshiptotheoperationalcapabilitiesisthekeyfocusofJointElectromagneticSpectrumManagementOperations(JEMSMO).JEMSMOisafunctionalareaultimatelyresponsibleforcoordinatingEMSaccessamongmultinationalpartners,throughouttheoperationalenvironment.

TheEMSisaphysicsbasedmaneuverspaceessentialtocontroltheoperationalenvironmentduringallmilitaryoperations.InformationanddataexchangebetweenplatformsandcapabilitieswillatsomepointrelyontheEMSfortransport.ThismaneuverspaceisconstrainedbybothmilitaryandcivilusesaswellasadversaryattemptstodenytheuseoftheEMS,creatingacongestedandcontestedenvironment.Thisconstrainsfreedomofmaneuvertouseallcapabilitiesoffriendlyforcesthroughouttheoperationalenvironment.

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SpectrumManagement

JointElectromagneticSpectrumManagementOperations20March2012

DepictionofDoDOperationsinSpectrumBandsBelow40GHz

ProblemAsonecansee,theelectromagneticspectrumisavaluableresourcethatsupportsthebackboneofallphasesofmilitaryandcommercialoperations.Itsusemustbecarefullyplannedandcontrolledfortheconsequencescouldbesevere.Interferencecandisrupteventhemostimportantmissionsoroperations.Forthisreason,thespectrummustbecarefullymonitoredforbothunintendedandintentionalelectromagneticsignals.Notonlygovernmentapplicationscanbeaffected,butlocalcommercialservicescanbeshutdownorcausedtofunctionabnormally.Eventhelocalfastfooddrivethrucanbeimpacted.Theunintendedeffectonemergencyservicescanbeverydamaging.OnevaluabletoolinthemissiontomonitorandisolatepossibleinterferenceistheQRCTechnologiesWBTrecorder/transmitter.Thisdualuserecordercanvisuallyexamineportionsofthespectrum,recordtheresultsandretransmitthedataforeitherlateranalysisortestingforeffect.

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SpectrumManagement

1) TheQRCWBToperateslikeanarrowbandspectrumanalyzer.Theunitwilldisplayafrequencybandofupto50MHzortwochannelsof25MHzorless.Thesmallerbandwidthsareavailableforlongerrecordingperiods.Thisspectrummaythenberecordedforahistoricalorbaselineperformancerecord.Latermeasurementscanbecomparedtothisrecordforevidenceofdegradationorfrequency/bandwidthchanges.Theunitcontainstwohotswappablediscdrives(960MB)thatareeasytoremoveandstore.Thissingleboxselfcontainedunitcanbebatterypoweredfortrueportability.

2) Acomprehensivelibrarycanbecompiledtodocumentspectrumperformanceforfutureanalysis.Thiscanbedonenotonlyfortheemitters,butforareasofthespectrumofconcern.DoyouhavealowSNRsatellitelink?Checkinganddocumentingtheguardbandsmaybeawisethingtodo.Werethereanyadjacentsignalsbefore?Checkthedisk.Preventingcreepinginterferenceisasmartwaytopreventfutureproblems.

3) Theabilitytoretransmitprerecordedsignalsisanotherwaytogetthejumponpotentialproblems.Testsignalsmaybegeneratedtodetermineanyinteractionsbeforetheinstallation.ThetestsignalmaybemovedtoanyfrequencywithintheWBTsrange.Theoutputlevelisadjustableand

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SpectrumManagement

externalpoweramplifierscanboosttheleveltoanyrangedesired.Thiscapabilityisalsoexcellentforthetrainingrole.Theabilitytotransmitrecordedfilesletsfutureinterferencehuntersdeveloptheirskillset.

TheWBTcanbeavitaltoolfortheinterferencehunter.Itmaybeevenmoreimportantforinterferenceprevention.Itisversatile,capableofmanyapplications,andeasytooperate.Futureonboardapplicationswillimprovecapability.Thereisaplannedapplicationspacedesignedintotheunitforcustomerstoimplementtheirownapplications.Plannedfeaturesincludefullbandsweepcapability,waterfalldisplayandthresholdtriggering.

Theneedtoreviewspectrumusage,toclearlyarticulaterequirementsandidentifyopportunitiesforsharingdoesnotfallupontheDoDandotherfederalusersalone,butalsouponallusersofthespectrumintheUnitedStates.Spectrumsharingisawaytosatisfythegrowingdemands,bothprivateandgovernment,forthisfiniteandincreasinglyimportantresource.(FromtheAD/DOD)Thispointstothefactthatspectrummonitoringisessential.Letushelp.

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WBTSpecifications

TechnicalData:WBTSize(WxHxD) 18.7x12.4x3.1Weight Under10.0Lbs10.4LCD(ResistiveTouch) 700NITDisplayCommunicationLinks GigabitEthernetPowerConsumption 83WNominalExternalPowerInput 10.032.0VDCOperatingTemperatureRange 0to+50C(+32to+122F)(WithoutCondensation)StorageTemperatureRange 20to+80C(4to+176F)(WithoutCondensation)FrequencyRange 50MHzto4.4GHzSuppliedPowerAdapters AC120240VPowerBrick(20VDCregulated)SuppliedPowerAdapter AutomobilePowerPlug(12VDCNominal)ThermalManagement ForcedAirFileFormat QVRT(VITA49StandardDerived)

TunerConfigurationOptions FrequencyRange

A 50MHzto2.2GHzB 400MHzto4.4GHz

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