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French Piquet deck
|Piquet (subset of French deck)
|Card rank (highest to lowest)
|Related games
Piquet (/pɪˈkɛt/; French pronunciation: [pike]) is an early 16th-century trick-taking card game for two players.
- 1 History
- 2 Rules
- 3 Background
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 Bibliography
- 7 External links
Piquet has long been one of the all-time great card games still being played.[1] It was first mentioned on a written reference dating to 1535, in Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais.[2] Although legend attributes the game's creation to Stephen de Vignolles, also known as La Hire, a knight in the service of Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War, it may possibly have come into France from Spain because the words "pique" and "repique", the main features of the game, are of Spanish origin.
The game was introduced in Germany during the Thirty Years War, and texts of that period provide substantial evidence of its vogue, like the metaphorical use of the word "repique" in the 1634–8 political poem Allamodisch Picket Spiel ("Piquet Game à la mode"), which reflects the growing popularity of the game at that time. As with other games like Bête, the substantive form of the word "Piquet" was turned into a verb and this is used substantially by Rist's 1640 Spiele: die man Picquetten[3] who gives the word his grudging assent.
Until the early 20th century, Piquet was perhaps the most popular card game in France, occupying a similar position to Cribbage in England. It first became popular in England after the marriage of Queen Mary I of England (Bloody Mary) to King Philip II of Spain in 1554.[1] During this period the game was known as Cent, after the Spanish game Cientos, referring to the fact that one of the chief goals of Piquet is to reach 100 points. Following the marriage of King Charles I of England to Henrietta Maria of France in 1625, the British adopted the French name for the game.[1] It went in and out of fashion among the upper classes in Britain between the 17th and early 20th centuries.
Piquet is played with a 32-card deck normally referred to as a piquet deck. The deck is composed of all of the 7s through to 10s, the face cards, and the aces in each suit, and can be created by removing all 2-6 values from a 52-card poker deck. Each game consists of a partie of six deals (partie meaning match in French). The player scoring the most points wins (see the scoring section for further details).
The player who cuts the higher card has to deal, and the dealer has the choice of cards at the commencement of each partie.[4] A partie consist of six deals. [5] The players deal alternately[6] for each hand in the partie. It is preferable to deal first so as not to deal the last hand. Dealing puts a player at a disadvantage.
Twelve cards are dealt to each player, with the remaining eight forming the talon, which is placed face-down between the players. The talon may be split by the dealer into two piles of five and three cards, respectively. The dealer is referred to as the Younger hand and the non-dealer, the Elder hand.
Carte Blanche[edit]
After the deal, players sort their cards in their hands. A player with no court cards (J, Q, K) may declare "Carte Blanche," which is worth 10 points. Carte Blanche should be declared immediately. Either player declaring carte blanche must show their hand to the other. However, to preserve fairness, a formal protocol should be followed:
Elder has Carte Blanche[edit]
- Elder declares the number of cards that will be exchanged, and sets them to the side.
- Younger chooses cards to be exchanged, and sets them to the side.
- Elder displays entire hand, including cards set aside.
Younger has Carte Blanche[edit]
- Younger displays after Elder has exchanged cards.
A hand of this type is fairly rare, appearing roughly once every 1800 hands. Although it often scores poorly, it is usually advantageous to declare it, despite the tactical disadvantage of giving information to the opponent.
Note: No conflict may arise, as it is impossible for both players to hold Carte Blanche.
Exchanging cards[edit]
The goal of exchanging cards is to improve one's hand before the declaration and the play. The Elder hand exchanges first. This is done by taking one to five cards from the hand and placing them face down. An equal number is then drawn from the talon. At least one card must be exchanged. The player must state how many cards she intends to exchange if fewer than the maximum. If the Elder chooses to take fewer than the maximum, she may then look at the remainder from the five (which are the first ones that the Younger will take).
The Younger hand exchanges next. Again, at least one card must be exchanged. The younger may also exchange up to five cards, depending on how many the Elder exchanged. If the Elder exchanged all five, then obviously the Younger may only exchange up to three.
Declaration phase[edit]
In the declaration phase, the players ascertain who has the better hand in each of three categories. This is done in an oblique sort of way that leads to some of the intrigue of Piquet. Elder hand declares first always, with Younger responding. In each part of the declaration, the Younger hand may choose to contest the Elder's claim. By doing so, the Younger may reveal information that would be useful during the trick-taking phase, called the play. Likewise, the Elder may choose not to reveal information in one or more parts of the declaration.
If the Elder has at least four cards in a suit, she may make a declaration. For example, "Point of four". The Younger would then respond indicating that he had more, fewer, or the same number of cards in a suit. This is done by saying "Good" (the Elder has more and wins the point), "Not good" (the Elder has fewer), or by saying "Making?" or "How many?", indicating that the Younger has the same number of cards in a suit, which requires clarification.
If both players have the same number of cards in a suit, then they must tally the value of the cards. The values of the cards are: ace = 11, face cards = 10, and face value for the rest. After adding the values of the cards, the Elder calls out the number. The Younger may then say "Good", if the Elder's value is greater, or "Not good" and the number that wins the point. For example: "Not good: 39" or "Not good, I have 39". If the values are the same, Younger says "Equal".
The player with the better point scores the number of cards in the suit, not their value. If the values are the same, neither player scores. Note that Younger does not actually score for any declarations until Elder has led to the first trick in the play (see below).
The next part of the declaration is the sequence, in which the longest consecutive run of cards is valued. A sequence must have at least three cards and they must all be in the same suit. Again, the Elder hand starts. For example, "Run of three" or "Sequence of four". The Younger then responds with "Good" or "Not good", in the same way as before, or by contesting. To contest, the Younger says "How high?", to which the Elder responds with the highest card in the sequence. For example, "To the queen". Younger replies with "Good", "Not good" or "Equal".
In keeping with the game's ancestry, one may utilize the historical names for sequences in this part of the declaration, instead of the prosaic "Run of three", for example. The following are the proper names and their associated values; those from 6 up are obsolete in English:
|Point worth number
|Proper name
|French: [siˈzjɛm]
|French: [sɛˈtjɛm]
|French: [ɥiˈtjɛm]
The person winning the sequence may declare any additional sequences that he has, if desired. If both players' best sequences are equal then neither player may score for any sequences.
A set is three or four of a kind, ten or greater (7s, 8s, and 9s don't count, and aces are highest). Sets of three are called trios or "brelans" and are worth 3 points, and sets of four, quatorzes ("cat-orz"), are worth 14 points. The declarations take place in the same manner as Point and Sequence, with Elder stating her best set (for example, "Three Kings"), to which Younger replies "Good" or "Not good". The player with the best set may declare any additional sets that she has, if desired.
Carte Rouge[edit]
A variation is sometimes played in which 20 points are received if every card in a player's hand is used at some point while making up one or more good declarations, Carte Blanche excluded. The points are scored at the time this occurs, and are not subject to the order of point counting, below.
The following example should illustrate one way Carte Rouge may apply during a hand.
Six cards were good in Points, and the other six were good in Sequences.
The 20 points would then be awarded at that stage of the counting towards a "repique".
Pique and repique[edit]
If a player scores 30 points during the declaration phase prior to his opponent scoring anything, that player gains a repique, which is worth an additional 60 points. If Elder scores 30 points in declarations and play combined, before Younger scores any points, then Elder gains a pique and scores an additional 30 points. You can only score either repique or pique, not both.
All declaration scoring must be evaluated in the following order, after the play of the first card by Elder:
- Carte Blanche
- Points
- Sequences
- Sets
If a player were to score more than 30 points in Points and Sequences before the other might score in Sets, then the player would receive a repique.
E.g. Elder has a Quatorze of Aces for 14 points; Younger has a Point of 7 and two Quints for a total of 37 points. Due to the order of scoring, above, Younger would receive the repique bonus.
Note that Younger can never gain a pique because Elder always scores one point for leading to the first trick (see below). By the end of the declaration, each player will have a pretty good idea of the other's hand (to the degree that each chooses to claim their points).
Additionally, should Elder achieve cards--more than 6 tricks--prior to Younger winning any tricks, then the 10 points for cards may immediately be applied to a pique. If Elder subsequently wins all the tricks, Elder only receives the remaining 30 of the 40 points awarded for capot. The capot does not count towards a pique.
Equality has no effect on pique or repique.
Carte Rouge is applied add soon as it occurs, and is not subject to the ordering, above.
The play is the trick-taking part of the game. Players must follow suit and there are no trumps. Play starts with the Elder hand placing a card face up and scoring one point. The Younger then scores for their declarations, and plays a card that follows suit, if possible. If not, he may discard anything he chooses. The winner of the trick (the player with the highest card in the suit led), takes the trick, placing it face-down (usually—see variations) in front of her. The winner of the trick leads the next. When forced to discard, it is important to choose the right card. See tactics.
