Title :
VHF Narrowband Relay for LOS Extension
Author :
Cohen, Aaron E. ; Kennedy, Edward J. ; Rupar, Michael A.
Author_Institution :
U.S. Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC, USA
Abstract :
The Marine Corps has frequent requirements for beyond-line-of-sight communications for voice and narrowband data in challenging terrains that normally limit or truncate links. The Naval Research Laboratory has developed a two-channel narrowband VHF relay that supports narrowband communications using standard Marine Corps radios. This relay is lightweight and designed to be borne aloft at altitudes above 65, 000 ft., providing connectivity to nodes as far as 150 nmi from the relay payload. This paper documents the design and the operation of the balloon-borne VHF relay, dubbed "Surrogate TACSAT", and details results from testing conducted out of Yuma Proving Ground in March of 2014.
Keywords :
VHF radio propagation; military communication; radiocommunication; relay networks (telecommunication); LOS; Marine Corps radios; Naval Research Laboratory; Surrogate TACSAT; VHF narrowband relay; Yuma Proving Ground; balloon-borne VHF relay; beyond-line-of-sight communications; narrowband communications; narrowband data; two-channel narrowband VHF relay; voice data; Conferences; Military communication; Balloon; High Altitude; Radio; Relay; VHF;
Conference_Titel :
Military Communications Conference (MILCOM), 2014 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Baltimore, MD
DOI :
10.1109/MILCOM.2014.212
