Icron, a leading provider of USB extension solutions, and Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium (SBRAC), a dedicated group of volunteers working to restore the D.S. Kennedy Satellite Dish at the Shirleys Bay government research campus, recently announced the deployment of Icron’s Ranger 2101 Extender product to provide connectivity between the digital microwave receivers on the satellite dish and the data collection computers located on the campus network over 100 feet away.
Over the last several years, volunteers at the Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium have been working to restore the D.S. Kennedy, a 60-foot parabolic satellite dish. This historic dish, commissioned in 1960, is owned by the Canadian Space Agency for use in radio astronomy research and educational outreach throughout Canada. To revive the almost half-century old, dormant parabolic dish, state-of-the-art Software Defined Radio-based astronomy receivers had to be placed at the focus of the dish.
Parabolic dish antennas are capable of receiving radio signals over a wide range of frequencies from celestial objects or spacecraft. They can be used to explore areas in space clouded by dust that cannot be seen by visible light and to study emissions from black holes that are usually surrounded by dust and other debris. By using the dish antenna to collect and focus signals in the radio part of the spectrum, SBRAC researchers are able to study astronomical objects that emit radiation at radio frequencies.
To restore the dish and support for microwave astronomy observations, digital microwave receivers were placed at the antenna focus point with the data collection computers on the campus network located over 100 feet away. The digital Universal Software Radio Peripheral microwave receiver uses USB 2.0 to connect to the data collection point. Hindered by the 16 foot (5 meter) distance limitation of a standard USB interface, the installation required an extension solution that would not only allow the processing computer to operate remotely from the digital receiver, but also meet the mechanical, environmental, thermal, emissions and power requirements of the application.
SBRAC considered many types of USB extenders that could be daisy-chained up to 80 feet, but these analog products were essentially “clean up and re-send” devices, carrying the risk of bit error rate amplification and propagation. The probability of data loss was considered unacceptable, even if the solution could have met the minimum 100-foot reach requirement. In Icron’s USB 2.0 Ranger® 2101 extender product, SBRAC found a standard product solution that met the needs of the installation. Based on Icron’s patented ExtremeUSB® technology, the USB 2.0 Extension over Cat 5 product line provides true high speed USB 2.0 peripheral connectivity at reaches of up to 100 meters without any additional software drivers. Icron’s ExtremeUSB solutions are capable of providing USB extension over Cat 5, Fiber, Coax, Powerline and Wireless technologies.
“It was clear to me almost immediately that the USB Ranger 2101 product was exactly what our project was looking for,” said Marcus Leech, principal investigator, SBRAC. “My technical sales inquiries were answered very quickly and I found their staff knowledgeable and helpful. If Icron’s products didn’t exist, we’d be looking at very expensive custom solutions. By using their Ranger 2101 extender, we can easily connect to our microwave digital receiver making it possible for us to conduct radio astronomy research.”
“The Shirleys Bay Radio Astronomy Consortium is extremely dedicated to radio astronomy research and education,” said Brian Donnelly, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development of Icron Technologies. “We are very pleased that our USB extension solutions support their efforts in a small but crucial role in this exciting restoration and research project.”
Please visit www.icron.com for more information.