Score is usually kept verbally as play progresses. Trick score counts as follows:
- 1 point for leading a trick
- If the second player (the player who doesn't lead) wins a trick, they get a point.
- The winner of the last trick wins a 1 point bonus (see variations).
The player with the greater number of tricks won at the end of play scores 10 for cards. If there is a tie, then neither player scores the additional points.
If all 12 tricks are won by one player, that player scores 40 points for capot ("capot" is the origin of the word kaput).
- Rubicon Piquet: Six hands are played regardless of final score. The winner's margin is computed as winner's score - loser's score + 100. If, however, the loser fails to score at least 100 points, then the final score is computed as: winner's score + loser's score + 100; since the loser failed to "cross the Rubicon".
E.g. 105 to 101 = 4 + 100 = 104 to the winner; 97 to 89 = 97 + 89 + 100 = 286 to the winner
- Classic piquet, also known as Piquet au Cent: Played to 100 or 101 points, regardless of how many hands it takes to reach 100, usually five or six, uses a deck that includes the sixes of all four suits, and allows up to seven cards to be exchanged by the Elder hand. In this variation, it is possible for both hands to score Carte Blanche, since the six of each suit is available to be used in a sequence of: 6,7,8,9,10,A in each player's hand, two suits each.
- Players may choose to keep tricks face up in front of them.
- Players may look through both players' winning tricks.
- The winner of the last trick may score 10 points instead of 1, making the choice of how to close the play more significant.
- Declarations state the total card values for point each time it is declared, not just when Dealer says "Equal".
- Carte Rouge may award 10 or 40 points instead of 20, at the players' discretion.
Players discard low cards (nine or lower) even if this means getting rid of four or more of one suit. This diminishes the chances of winning the point round, but this round is the lowest scoring one. Getting rid of these lower cards to get straights of five or more is very beneficial and will increase one's score greatly. Players may attempt to hold "stop" cards (usually Qs, Ks in their opponents' strong suit) for the last stage of play, in order to block their opponent's run of tricks with their long sequences.
"The card game Piquet is said to have derived its name from that of its inventor, who contrived it to amuse Charles VI of France. The game was played with thirty two cards, that is, discarding out of the pack all the deuces, treys, fours, fives, and sixes. Regular piquet-packs were sold. In reckoning up the points, every card counted for its value, as ten for ten, nine for nine, and so on down to seven, which was, of course, the lowest; but the ace reckoned for eleven. All court cards reckoned for ten. As in other games, the ace won the king, the king the queen, and so on, to the knave, which won the ten. The cards were dealt at option by fours, threes, or twos, to the number of twelve, which was the hand— 'discarding' being allowed; but both the dealer and he that led were obliged to discard at least one card. When the cards were played out, each counted his tricks; and he that had most reckoned 10 for winning the cards; if the tricks were equal, neither reckoned at all. He who, without playing (that is, according to the various terms of the game), could reckon up 30 in hand, when his antagonist reckoned nothing, scored 90 for them; this was called a repic; and all above 30 counted so many—32 counting 92, and so on. He who could make up 30, part in hand and part by play, before the other made anything, scored 60; this was called a pic."[7]
"The game was also played as pool precisely according to the rules briefly sketched as above, the penalty for losing being a guinea to the pool. Piquet required much practice to play it well. It became so great a favourite that, by the middle of the 18th century, the meanest people were well acquainted with it, and 'let into all the tricks and secrets of it, in order to render them complete sharpers.' Such are the words of an old author, who adds that the game was liable to great imposition, and he explains the methods in use. Short cards were used for cutting, as in Whist, at the time. Of these cards there were two sorts, one longer than the rest; and the advantage gained by them was as the adversary managed it, by cutting the longer or broader, as best suited his purpose, or imposing on the dealer, when it was his turn, to cut those that made most against him. The aces, kings, queens, and knaves were marked with dots at the corners, and in the very old book from which I am quoting precise directions are given how this marking can be effected in such a manner 'as not to be discovered by your adversary, and at the same time appear plain to yourself. With a fine pointed pen and some clear spring water, players made dots upon the glazed card at the corners according to the above method; or they coloured the water with India ink, to make the marks more conspicuous. The work concludes as follows: There are but 32 cards made use of at Piquet, so that just half of them will be known to you; and in dealing you may have an opportunity to give yourself those you like best; and if you cannot conveniently change the pack according to your desire, you will commonly know what you are to take in, which is a demonstrative advantage to win any one's money."[7]
"Although much reduced in popularity these days, Piquet continues to enjoy a small but enthusiastic following, many of whom believe it to be the equal or even the superior of Cribbage as a card game for two. One famous enthusiast for the game is the author Richard Adams."[7]
See also[edit]
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Piquet". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ a b c "Piquet - The great classic card game for two". Davidparlett.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- ^ "Rules of Card Games: Piquet". Pagat. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
- ^ A Lexicon of French Borrowings in the German Vocabulary (1575-1648) by William Jervis Jons - de Gruyter, Berlin & N.Y, 1976, pgs. 517-569 ISBN 3-11-004769-1
- ^ Cavendish (1908). The Laws of Piquet Adopted (9th ed.). London: Thomas De La Rue & Co. p. 1.
- ^ Cavendish (1908). The Laws of Piquet Adopted (9th ed.). London: Thomas De La Rue & Co. p. 14.
- ^ Cavendish (1908). The Laws of Piquet Adopted (9th ed.). London: Thomas De La Rue & Co. p. 3.
- ^ a b c Steinmetz, Andrew (2009). The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims - Vol. 2. Echo Library. pp. nn. ISBN 1406855243.
- Cavendish. The Laws of Piquet Adopted, 9th Ed. Thomas De La Rue & Co, 1908.
- Berkley. Piquet and Rubicon Piquet. FA Stokes CO, 1891.
- Foster, Robert Frederick. Foster's Complete Hoyle: An Encyclopedia of All the Indoor Games Played. FA Stokes Co, 1897, 426-439.
External links[edit]
- Piquet Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science


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Category: 'Nature, Environment'
In this category I'm going to share nature related silhouettes. Vector silhouettes of trees and plants, leaves shapes and contours of flowers. Maybe some other natural elements in vector format: clouds, roots, mountains, environmental icons, signs and objects. I hopes my free vector outlines will help designers to create good looking & unique graphics.

subset: commoncrawl


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Blair counts the counties out
The creation of new regional assemblies - toothless, partially unelected bodies that will usurp exis
The creation of new regional assemblies - toothless, partially unelected bodies that will usurp exis
by David Cox Published
None of our failings disappoints our Prime Minister as much as our cynicism. It is this vice, he feels, that enables mere spin and sleaze to distract us from his wondrous achievements. What, though, if cynicism were found to pervade the Blair regime itself - not just presentation and patronage, but the essence of policy-making? We are about to find out.
The government's proposal to create regional assemblies for England was cynical enough to start off with. Constitutional propriety was always going to be sacrificed to party advantage. However, the white paper detailing the scheme, to be published shortly, will plumb depths of cynicism as yet undreamt of.
The assemblies plan was never about improving England's governance. It was cooked up to address the constitutional chaos created by Scottish devolution, itself primarily an attempt to counter the nationalist threat to Labour's vote. This has left England governed partly by MPs elected in what has become, for domestic purposes, another country. The problem could have been solved by federalising the UK, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland being given parliaments of the same status as Scotland's. However, Labour leaders feared that an English parliament might end up with an inbuilt Tory majority - an unthinkable prospect. England would therefore have to remain under UK rule, so that a reserve army of Labour MPs from the reliable Celtic fringe could out-vote native Tories on English matters whenever necessary. In case the English asked why they were being deliberately denied democracy, they would be thrown a sop - directly elected regional assemblies.
From the outset, the scheme looked dodgy. Some countries divide fairly easily into regions, but not England. No mighty river or range of snow-capped peaks divides the north from the south, still less the Midlands from anywhere else. On the map, the south-west looks reasonably discrete, but even there, Cornishpersons want as little to do with Devonians as possible.
Still, since 1994, England has been arbitrarily chopped up into nine zones for the delivery of central government services. One of the boundaries happens to go straight through Sheffield's travel-to-work area. But what the hell: Labour's constitutional architects have decided that these zones will suit their purpose as well as any. So, the white paper will reveal, Swindon is to be exported to the south-west, Banbury's Midlanders will become south-easterners, and homely Hemel Hempsteaders are to be reborn as denizens of the mysterious east.
