Abstract:
A method and apparatus for masking the presence and content of data transmissions includes a mobile transmitter which encodes the data by means of a pseudorandom spreading (PRS) code having a chip rate, and which transmits it at a carrier frequency. A masking transmitter remote from the mobile transmitter encodes a carrier at the same frequency with a second PRS sequence having the same chip rate, and transmits it at a power level higher than the power level of the mobile transmitter. A signal interceptor cannot separate the mobile and masking station carriers on a frequency basis. The relatively low-power mobile station PRS signal is difficult to detect in the presence of the high-power masking station code. The intended receiver (master station) receives an ensemble signal which is principally masking station signal. The master station regenerates the known masking station PRS code and subtracts it from the ensemble signal to leave a residue signal which contains the data-bearing mobile station PRS signal. The data in the mobile station PRS signal is recovered in conventional manner by use of a regenerated mobile station PRS signal. The master station may also control the relative amplitudes of the carriers transmitted by the mobile and masking station, as well as their chip rates.
Abstract:
An automatic direction finder antenna array having a plurality of pairs of oppositely positioned antenna elements arranged radially from a common center with each pair forming a cardioid radiation pattern when energized. Switching apparatus energizes successive antenna pairs to produce a rotating cardioid pattern but with the cardioid being switched back and forth 180.degree. at a higher switching frequency when each pair of antennas is energized during the rotating function. The antenna AX whose output bears the lowest ratio R to the output of its oppositely positioned antenna is determined as well as the antenna AZ having the largest output signal VZ. The precise angle of reception of a received signal is then determined from AX, AZ, and R.
Abstract:
A multiple channel demand assignment multiple access (DAMA) system is configured as a spoke-and-hub star network in which a satellite relays information between each of many small-aperture terminals (SATs), which may be portable terminals (PTs), and a hub network control terminal (NCT) which receives requests from the PTs, allocates channel resources, and broadcasts housekeeping messages. The system has a reservation protocol using at least three separate data channels to take advantage of the inherent lack of adequate radiated power at the PTs: a NCT outbound channel is tightly packed with data, without guard spaces, and it uses typically 98% of the allocated power; separate return channels for data and reservations use little satellite power, with no need for extremely tight data packing. Guard spaces are included in the reservation channel to overcome the total range of propagation delay uncertainty without requiring knowledge of the location of a particular PT.
Abstract:
An arrangement for coarse and vernier measuring of the delay or phase shift introduced by a delay path by generating a recurrent pseudorandom signal at an original chip clock rate derived from a reference clock. At the receiving end of the delay path, a delay locked loop regenerates the chip clock and the pseudorandom signal at a phase established by the delay. The coarse count is measured by the number of chip clock cycles. The vernier delay is measured in terms of a fractional portion of a chip clock cycle. The vernier measurement is made by starting a counter which counts reference clock signals in response to a coincidence of the original chip clock and the reference clock, and by ending counting and latching the count in response to coincidence of the regenerated chip clock and the reference clock.
Abstract:
An MSK modulator includes a source of digital sawtooth signals having a recurrence rate equal to the desired recurrence rate of the unmodulated carrier. The digital sawtooth signal is applied to an adder together with a phase control digital signal. The phase control digital signal phase-shifts the digital sawtooth signal. The phase-shifted digital sawtooth signal is applied to a sine ROM to produce a digital sinusoid with an unmodulated recurrence rate equal to the recurrent rate of the digital sawtooth signal. When the phase control signal is an accumulated signal, the digital sinusoid is frequency-modulated. The phase control signal for MSK modulation is a ramp signal generated by a controlled accumulator. The accumulator includes a controllable clocked adder/subtractor, the output of which is coupled by way of a register back to an input. The other input of the adder/subtractor is coupled to receive a fixed ramp rate controlling word. At each clock cycle, the accumulator adds (subtracts) the ramp rate word from the sum under the control of the MARK (SPACE) information content of the information signal to form a two-frequency MSK modulation. More general frequency modulation is accomplished by an accumulator with an input word which responds to the instantaneous amplitude of the information signal. A clocked delay and a subtractor indicate the direction of frequency deviation.
Abstract:
A data communications system for transmitting and receiving 64 different audio-frequency signals representing 64 respective alpha-numeric code symbols. A synchronizing signal consists of three time-spaced bursts where each burst consists of three audio-frequency signals. A following information signal consists of a three time-spaced message bursts where each burst consists of twenty audio-frequency signals, all three of the message bursts containing the same audio-frequency signals but in different orders. A receiver includes synchronizer means to recognize the predetermined synchronizing signal, and decoder means enabled and synchronized by the synchronizer means to decode the information signal. The audio-frequency signals may be 64 different fixed-frequency tones, or may be 64 differently-changing signals such as may be produced by unidirectional phase shift keying by 64 different pseudo-random number codes.
Abstract:
Arithmetic synthesizer having an output circuit that provides a linear phase output signal. A ramp generator controlled by the stepped output signal from the arithmetic synthesizer interpolates the value of the signal slope between steps to supply a phase output having low noise, i.e., reduced time jitter.
Abstract:
A transmit/receive space diversity system communicates between transmitter-receivers at two separate sites. Each site has at least two antennas. Each antenna at a first one of the sites transmits a pilot signal, at differing frequencies. At the second or other site, all the pilot signals are received by each antenna, and the pilot signals are evaluated to determine which pilot-signal-receiving antenna is part of the lowest loss path between the sites. A data source at the second site is routed to the identified antenna for transmission of data signals back to the first site. At the first site, the data signals are received by all the antennas, and the best of the received data signals is routed to utilization apparatus. A data signal from the first site is transmitted to the second site, at which it is received by the selected antenna.
Abstract:
A communication system transmits information which may be in the form of frames or bursts of suppressed-carrier data over a dispersive transmission path which introduces multipath distortion. Each frame is stored as it is received and processed by iteratively simulating the multipath distortion, subtracting the distortion from the stored frame to form a corrected signal, and evaluating the quality of the resulting signal. The quality of the resulting signal is determined by frequency multiplying the corrected signal and evaluating the total power of components other than the frequency multiplied carriers. The iterative procedure adjusts the phase and, if deisred, the amplitude of signals tapped from a delay line.
Abstract:
A phase modulator includes a digital frequency word generator, an adder and a register arranged to generate recurrent digital sawtooth signals at a carrier rate. A second digital adder is coupled to receive the sawtooth signals and also receives digital information signals. The adder produces recurrent digital sawtooth signals phase-modulated by the information signal. A pair of adders receive the digital sawtooth signals and mutually sign-reversed digital information signals to produce a pair of oppositely phase-modulated constant-amplitude signals in a pair of channels. A sine memory is addressed by the phase-modulated digital sawtooth signals to produce phase-modulated sinusoidal-representative digital signals. The digital signals are then converted to analog signals. Since the two channels contain signals which are phase-modulated but not amplitude-modulated, the signals may be amplified by nonlinear amplifiers. An adder is coupled to the outputs of the two channels to sum together the two phase-modulated signals to produce an amplitude-modulated signal. Combinations of amplitude and phase modulation may be generated by a combined structure.