, such as the Internet, Wi-Fi, 3G wireless, or over the satellite via the VSAT terminal/hub link — a crucial alternative especially in remote areas where terrestrial communications infrastructure may be unavailable and where satellite phones can be costly.
Together, the VXCS SMS, VXCS Server and PHU revolutionize the approach to VSAT terminal installation by making it easy, accurate and reliable. VXCS enables direct visibility of the terminal commissioning actions the installer takes to perform the installation, and in the process minimizes and even eliminates the amount of direct involvement necessary from the NOC and Hub personnel.
How VXCS Helps...
This task involves adjusting AZ and EL antenna pointing to find the overall best setting for maximum transmission gain. Traditionally, VSAT installers would rely heavily on NOC and/or VSAT Hub personnel for the process via measurement feedback from the NOC/Hub. In other words, the installer basically performs the task in the blind. Problems such as language barriers, dropped calls, background noises, and constant interruptions are common occurrences that can impact the progress or success of antenna pointing/peaking.
Sometimes the lack of any terrestrial communications altogether can mean using costly satellite phones, assuming they are available at all, for a task that could consume many minutes if not an hour or more. The consequence is increased workload and frustration for all parties involved, not to mention the high potential for adjacent satellite interference — an increasingly significant problem as the antennas themselves become smaller and more ubiquitous.
VXCS solves these problems by removing the Installer’s blindfold.
A hand-held device such as a smart phone provides direct and immediate, visual, graphical feedback to the installer as the VSAT antenna is positioned. With VXCS, the antenna pointing process can be performed quickly and accurately. In addition, VXCS™ offers the significant benefit of minimizing the occurrence of interferences due to erroneously pointed VSAT antennas.
Polarization alignment is the second task to commissioning a VSAT terminal. In this task, the installer rotates the antenna feed (if not the entire antenna assembly) to best align the antenna’s transmit polarization and match the satellite’s receive polarization. An improperly aligned VSAT terminal polarization causes cross-polarization interference. Traditionally, the installer would rely heavily on NOC personnel to perform polarization isolation measurements, relaying the results back to the installer to adjust and fine tune the terminal’s polarization. This back-and-forth exchange would continue until an ‘acceptable’ outcome is achieved.
To complicate things a bit more, the difference between an acceptable level of isolation and an unacceptable one (the latter of which will result in satellite interferences) could be as small as a couple of degrees in feed rotation, thus requiring a high degree of precision, accuracy and patience in carrying out this procedure. Yet, during the entire process the installer is completely in the blind and at the mercy of the NOC and its setup, monitoring, and interpretation of the signal.
VXCS provides the installer instant feedback without the aid of the NOC or VSAT Hub personnel. VXCS automatically measures signal strengths on both polarizations, computes the isolation amount, and displays this information graphically on the PHU as the feed is rotated. Thus, the installer gets accurate and timely feedback across the slightest adjustments to help make the necessary precise adjustments.
For the Uplink Power Adjustment task, the installer would perform a compression test to find the desired compression point in the uplink signal path (usually the 1-dB compression point) to ensure maximum VSAT transmission power without overdriving the Block Up-Converter (BUC).
Traditionally an Installer would perform this task with NOC assistance on the phone, adjusting, for instance, the modem output power one step at a time until the NOC advises they have reached the desired level. This can also be a labor-intensive process that can significantly increase the workload for both the installer and precious NOC resources.
VXCS automates measurement of the compression point via a direct, intuitive display on the installer’s PHU, again significantly reducing/eliminating the need for NOC involvement. With the PHU, the installer sees a clear indication of the measurements he needs to reach the optimal transmission point. Furthermore, these measurements are stored in the Hub-located VXCS server, so the VSAT service provider can retrieve and reference these measurements for power re-adjustments at a later date.
Table 1 summarizes the quantitative improvement as a result of using the VXCS during field trials.