Some of the new regions will be so meaningless that even Labour's commissars have balked at imposing them everywhere. An assembly will be set up only where a majority approves it in a regional referendum. If, as a result, some regions end up with assemblies while others do not, a new asymmetry will be created, compounding the original constitutional imbalance that the scheme is supposed to be rectifying. People in English regions that do not have assemblies will have their affairs partly determined by MPs from regions that do, as well as by Celtic MPs.
Not that the new assemblies will be assuming Westminster's role within their regions. Because the underlying objective of the whole scheme is to keep real power in London, few Whitehall functions are to be transferred. The shiny new assemblies cannot, however, be left completely toothless, lest the English notice. So the white paper will propose that powers for the new assemblies should be taken from local authorities. Where will that leave the then denuded councils? The unitary authorities that run most of England's conurbations will just have to get used to rival bodies treading on their toes. But where there are both counties and districts, the counties will simply be abolished.
The justification provided will be that there would otherwise be "over-government". This is true enough. Where county, district and parish councils all exist already, regional authorities would become the sixth administrative tier, after Westminster and Europe. Yet the cynicism implicit in the abolition of the shires is breathtaking. It is not just that, only three months ago, the government promised parliament that regionalisation would pose no threat to county councils. Nor is it simply that the assemblies are being justified on the grounds that they will bring decision-making closer to the people. Nor is it even that the counties are the Tories' last redoubt (they won 17 in last year's local elections), while regional assemblies will be mostly Labour-dominated.
What is most cynical is that Tony Blair claims to be concerned about the voters' disengagement from politics, as evidenced by falling turnout, a problem even worse at local, than at general, elections. Experience shows that institutions imbued with authority by age and tradition command more respect than new ones. The shires have a thousand years of history behind them; Edward Heath's "improvements" to them met such unrelenting protest that they had to be unravelled. Now counties are to be discarded completely, just to help Labour out of a jam.
You want more? These exciting new, directly elected assemblies are not, it turns out, to be quite as directly elected as we had been led to believe. Feeble though the new bodies will be, they would still, if they were to be armed with full democratic legitimacy, pose more of a threat to the centre than Labour's control freaks can allow.
The chosen method of castrating them will appeal to those who admire the government's plan for "reforming" the Lords. Regional assemblies are now, apparently, to include a substantial number of appointed "community representatives", who will sit alongside directly elected members and exercise full voting powers. This arrangement will enable the assemblies to benefit from wisdom and experience they might otherwise be denied. Or, to put it another way, clapped-out trade union hacks will block anything No 10 tells them to.
Unfortunately, the prospect of regional devolution has yet to enrapture the English, even in unadulterated form. A British Social Attitudes survey found just 15 per cent support for the principle. A "constitutional convention" held in Chester last year to drum up support for a north-western assembly attracted just one genuine member of the public, and he was unpersuaded. Many of the English apparently take the view that regional government would be just another gravy train for low-grade, junketing politicians. Others ask why recognition of Scotland's nationhood has to trigger the dismemberment of their own nation. So a secretive and vaguely sinister Labour campaign, spearheaded for some reason by Church of England bishops, is busily trying to rectify public opinion.
As a final act of cynicism, the Prime Minister has distanced himself from the whole sorry scheme by making its implementation the only known responsibility of his forlorn deputy, John Prescott. So the man once seen as the government's conscience will preside over what is perhaps its cheapest shot so far. Blair tells us he's a pretty straight kind of a guy. Thank God we aren't ruled by a man as cynical as we are.


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Candace Calloway Whiting
Candace Calloway Whiting has studied and trained dolphins, seals, and orca whales. She is currently a volunteer at the Center for Whale Research at Friday Harbor.
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Cousteau and Dr. Visser Explain Why the Orca Morgan Needs to be Freed; Time is Crucial, Dutch Court Hears the Case Tomorrow (11/1/12)
Jean-Michel Cousteau and Dr. Ingrid Visser in conversation with WILD TIME's Thomas Janak bring clarity and insight into the fundamental importance of returning this young killer whale to the wild. They point out that times have changed along with our understanding of these intelligent whales, and Cousteau makes the case that we have more to […] [Read More]


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Man, have I really been slacking off.
I mean seriously.
I haven't been posting daily here.
I haven't been exercising.
Or Hula-Hooping.
I haven't been eating healthy.
In fact I've ate so much candy.
And even had some soda pop.
I suck big time.
What have I been up to instead?
Throwing an awesome Halloween Party at home.
And one at work too.
|My face paint for my costume.
I've also been dating someone.
Playing lots of rock band, watching movies, being intimate.
That's a new change.
Work has been crazy.
And I'm tired all the time.
I also need to start taking my suppliments again.
I have added pretty new things to my Etsy shop.
Check them out.
I have added pretty new things to my Etsy shop.
Check them out.
What have you been up to?
Really, I want to know.
Also, what would you like to see more of here on the blog?
I'll take requests for research and posts. :)


text:
In The Game with BKS1 Sports Show - Tuesday Nights 9 pm est to 11 pm est
Straight Cash Homie
I am writing this post the greatest fantasy football phenom ever to grace NFL stadiums, Randy Moss, on my mind. August winding down can only lead to one thing, the beginning of football season, specifically the beginning of NFL football. Along with the NFL season, fantasy football heats up and last night (Sunday), I had the first of my two fantasy drafts.
Moss was the type of player that excelled in any scoring format. It didn't matter the scoring system, you could pencil in Moss for 100 receiving yards and a touchdown at a minimum. If you received extra points for long scores, (40 yards and up), then Mr. Moss became a high round draft pick. In this league, I have won a championship and traveled deep into the playoffs each season (3) and I (in my mind) know much more about fantasy and real football than my competitors, but this season is different. We held our draft BEFORE the last cuts by the real NFL teams, which open the possibility of drafting a player that doesn't make the team. Well, my fellow owners had better adjust the game is all about the W tell 'em Randy (see video after the jump).
Since Moss isn't playing (at the moment) on any team I named my team after one of his most famous quotes. Drew Brees, Steven Jackson, Felix Jones, Brandon Marshall, Julio Jones, Matthew Stafford, Ryan Grant, Kellen Winslow, Lee Evans, Jets D/ST, Tony Gonzalez, Hines Ward, Donald Driver, Jay Feely, Ben Tate, Browns D/ST, Andy Dalton, Dennis Pitta, and Lawrence Tynes, make up the first fielding of team Straight Cash Homie (video after the jump).
We need Randy, if not for the sound bites alone but because dude can flat out play (when motivated). How soon people forget the athletic ability of the man called "The Freak" because of the combination of speed, height and hands he displayed. Hats off to you Randy, I hope my team does you proud.
To chop it up some more follow me on Twitter at PSNdotcom.
Special Guest Legendary And1 Basketball Player: Waliyy "Main Event" Dixon
Waliyy "Main Event" Dixon is nationally and internationally known as a Street Ball legend. Main Event is not just your ordinary professional Street Ball player. He has more than fifteen years experience in coaching, marketing, advertising, training, and entrepreneurship. His major focus is that of our youth. Through his commitment and passion for the love of basketball, he has realized that basketball can be a tool that assists in saving our youth. As a seasoned motivational speaker, his inspirational messages given at schools, parks, games, town hall meetings, churches etc; has empowered youth across the nation to reach for and exemplify excellence in education, as well as in life.
The credibility and authenticity of Main Event's career and legacy stem from Main Event: being named Linden High School's all-time leading scorer (inducted into its Hall of Fame), winning the "Reebok National Slam Dunk Contest," earning the name "Main Event" at the world famous Rucker Park in Harlem, playing with the Harlem Wizards, playing professionally with the Long Island Surfin, playing with the United States Basketball League (USBL) and for the Atlantic City Seagulls. Main Event has also spent some time in training camp with the New Jersey Nets before the 2004 and 2005 NBA seasons, but decided to continue with his Street Ball career. Main Event was featured on the "AND 1 Mix Tape Volume One" which drew national attention for Street Ball.
Main Event was also featured in the Street Ball documentary "On Hollow Ground," which aired on "TNT." Main Event is also featured on two video games, Street Hoops, and AND1 Basketball on X-Box & Play Station 2. Main Event was also selected as a speaker for Verizon Wireless Str8 Talk Program. In 1998, Main Event started his own company, "Ball For Life, LLC." Ball For Life, is a company that organizes some of the best Street Ball games around the world; with legendary Street Ball players, as well as up and coming players. He received an award of recognition from the Township of Irvington – Municipal Council for his participation in "My Father Knows Best" program.
We are losing our youth to gangs, crime, and societal erosion. Waliyy "Main Event" Dixon desires to impact and educate our youth on their alternatives, to our inner city ills. He has the uncanny ability to touch, motivate, and educate people from all walks of life. Having him as a guest speaker can be the first step for communities who desire a new direction for their youth.
