Radio Frequency News

U.S. Coast Guard units assigned to Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., are using alternative methods to monitor marine radio frequencies for possible mariners in distress during extended outages throughout the region. Due to recent storm damage, the Coast Guard is experiencing significantly reduced radio coverage and communications throughout northern Lake Huron, northern Lake Michigan, and all of Lake Superior. The storms knocked out power for many across the Great Lakes…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) collection, analysis and dissemination of ecosystem information on the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and seas, and land-masses is critical to public safety, protection of property, and the economic health and development of communities in the United States and globally. Under a contract valued at $4.4m, employee-owned technology solutions provider Alion Science and Technology will perform a wide range of radio frequency (RF) spectrum services for the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) Office of Radio Frequency Management (ORFM) that will help to ensure environmental data can be gathered and transmitted via satellite.

The USCG is requesting information from vessel operators on problems with, and potential solutions to, GPS system interference. The USCG states mobile telephones and other electronic devices employing Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) can interfere with GPS systems. This interference has the potential to adversely affect the safe navigation and operation of vessels using GPS technology. These problems resulted from the assignment of adjacent radio frequencies to MSS and GPS systems. Because of the proximity of their radio frequencies, the relatively high powered MSS transmissions can interfere with GPS receivers. One possible solution being considerd would be the limitation or restriction of MSS on certain maritime vessels…

(Radio-frequency identification (RFID) refers to the use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking). Vizinex RFID, a leading designer and manufacturer of off-the-shelf and cost-effective customized RFID tags, today announced its U.S.-made Sentry AST™ Long Range RFID tag that provides exceptional read distances of 45 feet in a sleek, compact, and durable package. The Sentry AST™ Long Range tag is engineered for use on a wide range of surfaces including metal, wood, and most plastics. Its rugged…

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) released the voluminous two-part report evaluating electronic seals for use on cargo containers. The analysis was conducted on behalf of the Cargo Handling Cooperative Program and evaluated the operation of four selected radio frequency (RF) based e-seals and one non-RF e-seal. The goal was to develop a technical baseline that could help stakeholders select appropriate solutions to security, operational, and economic requirements. The e-seals tested were widely divergent and represented trade-offs in areas of frequency, communication protocol, reader infrastructure, and seal location. The report recognizes that e-seals alone will have only a limited impact on improving container security and future efforts should focus on the entire container.

A new European Union-backed radio satellite system could help find sunken ships, EU officials said, promoting the potential benefits of the "Galileo" satellite navigation system. The EU hopes to have the system up and running by 2005 at a potential cost to taxpayers of around $2.9 billion, although the EU hopes private firms will contribute 50 percent. The EU this month secured the radio frequencies needed to launch the system at an international conference in Turkey. More detailed plans will be drawn up before the end of the year. Galileo, a European rival to military global positioning systems operated by the United States and Russia, will be able to locate objects or people to within 16.4 ft. (5 m).

Savi Technology announced at today's opening of the U.S. Maritime Security Expo in New York that they will jointly develop and market a disposable low-cost electronic bolt seal that automatically transmits alerts over radio frequencies when locking mechanisms on cargo containers are tampered with or violated. The new electronic seal will combine EchoPoint, Savi's latest, sixth-generation, active radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, with OneSeal's design and manufacturing skills for high-security locks. The partners plan to introduce a widely affordable product by early next year that will dramatically improve the security and management of cargo containers moving throughout the global supply chain by ship, rail and truck.

Dublin, Ireland – S3 Group announced that Iridium Communications Inc. has selected the company to develop a new custom Integrated Circuit(IC), to be used in satellite communications devices, handsets, transceivers and modems which will operate off the current Iridium network and the Iridium NEXT system. This S3 Group contract follows the successful technological contribution S3 Group made to the Iridium® 9602 short burst data transceiver product. S3 Group is developing an Iridium Radio Frequency (RF)custom IC using Intellectual Property(IP) from its RF and Mixed Signal portfolio, along with custom design skills, which will allow the next-generation Iridium communications devices to deliver the upgraded services enabled by the NEXT system.

Emrise Corporation said it has received a $1 million (USD) order for radio frequency (RF) systems from a major international marine services supplier of electronic systems for identifying and marking marine shipping channels and marine hazards. Deliveries against the order are expected to begin in late 2013 and continue through 2014. The order was received from a longstanding customer by the Company’s Pascall Electronics Ltd. subsidiary in England. Pascall provides power systems, RF devices and integrated systems and subsystems for a broad range of military and commercial aircraft and other land- and sea-based programs. Emrise Chairman and Chief Executive Carmine T.

China and Japan have agreed to hold a meeting in Tokyo next Monday to discuss the development of a maritime crisis management mechanism according to Japanese defense sources. The maritime crisis management system will be aimed at averting unwanted clashes around the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, reports China's news agency Xinhua. The defense departments of the two sides reached consensus over this issue about two-and-a-half years ago, but further talks have been stalled following Japan's declaration of nationalizing three of China's Diaoyu Islands. The consensus included scheduling regular meetings and setting up a hotline between the defense departments, as well as using the same radio frequency between ships and flights.

The launch vehicle blasted off from Pad 39 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the first telemetry signal was acquired soon after by Inmarsat's Paumalu ground station in Hawaii, putting the satellite under the control of Inmarsat’s mission operations team. “The successful launch of this first Inmarsat-5 satellite is a major landmark on our journey to deliver the world’s first globally available, high-speed mobile broadband service. We are on schedule to achieve full global coverage by the end of 2014,” said Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s Chief Executive Officer.

