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1.2
THE L A B O R A T O R Y TEST BENCH
1.2.1
A need for aeronautical administrations research and technical services
These equipment are developed in support of the EUROCONTROL's Initial Implementation Mode S
Enhanced Surveillance Program (IIMSES) which requests a coherent policy be developed for bench
testing of airborne equipment.
Data link, ADLP, ADS-B, ACAS, CMS developers in various European industries may take advantage of
the availability of such a common instrument.
Existing test benches either measure only Mode A/C & S electric characteristics or some protocol but
always off-line. The proposed bench go further in testing systematically all electric parameters and
protocols on-line, giving way to up-down sequences, each reply influencing the next interrogation; these
protocols include Comm A, B, C & D messages.
1.2.2
Test set-up for a complete test bench
Basically, the tests will be executed on the bench, but finally a ramp installation is necessary to validate
“in situ “ the complete airborne chain (incl. antenna), that is, with ACAS, CMC,.. in a real environment " on
the ground " or, simulated, " in the air ".
For this purpose, some extension towards ramp use (power, antenna, physical support) has to be
envisaged. In addition to this operational validation, acceptance of the maintenance procedures will also
use the laboratory benches.
Finally, mixed installations, combining the laboratory bench and a connected ground station can be used
to investigate special problems or new configurations. A setup of this kind exist already between the EEC
and French and UK technical services.
1.2.3
1.2.4
Objectives of the bench
•
validation of SARPS;
•
validation in view of equipment certification (not the certification itself);
•
maintenance validation before delivering the certificate of conformity;
•
evaluation and definition of the maintenance procedures to adopt for each version of airborne
set-up (configurations certification);
•
new investigations & operational evaluations.
Sets of tests
•
Testing is based on ICAO Annex 10, the relevant RTCA & EUROCAE MOPS : signals in space - reply
capability - messages exchange protocols - test conditions (see in Annexe 1 a cross-reference list
between these various documents).
•
Although some equipment will be connected to the XPDR & ADLP, they will not be tested by the
proposed tool, they are only in and output to XPDR & ADLP (e.g. they could be replaced by a bench
controlled airborne data simulator), but the validity of the complete chain will be tested.
•
The lab bench will need 2 parallel units for testing the diversity of both channels of the transponders.
•
Two versions of the lab test bench could be produced, differing by their software size ( and possibly
their "box" ) :
a "complete" version for aeronautical research centres,
another for maintenance labs, using a reduced set of software programs.
2
Transponders Test Benches Requirements