Derrick Webster
BIO: Derrick "Take it to the Bank" Webster hails from Glassboro, New Jersey, and he had a very successful amateur boxing career before turning professional in May of 2009. Prior to becoming a fighter, this multi-talented tactician used his voice to enjoy what was a budding musical career.
Webster has overcome many hardships throughout his lifetime, including the loss of his father at a very early age. He has used those tough times as motivation in training and particularly when he enters the ring. After seeing multiple opponents back out of fights, the New Jersey native inked a promotional contract with Nedal Mohammed and Nedal Boxing at the beginning of 2011, and he has not looked back since.
Boxing and Sports Legalese
I think this will be my last piece for the day I plan vegging out on the NFL Network preseason games and PS3. Today's game of choice is NCAA Football 12. If you are on and want some of this hot ish, my gamer tag is JerseyAce.
Last night, along with my road dog John, hit up the Punching at the Paradise boxing card at the Paradise Theater in the Bronx. I love doing boxing shows with young fighters because they are very accommodating with the media.
Sitting in press row, the managers for the fighters feed anyone within earshot ideas for stories about their fighters, and offer interviews and come through in the end. Case in point, Matt Yanofsky promised me access to his fighter Mike Brooks, and sure enough after the normal give and take with reporters Brooks came over and we did this quick video (click here).
Tonight's Special Guest Negro League player Joseph Trawick
Joseph Trawick played ss/2nd base for the Cleveland Buckeyes in 1950. He played and saw some of the great Negro League Players of all time. Join us as we go "In the Game" Retro-Style and talk about this historic league.
Sunday's Ramblings
A WNBA game provides the ambient music (Tulsa Shock at Minnesota Lynx) as I tip-tap on the keys of my Toshiba the thoughts of a sports nut.
Last night I witnessed a robbery disguised as the final bout of Showtime's Bantamweight Tournament when Abner Mares and Russell Mora fleeced champion Joseph Agbeko of his IBF strap. Agbeko shook off a fluke knockdown (he was falling from the loss of balance before a Mares punch grazed his head) and repeated low blows from Mares before the eleventh round, and then the roof fell in.
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The Little Mermaid Under the Sea
Whoops! Sorry folks. This ride vid was mislabeled on YouTube. This is the same mock-up Little Mermaid ride that was on the Special Edition Little Mermaid DVD.
If you haven't seen the original mocj-up (or desire to see it again), by all means take a look-see.
Watch your step and "keep your arms and legs inside the sea shell." Have fun and enjoy...


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Combination locks
Previous Forum topic
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Can anyone recommend a good 'un? I lost a set of keys the other day, so now only have the one for my lock. Thinking a combination lock might be a good solution.
I would be careful abiout using a combination lock. Admittedly they are good and provide asafeguard against lost keys, but someinsurance companies won't accept them. Do check with yiours before investing in one
posted by barogerl [26 posts]
20th February 2012 - 21:30
Depends where you are.
Your average cable lock can be cut by secateurs. A cable is fine for areas of low crime risk, for popping into WH Smiths to read the Comic or a cafe stop during a ride. For those times a combination is IMHO better than a key.
The only really good lock for anything more than a few minutes in town is a strong D-lock. I have a Kryptonite Series 2 for leaving my bike in the centre of Shrewsbury for a while.
posted by Simon E [2338 posts]
21st February 2012 - 23:00


text:
So the first month of 2011 is already over. How are those 2011 goals coming along? Are you still on track? I've had a couple of setbacks myself, but I'm not taking it lying down. I'm taking some corrective actions and I hope to be able to report that they worked!
Without further delay, here are a few of my favourite articles from January of 2011. This is a mere sampling of the great information out there. I highlight lots of other articles each day on Twitter. You can follow me @BalanceJunkie.
1. At Today's Economy Blog, Kevin Press wrote about Muskoka Chairs and Unanswerable Questions. The article captured the retirement anxiety many of us feel at this time of year as financial services firms "pose virtually unanswerable questions about how much you need to save for retirement that leave people feeling like they haven't done enough." He suggests a new marketing strategy is needed.
2. Ian Brennan offered two interesting posts. The first drew some provocative conclusions about Timing the Market from the recently released FCIC report on the financial crisis. The second shared an Economic Forecast from Craig Alexander of TD Bank.
3. Is Budgeting about Freedom or Confinement? Ponder that for a moment. Thanks to Craig at Money Help for Christians for asking the question.
4. Mark from My Own Advisor shared his method of achieving Organized Cash Flow with Dividends. Different companies pay out their dividends at different times. He has a spreadsheet that tracks his dividend cash flow. Nice.
5. Well our friend Big Cajun Man over at the Canadian Personal Finance Blog turned 50 this month, and he shared a great article On Turning 50 in which he highlighted some of the financial changes and milestones we've experienced over the past 50 years. Happy birthday again BCM!
6. Boomer and Echo kicked off a great series on How to Invest Your Money. Part One tackled Psychology and Part Two was about Getting Started, which is sometimes the hardest part. Whether you're a novice investor or you've been saving for years, there are some great rules of thumb here.
7. Speaking of useful tips for beginners and veterans alike, Miranda offered 5 Tips to Build a Strong Financial Foundation at Financial Highway. There are a couple of things in there that might not have occurred to you.
8. Don't Fail to Plan. Sage advice from Jessica at MomVesting. When it comes to retirement planning, "the sooner you start the better — but better late than never."
9. If you want to have a little extra money to invest, you might want to read 10 Ways to $ave Energy Comfortably at Prairie EcoThrifter. There are some great ideas here. You can help the environment and save some money at the same time!
10. Early in the New Year Larry MacDonald was wondering Where to Invest Now? He found a stock broker who offered a surprising solution. (Hint: He didn't recommend loading up on stocks.)
Any comments on these fine articles would be appreciated.


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Wisdom Natural, SweetLeaf Liquid Stevia, SweetDrops Sweetener, Vanilla Creme, 2 fl oz (60 ml)
Items 31-35 of 92 total
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Nice with hot drinks and to sweeten cakes
Posted by Reviewer2870084 on Sep 01, 2014
Ive tried different brands and forms of stevia and this brand is the best, vanilla cream and also english toffee tastes are really good and enough strong so u dont have to empty the bottle right away. No funny after taste. It tastes good with coffee, hot chocolate, also nice with plain yoghurt etc. Ive also used it to sweeten low-carb cakes and it does the job really well.
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Note: iHerb does not imply any medical claims from this review. Disclaimer.
Muy buen producto
Posted by 4993332100887306325 on Oct 01, 2014
Aroma agradable a vainilla, aunque no 100% natural al olerlo. Líquido fluido no viscoso. Si no se excede uno en la dosis, no amarga como todos los endulzantes a base de stevia. Práctico dosificador cuentagotas, con 4-5 gotas para un café es suficiente (al menos para mí).
Posted by Reviewer1752466 on Jan 07, 2015
I use it in my coffee, but it does have a bit of an after taste.
sweetdrops sweetner
Posted by Reviewer2203649 on Mar 01, 2015
Nice sweetness....
Perfect for smoothies
Posted by 5115816288804924667 on Apr 13, 2015
My favourite Stevia flavour. Perfect for adding to smoothies


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My aunt called me this sunday and she told me to go and buy the sunday paper and read the "look who's cooking section" and it was about a women who had to cook gluten-free for several years.
The women also put a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie recipie in there, I will post that when I get home....dont have the paper on me.
Its so nice that she made it in the paper, to know that we are not the only ones...
check back later for the cookie recipie!
Started by minibabe, Apr 26 2005 09:44 AM
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The trucking company suing Pilot Flying J accused CEO Jimmy Haslam of obstructing justice and buying off cheated customers in a motion for a restraining order filed Thursday.
A judge could decide Monday whether Haslam and his company crossed a legal line from making amends to witness-tampering by offering to pay up the difference to any trucking companies shorted on fuel rebates as part of what federal authorities claim amounted to an interstate fraud conspiracy. Pilot's lawyer calls the claims "outrageous" and unfounded.
Lawyers for Atlantic Coast Carriers of Hazlehurst, Ga., filed a lawsuit last week in Knox County Circuit Court accusing Pilot of racketeering violations and seeking class-action status for Pilot's trucking customers. The lawsuit came five days after FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents raided Pilot's corporate headquarters in West Knoxville on April 15 as part of an investigation into claims of rebate fraud.