Remote monitoring and diagnostic services provided by gplink operate through either GSM service or through various satellite technologies. On a global scale, most countries have their own rules and regulations to follow for communications and radio frequency use. In order to sell in specific countries, gplink must first be reviewed and certified by that country’s communication commission or department. gplink said it has been working to be certified in dozens of countries throughout the world and announced that Peru is now online for gplink services, both GSM and satellite.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a Notice stating that it is establishing a Privacy Act system of records entitled the Automated Identification Management System (AIDMS). The AIDMS consists of the reports from radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that will be issued to aliens traveling to the United States. The RFID tag will be linked to biographic and/or biometric data for that traveler. The RFID tag will then be used by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at land border Ports of Entry (POE) to verify the identity of the traveler and track entries and exits. This new program is not directly related to the maritime community, except for foreign mariners that might be joining or departing a vessel in the United States.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a rule increasing the maximum field strength and transmission duration for 433 MHz radio frequency identification (RFID) systems used to identify contents of commercial shipping containers in commercial and industrial areas. Improved RFID systems could benefit commercial shippers and have significant homeland security benefits by enabling the contents of containers to be easily and immediately identified and by allowing a determination of whether tampering of the contents has occurred during shipping. Conditions, though, have been placed on use of the new system. The rule comes into effect on June 23. 69 Fed. Reg. 29459 (HK Law).

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit today announced that its BridgeMaster E marine radars have been certified by QinetiQ (formerly DERA) to meet the new international regulations for radio frequency emissions. The International Telecommunications Union this year adopted new requirements radically tightening the amount of permissible spurious and out-of-band emissions that can be emitted by marine radars. The new specifications become effective Jan. 1, 2003, and all new radars installed after that date must be certified to meet the new requirements. The QinetiQ type approvals apply to all Sperry Marine's BridgeMaster E X- and S-Band radar systems, as well as Sperry Marine's MK 6217/9 TFT River Radar.

BAE SYSTEMS North America has completed the sale of its Advanced Systems' Gaithersburg operation to Integrated Defense Technologies, Inc. The negotiated $146 million cash sale to Integrated Defense Technologies was originally announced Sept. 13. Closing of the sale today followed completion of regulatory reviews and approvals. At the Gaithersburg, Md. Operation, more than 300 employees design and manufacture high performance radio frequency surveillance equipment used in signals intelligence applications. Mark Ronald, COO, BAE SYSTEMS plc, and President and CEO, BAE SYSTEMS North America, said the sale was made because the focus and strategy of BAE SYSTEMS North America is moving from component provider - as represented by the RF surveillance equipment lines -- to systems integration.

In an experiment, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is deploying radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to track immigrants entering and exiting the country, according to a Hindu Business Line report. The RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders. Beginning July 31, the experiment applies to people without green cards entering the US with a visa to work, study or tour. Over the next year, people in these categories will be issued new "I-94" visa cards embedded with an RFID tag at five border crossings of Nogales East and Nogales West in Arizona, Alexandria Bay in New York, and the Pacific Highway and Peace Arch in Washington.

Tideworks Technology Inc. announced the deployment of its Genoa Breakbulk Management System in Port Arthur, TX. Genoa is a suite of systems designed to help multi-purpose terminal operators more effectively plan, manage and control terminal processes. The Genoa system will be leveraged by SSA Marine, the Terminal Operator in the Port of Port Arthur, to control all its cargo related operations. Implementation of the Genoa Breakbulk Management System software suite includes Genoa Terminal(TM) (multi-purpose terminal system), Genoa Storage(TM) (warehousing and inventory control), Genoa Comm(TM) (communications server software), and Genoa Online(TM) (Web portal for real-time data). In addition, Tideworks is providing complete functionality for RF (radio frequency) hand-held devices.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on strategic, operational, and technological challenges facing the US-VISIT program. It states that federal officials have concluded that, for various reasons, a biometric US-VISIT exit capability cannot now be implemented without incurring a major impact on land ports-of-entry facilities. The system recorded 61 million aliens entering the country and only 4 million departing. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are embedded on visitors’ departure forms, but in a recent test, monitoring devices correctly identified only 14% of exiting vehicles with such tags. Billions of dollars have been expended and more will be needed to make this work.

Ships Electronic Services Ltd (SES Ltd) has supplied Clear-Com FreeSpeak II digital wireless communication systems to the UK Ministry of Defence for three of its naval vessels, with more in the pipeline. SES Ltd, working with SeaKing Group Ltd, based in the North West of England was tasked with delivering strong, efficient and continuous wireless communication links throughout the vessels. “The MoD required clear communications for its engineers working in engine rooms and machinery spaces,” said Jeff Dixon, Sales Manager at SES Ltd.

The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) continues its work digitalising Blue Denmark in order to utilise the technological solutions available for the benefit of Blue Denmark. Now, the Ship Station License has become digital – just like the other ship certificates. The number of administrative burdens imposed on the industry is reduced through digitalisation of the Ship Station License. Director Rasmus Høy Thomsen said: ”One of the advantages of a digital Ship Station License is that it is always available online.

Satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data services provider exactEarth Ltd.and space, geospatial and remote sensing solutions company Harris Corporation have formed an alliance to provide a new level of AIS data service that will deliver real-time global coverage for maritime vessel tracking. The new service will leverage the persistent global coverage and real-time connectivity of the Iridium NEXT constellation through the implementation of 58 hosted payloads covering the Maritime VHF frequency band. Compatibility testing of the hosted payload with the Iridium satellites has been completed and the first launch is scheduled for early 2016 with the completed constellation expected in 2017.

The U.S. Navy is evaluating a scaled-down version of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) system for potential incorporation on future Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), Naval Sea Systems Command announced, Nov. 20. SEWIP is an evolutionary development block upgrade program for the SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare (EW) System and will be designated as AN/SLQ-32C(V)6. Still in the early stages of development, its purpose is to provide LCS with an improved electronic warfare suite to improve the ship's defense capabilities.