Thursday October 24th
Mark McWhorter, Lumistar, Inc.
Course Description
This course will present a high-level overview of the fundamental design of a typical range telemetry data ground system. Topics to be discussed will include the major sub-systems and components used, such as auto-track antenna, multicoupler, receiver/combiner, demodulation, bit synchronization, data recording and playback, time, decommutation and simulation, and real-time displays of telemetered parameters. The student will be exposed to a few mathematical exercises, such as “link analysis” calculations to help determine the “sensitivity” of the ground station and resultant system tradeoffs. A section on system calibration and periodic maintenance will be presented. After having completed the course, the student will have a better understanding of concepts related to RF and data processing of flight telemetry on the ground side.
About Mark
Mark holds a BS in Electrical Engineering and has been associated with microwaves and RF technology for over 35 years. He also serves as V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Lumistar, a small business specializing in providing end to end telemetry ground systems and engineering expertise to help solve complex flight test problems. Mark has on several occasions lead teams of experienced engineers to develop mobile telemetry and command destruct systems for MDA mission. He has written many articles over the years for publications like RF Design Magazine, Microwave Journal, Microwaves and RF, and Aerospace International Test. Mark has been teaching his ITC Short Course every year since 2004. Mark is also an experienced musician, plays several instruments and has been a “front man” for several classic rock bands over the years since childhood.