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A communication relay having a large number of free-flying, self-powered miniature spacecraft (10M) that cooperate to form a large antenna array with sufficient aperture and gain to focus transmit and receive beams much more accurately than in conventional satellite communication relays. The miniature spacecraft, or microsatellites, fly in a single constellation (10) but are allowed to drift in relative position because no rigid structure is provided to restrain their relative movement. Operation as a large phased-array antenna system is achieved by providing for accurate measurements of the microsatellite positions in real time. In one disclosed form of the array, a control satellite (20) conditions the microsatellites (10M) to form receive and transmit beams in desired directions. Received uplink signals are transmitted over communication crosslinks (42) to the control satellite (20), which forwards signals back to the microsatellites after conditioning them to form a transmit beam when forwarding the signals on as a downlink, transmission. A constellation (10) of microsatellites of the type disclosed may also be used as a deep-space communication relay, or as a radio-telescope.
1. A method for communicating from one ground-based transceiver to another using a satellite communication relay operating at ultra-high frequencies, and wavelengths up to approximately one meter, the method comprising the steps of:
conditioning a large number of free-flying, structurally independent, cooperative transponders to function cooperatively as a single phased-array antenna with a receive beam directed toward a transceiver that is ready to transmit an uplink signal, wherein the transponders are moving in adjacent but independent orbits as a single constellation of satellites and each transponder has faces and multiple antennas installed in the multiple faces;
transmitting the uplink signal from the transceiver to all of the transponders acting in cooperation as a single phased-array antenna;
receiving the uplink signal at the transponders;
conditioning the transponders to function cooperatively as a single phased-array phased array antenna with a transmit beam directed toward a destination; and
transmitting a downlink signal from the transponders acting in cooperation as a single phased-array antenna, to the destination transceiver;
wherein the receive beam and the transmit beam provide independent and simultaneous uplink and downlink paths;
wherein the transponders are sufficiently numerous and widely spaced to provide a large antenna aperture and relatively narrow receive and transmit beams that permit reuse of transceiver frequencies in different locations;
and wherein the steps of conditioning the transponders includes
periodically determining the locations of the individual transponders by detecting their angular positions and ranges with respect to a number of special-purpose satellites in known orbits,
interposing a selected time delay for uplink signals received at each transponder and for downlink signals transmitted from each transponder, wherein the time delays are computed using phased-array antenna principles and based on the locations of the transponders and the intended direction of the receive and transmit beams,
detecting the orientation of each transponder, and
applying antenna selection signals to each transponder, based on its detected orientation, to select the antennas in each transponder that provide for maximum transponder antenna gain for the uplink and downlink signals, and for signals transmitted and received over the communication crosslinks.
2. A method as defined in claim 1, and further comprising:
transmitting the delayed uplink signals over communication crosslinks from the transponders to a focal station orbiting with the transponders;
receiving multiple, coherently combined uplink signals at the focal station;
demodulating the received uplink signals at the focal station; and
identifying the destination transceiver from the demodulated uplink signals;
wherein the conditioning steps are effected by transmitting control signals from the focal station to the transponders over the communication links.
3. A satellite communication relay system, comprising:
a plurality of self-powered, cooperating microsatellites launched into adjacent obits such that they move generally together in a constellation but are free-flying and structurally independent of each other, wherein each microsatellite has at least one elemental antenna and two signal delay circuits for processing signals received and transmitted, respectively, through the elemental antenna;
at least one command satellite launched into an orbit adjacent to the orbits of the microsatellites, for controlling the microsatellites to function in cooperation as a single very large phased array antenna, the command satellite including a control system operative to condition the microsatellites to function as a receiving phased-array antenna having a receive beam directed toward a ground-based transceiver capable of transmitting a communication message containing an intended destination code, and to condition the microsatellites to function simultaneously as a transmitting phased-array antenna having a transmit beam directed toward a second transceiver that is the intended destination of the communication message;
a plurality of communication crosslinks between the control satellite and the microsatellites, for transmission of signals to determine the locations of the microsatellites, for transmission of communication signals for use in the transmit beam and derived from the receive beam, and for transmission of control signals to select appropriate signal delays in the microsatellites, to effect steering of the transmit and receive beams; and
a plurality of maneuverable satellites launched into orbits generally adjacent and parallel to those of the microsatellites, the maneuverable satellites providing optical beams that provide a frame of reference from which the microsatellites can determine their respective orientations,
wherein the receive beam and the transmit beam provide independent and simultaneous uplink and downlink paths;
and wherein each microsatellite has multiple faces and multiple elemental antennas installed in the faces, and also includes an antenna switch operable based on microsatellite orientation determined from the frame of reference provided by the maneuverable satellites, the antenna switch being operable to select an optimum antenna for each of three functions of the microsatellite, including receiving a receive beam component, transmitting a transmit beam component and communicating over one of the communication crosslinks.
4. A satellite communication relay system as defined in claim 3, wherein the receive beam and the send beam are transmitted at ultra-high frequencies, with a wavelength as long as approximately one meter.
5. A satellite communication relay system as defined in claim 3, wherein:
microsatellite orientation is determined from the maneuverable satellites, which transmit antenna switching signals to the microsatellites based on orientation determination.
6. A satellite communication relay system as defined in claim 3, wherein:
microsatellite orientation is determined in each individual microsatellite and appropriate antenna switching signals are generated internally.
This invention relates generally to communication in space and, more particularly, to communication systems using orbiting satellites to receive or transmit communication signals. Although there are a number of applications of the present invention, it will be best understood in the context of a space-borne communications relay linking a potentially large number of terrestrial terminals. Typically, such a relay includes an orbiting satellite with a large antenna system that can be physically or electronically directed toward selected terminals on the earth's surface. A communication from one terminal to another is directed up to the relay, which retransmits the communication toward the intended receiving terminal.
The antennas on communications relays are generally not large enough to direct transmissions to small regions of the earth's surface, or to communicate with transceivers of very low power. Typically, a relay antenna provides global coverage of practically the entire surface as viewed from the relay, and transceivers of moderate to high power must be used. Each transmission has to be allocated a separate frequency band to avoid interference between transmissions on overlapping frequency bands. The capacity of communication systems of this type would be greatly increased if larger antennas could be employed, because the theoretical gain of an antenna, and its ability to form a less, divergent beam, increases as the square of the antenna diameter. Unfortunately, the mass of a required antenna supporting structure also increases roughly as the square of the diameter. An antenna system of large mass burdens the launch vehicle needed to place the relay in orbit, and adds to the difficulty of controlling the relay once in orbit.
The performance of a large space-borne antenna is limited not only by the overall physical dimensions, but also by the ability to precisely control the locations of physical features of the antenna, such as reflector surfaces and feed elements. Larger antennas are more difficult to control and are more likely to have imperfections in their surface geometry. Any attempt to overcome these difficulties usually results in adding even more mass to the overall structure.
There is, therefore, a significant need for a communications relay that overcomes these problems and provides an antenna system having a large diameter and high gain, but without the usual penalty of increased mass. If a suitably large diameter and high antenna gain can be provided, the communication system can be designed around a frequency plan in which frequency bands are reused in transmissions that are angularly separated from each other. The resultant communication system would, therefore, be able to handle much larger volumes of message traffic within a given overall frequency allocation. In addition, a high antenna gain would permit the use of very small, low-power transceivers on the ground. The present invention achieves these and other objectives, as will become apparent from the following summary and more detailed description.
The present invention resides in a space-borne communications relay system in which antenna gain and aperture size have no significant effect on overall launch mass. Basically, and in general terms, the invention comprises a plurality of free-flying, self-powered, cooperating transponders launched into adjacent orbits such that they move together in a constellation that functions as a very large collective antenna array; and a command spacecraft for controlling the transponders to function as a very large phased array antenna capable of receiving and transmitting signals over directionally controlled receive and transmit beams. More specifically, each transponder includes a receive signal delay circuit and a transmit signal delay circuit; and the command spacecraft includes means for controlling the receive signal delay circuit and the transmit signal delay circuit in each transponder to control the direction of the receive and transmit beams independently. An uplink signal received over the receive beam is retransmitted as a downlink signal to a different location over the transmit beam. A signal carrier frequency can be reused in different locations because the receive and transmit beams are sufficiently narrow to allow separation of signals of the same frequency transmitted from different locations. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the command spacecraft is located within the transponder constellation; and the system further includes a plurality of communication crosslinks between the command spacecraft and the transponders for transmission of command signals as well as the downlink and uplink signals.
The invention may also be defined as a microsatellite communication relay system, comprising a plurality of free-flying, self-powered, cooperating transponders launched into adjacent orbits such that they move together in a constellation that functions as a very large collective antenna array; at least one focal station located among the cooperating transponders; and a plurality of communication crosslinks between the cooperating transponders and the focal station, to carry to the focal station delayed uplink signals received from a user by the transponders, and to carry signals from the focal station to the transponders, including downlink signals for delayed transmission to another user. The focal station includes means for determining the locations of the transponders, and means for forming receive beams and transmit beams by commanding each of the transponders to delay retransmission of signals by a preselected time. In this manner, the transponders are conditioned to function as a large phased-array antenna, to receive and transmit signals over the receive beams and transmit beams.