Cutting-edge technology such as that offered by VXCS is an effective tool for improving the efficiency and productivity of VSAT terminal commissioning. Through automation and handheld tools, installers can perform the most complicated and labor-intensive commissioning tasks easily and autonomously, thus minimizing the dependency on NOC or VSAT Hub personnel involvement. Most significantly, by conducting the most demanding tasks quickly and accurately, VSAT commissioning can achieve substantial system performance while reducing costs, workload and the incidence of interferences.Come learn the foundational values of The House and how you can apply them to your life. Includes large group teaching and small group break-outs.
>>For everyone who attends The House – you’re invited to come even if you’ve attended before!
>>Next Cycle: “Kingdom Living” Wednesdays Feb. 19th – March 19th, 2014! 6:45 -8:30pm. Childcare provided.haha thanks buddy gave me a good laugh  might want to turn in your fake psychology degree. You asked why i do a hunted house every year with my friends.   Then proceed to say i have mental issues and anger issues why ask a question if your plan to insult the person giving you an answer? Anyway to everyone else reading this I hope that my friends and I will be able to do this hunted house every year, even with us in college. As we try to keep this middle school tradition alive, and if you see kids in your neighbor hood doing hunted house on Halloween stop on by make there night by them trying to scare youWhilst expanding his territories – and fighting many battles – Napoleon twice stayed in the Austrian capital city of Vienna. On those occasions he set up his quarters in Schönbrunn Palace. Schönbrunn was also the site of a failed attempt upon his life.
One year after his declaration of war on Austria Napoleon’s troops occupied Vienna on 14 November 1805, and the French emperor stayed at Schönbrunn Palace for a few days. Following his victory at Austerlitz Napoleon quartered himself and his army at Schönbrunn from 12 to 27 December. On 15 December, instead of an alliance, a treaty of friendship was concluded at Schönbrunn between Napoleon and Austria and celebrated with a concert in the palace theatre. Following the end of the peace negotiations at Pressburg on 27 December Napoleon departed, to Vienna’s intense relief.
Four years later, on 10 May 1809, Napoleon occupied the imperial capital for a second time, again taking up his quarters at Schönbrunn. This time there is documentary evidence of which rooms in the palace he occupied: the Hall of Ceremonies served as his audience chamber, the Blue Chinese Salon as his drawing room; the Vieux Laque Room was used as a drawing room or a study, the adjoining room – today known as the Napoleon Room – as his bedroom, and the Porcelain Room served him as a study, as in Maria Theresia’s time. On both his visits, Napoleon complained that it was poorly appointed but nevertheless declared himself impressed by the “truly royal [sic; it was of course an imperial palace] residence”. During his second sojourn Napoleon attended several performances at the palace theatre. His arrival there was always announced with a drum roll; afterwards he took his place in his box, holding a copy of the text. Napoleon also attended performances of German operas, although his preference was for Italian opera. It was rare for a complete opera to be performed; as a rule there was usually only one act followed by a ballet. Even if he was displeased by the play, he always showered the actors with gifts.
During his second stay, which lasted several months, Napoleon often inspected parades of his troops in the morning, an event that soon became a popular attraction for the inquisitive Viennese populace, as it provided the best opportunity of seeing the French emperor who otherwise rarely appeared in public. Even Franz Grillparzer, a declared enemy of the French, hardly ever missed one of these parades at Schönbrunn or at the Schmelz parade ground. He was impressed by Napoleon’s appearance, admitting that he fascinated him “with a magic power” and put him “under a spell as a snake does a bird”.
At one of these parades an assassination attempt on Napoleon was narrowly averted by the alertness of his officers. Friedrich Staps, a pastor’s son from Erfurt, tried to kill the French emperor with a knife he had concealed inside his jacket as Napoleon was holding the review on the steps of the Parade Court at Schönbrunn. The young man was executed according to martial law although Napoleon initially believed him to be insane. After this incident tickets for the parades were no longer issued, in order to lessen the risk.
Northumbria University academics are playing a key role in a new project aimed at fighting crime in Europe.
The £1.2 million project, which involves eight European partners including European policing agency Europol, will facilitate the more regular exchange of DNA data between all member states to prevent offenders crossing borders to evade prosecution. The University ‘s participation in this work has been made possible by financial support from the European Commission’s Prevention of and Fight Against Crime programme and the Belgian government.
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