The microsatellite communication relay system of the invention may further include at least one maneuverable satellite located near an edge of the constellation of transponders, and having the capability of detecting when a transponder drifts too far from the constellation, and applying a correction acceleration to the transponder.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, each of the transponders has multiple facets with antennas; and the focal station transmits antenna selection commands to the transponders. The communication crosslinks may be either radio-frequency crosslinks or may include fiber-optic connections between the focal station and the transponders.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, its novelty resides in a method for communicating from one transceiver to another using a satellite communication relay, the method comprising the steps of conditioning a large number of free-flying, cooperative transponders to function as a phased-array antenna with a receive beam directed toward a transceiver that is ready to transmit an uplink signal, wherein the transponders are moving in adjacent orbits as a single constellation of satellites; transmitting the uplink signal from the transceiver to the transponders; receiving the uplink signal at the transponders; conditioning the transponders to function as a phased array antenna with a transmit beam directed toward a destination transceiver; and transmitting a downlink signal from the transponders to the destination transceiver. The transponders are sufficiently numerous and widely spaced to provide a large antenna aperture and relatively narrow receive and transmit beams that permit reuse of transceiver frequencies in different locations.
More specifically, the steps of conditioning the transponders includes determining the locations of the individual transponders; and interposing a selected time delay for uplink signals received at each transponder and for downlink signals transmitted from each transponder. The time delays are computed using phased-array antenna principles and based on the locations of the transponders and the intended directions of the receive and transmit beams. The method may further include the steps of transmitting the delayed uplink signals over communication crosslinks from the transponders to a focal station orbiting with the transponders; receiving multiple, coherently combined uplink signals at the focal station; demodulating the received uplink signals at the focal station; and identifying the destination transceiver from the demodulated uplink signals. The conditioning steps are effected by transmitting control signals from the focal station to the transponders over the communication links.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention the method further includes detecting the orientation of each transponder; and transmitting antenna selection signals to each transponder from the focal station, to provide for maximum transponder antenna gain for the uplink and downlink signals, and for signals transmitted and received over the communication crosslinks.
In the method of the invention, the step of determining the locations of the transponders is performed at least in part by at least one "fencepost" station located near an edge of the constellation. The method may further include a step of applying a corrective force to any transponder whose position has strayed beyond a predefined constellation boundary.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the present invention satisfies a long felt need for a space-borne communications relay having an antenna system with a large aperture and gain, but without the usual penalty of correspondingly large mass. The invention provides a revolutionary solution to this antenna scaling problem by utilizing hundreds or thousands of independently orbiting satellites that cooperate to provide a phased-array antenna of extremely large aperture and beams narrow enough to allow frequency reuse over relatively small regions of the earth's surface and to permit the use of very small, low-power transceivers. Other aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the transponder cloud concept of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but also showing a focal station and multiple "fencepost" stations as part of the transponder cloud;
FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a microsatellite transponder suitable for use in the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a microsatellite constellation shown in relation to two ground-based transceivers;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a single microsatellite transponder;
FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a focal station used in the present invention;
PIG. 7 is a flowchart depicting the functions performed by a digital signal processor in the focal station shown in FIG. 6; and
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a fencepost station used in the present invention.
As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the present invention pertains to a satellite communications relay system providing a very large antenna aperture and gain, but without any significant mass penalty. Conventional space-borne antenna systems cannot be made very large without drastically increasing the launch mass of the antenna system and its supporting structure. Consequently, conventional space-borne antenna systems are not large enough to focus beams accurately on selected regions of the earth's surface. Instead they cover large areas of the earth, placing a huge demand on frequency bandwidth.
In accordance with the present invention, a space-borne antenna system comprises a large number of free-flying, self-powered, cooperating satellites, which together form a very large phased-array antenna. The concept is illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows a "cloud" 10 of microsatellites, each of which is depicted as a small black dot. The cloud 10 is placed in orbit about the earth 12 and has an effective aperture, shown as a rectangle 14 in broken lines, that may be hundreds of times the wavelength used for communicating to or from the antenna. For communications in the UHF (ultra-high-frequency) band, with wavelengths up to one meter, the effective aperture may be, for example, 100 meters or more. With an aperture this large, the cloud 10 can be electronically controlled as a phased-array antenna, to produce beamwidths measured in milliradians, as shown by beams 16.
The individual microsatellites, referred to by reference numeral 10M, require no maneuvering or attitude control capability and are extremely small compared to conventional satellites, only a few centimeters in diameter and with a mass of only about 20-25 grams. The microsatellites 10M in the preferred embodiment of the invention are interconnected only by RF or optical crosslinks, without any physical support structure.
FIG. 2 depicts one space-borne configuration using the microsatellite cloud 10. The configuration includes three types of spacecraft: a large number of microsatellites indicated by the cloud 10, a focal station 20 located near the center of the cloud, to perform complex centralized processing tasks, and a number of additional satellites referred to as "fenceposts" 22. The fenceposts 22 have maneuvering capability, stationing themselves at the outer edges of the array or cloud 10, and readjusting the orbits of wayward microsatellites as needed. The fenceposts 22 support the focal station 20 in accurately locating each of the microsatellites continuously and in real time. The fenceposts 22 also act as reference beacons, helping the microsatellites determine their orientation without the need for complex onboard sensor systems.
Before turning to a more detailed description of the microsatellites and how they are controlled, it would probably be helpful to consider the steps that are performed in relaying a communication signal from one terrestrial user to another using the satellite relay in accordance with the invention. The steps involved include the following:
The focal station 20 periodically updates the positions of the microsatellites using interferometry or laser ranging data forwarded from fenceposts 22. The focal station 20 and the fenceposts 22 are provided with ephemeris data defining their position relative to the earth. Therefore, the position of each microsatellite can be determined relative to earth or some other frame of reference.
The focal station 20 sends a unique receiver delay command to each microsatellite, based on the desired beam direction and the relative locations of each of the microsatellites.
A user starts transmitting from within the "footprint" of the currently formed beam formed by the cloud 10.
As the user signal reaches each microsatellite, it is delayed by a preselected amount, consistent with the commands previously issued by the focal station.
After the commanded delay, each microsatellite retransmits the user signal to the focal station 20 via a crosslink.
As all of the microsatellite signals arrive at the focal station 20, they combine coherently to promote the extraction of the uplinked communication signal from composite noise that is present. The received signal is then demodulated. Any signal having an overlapping frequency band, but emanating from a region outside the footprint of the currently formed beam, is ignored because the beam is narrow enough to discriminate between sources from different directions.
The focal station 20 determines the destination of the user signal based on header information in the message, and sends unique delays to each of the microsatellites to form a transmit beam in the desired direction of the intended destination.
The message is broadcast by crosslinks from the focal station 20 to all of the microsatellites.
After the commanded delay, the signal is retransmitted by each microsatellite. The retransmitted signals combine in the far field of the array formed by the microsatellites, and form a maximum lobe in the direction of the intended destination terminal.
The signal arrives at the destination terminal at high received isotropic power, and is demodulated.
FIG. 3 is an exterior view taken normal to one face of an illustrative microsatellite 10M in accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the microsatellite 10M is a regular dodecahedron with twelve identical, planar facets 30, six of which are visible in the figure. Each facet 30 takes the form of a regular pentagon, and each edge of the facet forms a common boundary with an adjacent facet. Other configurations could be used, but this one has some useful advantages. The planar surfaces facilitate fabrication of various electronic components, including solar cells, transceivers, photodetectors, and so forth. Also, the structure has a useful symmetry. Opposing facets 30 are parallel with each other and, since there are twelve identical facets, the structure's orientation is not critical. Slot antennas 31R and 31T are provided for communication with the focal station 20. User link antennas, indicated at 32, are fractional wavelength toploaded dipoles connected between opposing facets 30, with one dipole 32R for receive signals and the second dipole 32T for transmit signals. A commutation scheme is used to engage only the best-oriented pair of dipoles at any instant, based on which facet is pointing "down" toward the earth. The "up/down" and "east/west" orientation of the structure, as well as its position in space, is determined by photodetectors 34 on each facet 30, which respond to laser ranging beams transmitted by fencepost satellites 22 (FIG. 2). Batteries and radiation-sensitive electronics can be located in the interior of the microsatellite.
Also included on each facet 30 is a shuttered retroreflector 36, which modulates and reflects an optical beam transmitted from one or more of the fenceposts 22. The modulation imposed on the reflected beam uniquely identifies the microsatellite 10M to the fenceposts and the focal station.
The surface of each facet 30 provides additional functionality not specifically illustrated, including a solar cell array, electrochromic film surfaces for active thermal control and, possibly, supporting electronics. The design of the identical facets 30 lends itself to wafer-scale fabrication using known semiconductor fabrication techniques.
Each microsatellite has sufficient area to receive approximately 3 watts of solar power when in orbit. With a conversion efficiency of approximately 15%, each microsatellite has sufficient power to operate a transmitter at a few tenths of a milliwatt. Although the elemental power of each microsatellite is relatively low, the total transmitting power or the antenna system is large because there are hundreds or thousands of microsatellites in the cloud 10.
FIG. 4 is a microsatellite array constellation block diagram, showing the interrelationships of the microsatellites 10M, the focal station 20, optional fencepost satellites 22, and user ground transceivers 40 located on the earth's surface. As indicated, the focal station 20 communicates with each of the microsatellites 10M by crosslinks 42, and communicates with each of the fenceposts 22 by crosslinks 43. It will be understood, however, that in some configurations there may be crosslink communication between microsatellites, and that the central control functions of the focal station 20 may be distributed, in part, among multiple microsatellites 10M. The fencepost satellites 22 maintain an invisible boundary, indicated by the dotted lines 44, within which the microsatellites 10M are contained. Each fencepost satellite 22 has maneuvering capability and senses when satellites cross the boundaries 44. Each fencepost 22 emits a scanned laser ranging beam, indicated 45, to sense the positions and orientations of the individual microsatellites 10M.
The user ground transceivers 40 may be of a type having extremely low transmitting power, such as lapel-type devices weighing only a few grams. The microsatellite cloud 10 will, however, provide a large antenna gain, to receive signals from the ground transceivers 40 over an uplink path 46 with a large signal-to-noise ratio and to transmit signals to ground transceivers over a downlink path 48. The ability of the cloud 10 to form very narrow antenna beams permit transceiver frequencies to be reused over different regions of the earth's surface.
FIG. 5 is block diagram of one of the microsatellites 10M. The microsatellite receives signals from the focal station 20 over a crosslink 42. These signals may be command signals that set receive and transmit delays, or select antennas, or may be data signals intended to be relayed to a UHF user downlink 48. The microsatellite also receives data signals from a UHF user uplink 46 and relays these signals to the focal station 20 via one of the crosslinks 42. These functions will now be described in more detail.
Signals received from the focal station 20 are amplified in a low-noise amplifier 50, down-converted in frequency by a downconverter 52, and demodulated in a demodulator 54. Although not shown separately in the diagram, before further processing the signals are at this point converted from analog to digital form. Since the received signals may contain both commands and message data, they are shown as taking two paths: to a time delay circuit 56 and to a command decoder 58. The command decoder 58 determines from the received data content whether commands are being received and decodes the commands that are intended for this particular microsatellite. Commands are distinguished by a unique message header preceding the message data and are addressed to individual microsatellites. The commands can be of three types: uplink and downlink delay commands, antenna selection commands, and phase-locked loop offset commands. The uplink and downlink delay commands are indicated as being applied through lines 60 and 62, respectively. The antenna switching commands are applied to antenna switching circuits 64, 66, 68 and 70, as indicated at 72. The phase-locked loop offset command is applied over line 74 to a phase-locked loop coherent frequency reference 76. The latter is a local frequency reference generator that supplies reference frequency signals needed for frequency down-conversion, frequency up-conversion, modulation and demodulation, all in accordance with conventional communication principles.
In one embodiment of the invention, the antenna switching commands applied over lines 72 are generated internal to each microsatellite, to reduce the processing load on the focal station 20. For this purpose, each microsatellite must include some means for sensing its own attitude with respect to a frame of reference. One technique is to employ optical detectors on each microsatellite to detect optical beams transmitted by the fenceposts 22, and to determine from the sensed directions of the fenceposts which is the best antenna to use for transmission to the focal station, and which is the best antenna to use for uplink and downlink signals. Since the microsatellites are free-flying and use no attitude control, the antenna selection process is performed continually.
Demodulated data signals received from the focal station 20 are input to the delay circuit 56, which is an addressable first-in-first-out (FIFO) shift register. The command on line 62 determines how long the data spends in the time delay circuit 56, before being forwarded to a conventional modulator 80, frequency up-converter 82, and power amplifier 84. Prior to modulation, the digital signals output from the delay circuit 56 are converted back to analog form. After amplification in the power amplifier 84, the data signals are transmitted through the UHF downlink antenna 32T, which is subject to selection (i.e., a particular facet dipole is selected) by the antenna selection circuit 68.
The uplink path is largely symmetrical with the downlink path just described. Data received on the uplink antenna 32R, which is selected by antenna selection circuit 70, is passed to a conventional amplifier 90, and then to a downconverter 92. Because the received uplink signals are relatively weak, demodulation is likely to yield unreliable data and is not performed. Moreover, there is no need to obtain the modulation data contained in the uplink signal at this stage. Therefore, instead of a demodulator, only an analog-to-digital converter 94 follows the downconverter 92. The digitized signals are then subject to a variable time delay in another addressable FIFO circuit 96, under command of a signal on line 60. The delayed signals are converted back to analog form in a digital-to-analog converter 98, frequency upconverted in upconverter 100, and amplified in power amplifier 102. The signals are then passed to transmit antenna 31T, selected by antenna selection circuit 66, and transmitted to the focal station 20 over crosslink 42.
Power for the components of the microsatellite is provided by conventional components, as indicated in block 104. These include solar cells built into the facets 30 of the spacecraft and a battery stowed inside the structure.
FIG. 6 shows diagrammatically how the focal station 20 operates in a communication mode. Central to the focal station is a high-speed digital signal processor 110. Although various configurations could be used for the focal station 20, it is assumed in this discussion that the focal station also has multiple facets similar to the microsatellites discussed above. For each such facet, there is a crosslink receive antenna grid 112R and a crosslink transmit antenna grid 112T, each of which is directionally controlled by a beamforming network 113 Signals received over crosslinks 42 from multiple microsatellites 10M combine coherently at one or more of the antennas 112R and are processed by an amplifier 114, downconverter 116 and demodulator 118, before input to the signal processor 110. The signal processor 110 outputs data and control signals that are processed by a modulator 120, upconverter 122 and amplifier 124, before transmission from the crosslink antenna grid 112T. As in the microsatellite block diagram of FIG. 5, the demodulators 118 in the focal station include an analog-to-digital conversion, and the modulators 120 include a digital-to-analog conversion.
The signal processor 110 not only has to pass data back to the microsatellites, but has to generate control signals for each of the microsatellites, to adjust the transmit time delays consistent with the intended destination of the data, as determined from the message itself in the signal processor 110. Each microsatellite has a unique address or identification that must be associated with the transmitted control signals. As discussed with reference to FIG. 5, a command decoder on each microsatellite recognizes incoming control signals and determines whether or not they are intended for the specific microsatellite. The focal station 20 also includes a time and frequency reference source, as indicated in block 126 and a conventional power supply, as indicated in block 128.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the principal functions performed by the digital signal processor 110 in the focal station 20. As indicated in block 130, the digital signal processor 110 periodically receives data from the fenceposts 22 to update the positions of all of the microsatellites.
As indicated in block 132, based on the measured microsatellite positions and a desired receive beam direction, the digital signal processor 110 next computes a receive or uplink beam delay for each microsatellite, using well known principles of phased-array antennas. Because of the large size of the microsatellite configuration, the receive beam is highly focused to a beam width measured in microradians. The receive beam delays are transmitted to the individual microsatellites, as indicated in block 134. If RF crosslinks, or free-space optical crosslinks, are used for this purpose, each command must contain an associated microsatellite address, which can be detected by the microsatellites. If the crosslinks are individual optical fibers, addresses need not be transmitted if each fiber connects to only one microsatellite.
After the microsatellites have implemented the commanded delays and have received an uplinked message and transmitted it to the focal station 20, the message arrives at one or more of the crosslink receive antennas 112R, as indicated in block 136. If the receive beam delays have been properly computed and implemented, the message will arrive from many of the microsatellites in coherent form. That is to say, the signal contributions from the individual microsatellites will combine coherently to form a composite signal with a large signal-to-noise ratio. Probably not all of the microsatellites will be able to transmit to a single antenna 112R on one facet of the focal station 20. The signals received on multiple antennas 112R may be combined in the digital signal processor 110.
Under control of the digital signal processor 110, the demodulated message is examined to determine its destination on the ground, as indicated in block 138. The digital signal processor 110, maintains a database of the locations of active transceivers, and determines from the encoded destination a direction for a transmit beam. The digital signal processor 110 next computes the individual delays needed to form the transmit beam in the desired direction, based on the measured positions of the microsatellites, as indicated in block 140. The delays are transmitted to the microsatellites in the form of commands, as indicated in block 142. Finally, the message is transmitted to the microsatellites, as indicated in block 144, for forwarding to the intended destination over the transmit beam.
An additional control step not shown in FIG. 7 is the transmission of antenna selection signals to the microsatellites. Based on the reflected optical beam returned to the focal station 20 when measuring the microsatellite positions, the digital signal processor 110 has detects which facet of each microsatellite is currently facing the focal station, and generates a command signal to make sure that the appropriate antenna is selected in the microsatellite. Since the digital signal processor 110 also knows the direction of the receive and transmit beams, antenna selection signals can also be generated to select an appropriate antenna for uplink and downlink signals handled by each microsatellite.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing two principal functions of a fencepost 22: communication with the focal station 20 and microsatellite position detection. A third function has been briefly discussed, namely applying course corrections to individual microsatellites to keep them within a designated constellation boundary.
Each fencepost 22 is controlled by a general purpose microprocessor 150. Receive and transmit communication with the focal station 20 is maintained using the components shown in the upper part of the figure. Specifically, a receive crosslink from the focal station 20 includes a crosslink receive antenna grid 152R and associated beamforming network 154, signals from which are processed by a low-noise amplifier 156, a downconverter 158 and a demodulator 160, which includes an analog-to-digital converter (not separately shown). The received, demodulated and digitized signals are then input to the microprocessor 150. A transmit crosslink to the focal station 20 includes a modulator 162 (with digital-to-analog conversion) an upconverter 164, and power amplifier 166. The resulting signals are passed through a beamforming network 168 to a crosslink transmit antenna grid 152T.
The fencepost 22 also includes a laser 170 source and a beam scanner 172, both of which are controlled by the a ranging function 174 or the microprocessor 150. In laser ranging, the laser beam is scanned through a complete range of elevation and azimuth angles. As the beam impinges on a shuttered retroreflector 36 of a microsatellite 10M, the beam is reflected back to the fencepost 22 with a unique modulation that identifies the microsatellite. The reflected optical beam passes through appropriate receive optics to a photodetector 176, the output of which is coupled to an angle quantizer 178 and to a shuttered node address detector 180. The angle quantizer 178 determines azimuth and elevation angles, using the commanded scan angles at the time of detection of the reflected beam. A fine range is determined from the elapsed time between the emission of a beam time mark, which may be any form of modulation to the laser beam emitted from the laser source 170, and detection of the time mark in the reflected pulse, by the photodetector 176. The shuttered node address detector decodes the modulation impressed on the beam by the retroreflector 36 on a microsatellite. The corresponding elevation, azimuth and range readings can then be associated with a particular microsatellite, to define its position with respect to a fencepost frame of reference. Because the fencepost 22 also receives ephemeris data from the ground or from the focal station 20, the microprocessor 150 can also convert the microsatellite positions to any desired frame of reference.
The collected microsatellite position data are transmitted to the focal station 20 over the communication crosslink discussed above. The focal station 20 will, in many cases, receive redundant position data because many of the microsatellites will be visible from more than one fencepost 22. The focal station 20 polls the fenceposts for position data, over the communication crosslink, and preferably requests selected position data from individual fenceposts 22. The focal station 20, having accumulated position data for all of the microsatellites and fenceposts, can determine which fenceposts will provide the most reliable position updates for each microsatellite. For any situation in which redundant position data are received from multiple fenceposts 22, the focal station 20 must resolve any inconsistencies, such as by eliminating unreliable data or averaging multiple position solutions for the same microsatellite.
It will be understood that the crosslinks 42 between the focal station 20 and the microsatellites may not necessarily take the form of radio-frequency (RF) links or free-space optical links. In many respects, communication and control of the microsatellites would be facilitated if the crosslinks 42 took the form of individual optical fibers. To minimize possible physical problems that might result from having hundreds or thousands of optical fibers emanating from the focal station 20, an alternative approach would be to connect some of the microsatellites together by optical fibers and to use a smaller number crosslinks between microsatellites and the focal station. In any embodiment using optical fibers for crosslinking, the fibers perform the additional function of keeping the microsatellites tethered in a single constellation. One function of the fencepost satellites 22 would then be reduced or eliminated.
It will be understood that the invention may be implemented in slightly different forms than the one described here. For example, instead of employing a single centralized digital signal processor in the focal station, other configurations may distribute the control functions among several other stations, such as the fenceposts 22. It will also be understood that, although various RF components are disclosed as being conventional electronic devices, other technologies may be more appropriate in the space environment of the invention. For example, some of the component functions may be best implemented using photonics, i.e. optical processing components.
A key feature of the invention is that antenna element spacing is not controlled by any physical structure. Instead the antenna elements are permitted to move freely under gravitational effects in their closely related orbits. Although there will inevitably be a tendency of the microsatellites to drift in space relative to each other, operation of the antenna formed by the microsatellites is not dependent on maintaining their physical spacing. Instead the spacing of the microsatellites is periodically measured and taken into account when forming receive and transmit beams. Unlike conventional phased-array antennas, in which phase delay is controlled by fixed cable lengths and beamforming networks, the microsatellite array has phase delays that are adjusted in real time by a commanded delay interposed in each microsatellite transponder. Further, because the microsatellites are independently powered, and have omnidirectional antennas on multiple facets, there is no need to distribute power from a central source or to control the attitude of the transponders.
Although the invention has been described in the context of a satellite communications relay between terrestrial terminals, it also has other important applications. For example, a cloud of microsatellites could function as a deep-space relay for communication between planets, or between earth and distant spacecraft. Another useful application is in radio-astronomy. Terrestrial-based radio telescopes are necessarily dependent on the direction that they face as the earth rotates. A cloud of microsatellites may be designed to be three-dimensional, and therefore able to form a beam in almost any direction, providing a significant advantage over conventional radio-telescopes. The microsatellite array of the invention is also useful in anti-jamming or anti-interference applications, because the large array diameter permits the formation of extremely narrow transmit and receive beams.
It will, therefore, be understood that, although specific embodiments of the invention have described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited except as by the appended claims.
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By Caryn James | James on Screens April 26, 2011 at 1:09AM
The 15th season of South Park begins tomorrow on Comedy Central, and this little preview suggests that Steve Jobs has spawned the Human Centipede. It's hard to imagine anything funnier or smarter than Matt Stone and Trey Parker's Broadway hit The Book of Mormon, but for sheer outrageousness their work on South Park can definitely compete.
Here's a preview of tomorrow's new show:


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Ensuring Your Safety When Traveling: A Guide
Regardless of whether or not you are traveling by yourself or with a group, there are certain steps that you should take to make sure you are protecting yourself. One area to focus on is your hotel room. While many assume that hotels have solid security measures put into place, the only way that you and your possessions will ever be truly safe is if you take it upon yourself to secure your space. This article will provide you with a helpful checklist to follow.
When you are getting ready to go somewhere, make sure all of your valuables are placed out of sight. It is also important to pull your curtains closed. You do not want to give someone a reason to enter your room, and the sight of expensive jewelry or other products is often too tempting for a thief. Make use of the safe in your room, if it has one, or utilize a closet or drawer to stash your possessions. Try not to bring that many expensive things with you in the first place, though, so that you do not have to worry about this too much.
Do not open your door if you are not expecting guests. Regardless of who the person says they are, you should politely refuse any request they make through your locked door. If they claim they are with the hotel, call down to the front desk to check; if the hotel is unaware of the situation, ask them to send up security to identify the individual. Do not take chances when it comes to letting someone you don't know have access to your room.
If you lose one of your keys at any time, immediately speak to the front desk. Do not just get a replacement key; ask that your room be re-keyed for security purposes. If the hotel you are staying at does not have electronic keys, relocate to another room just in case. In this situation, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Never give another person a reason to believe that you are traveling by yourself or that you are not in your room. Rather than hanging the sign on the door to ask housekeeping to stop in, call down to the front desk to ask for the maid service to come at a specific time. Do not place a room service order card on the door if you are alone either; someone could see your order passing by and realize that there is just one person in the room. Again, the best thing to do is just call room service and let them know when you would like a meal delivered.
Most of these tips are fairly common sense, yet unfortunately, the excitement of vacation often makes people forget what they need to do. Create a checklist based on this article that you can take with you when you go away. Having a visual reminder of safety precautions will help you follow through with what you need to do and ensure that you have a great holiday!
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