SES: Honeywell Normalair Garret - Nimrod 2000 Mission Recording System

SES were selected by Honeywell Normalair Garret to supply the S3DR-M product to support data recording requirements on the Nimrod 2000 Mission Recording System.

The S3DR-M product selected by Honeywell Normalair Garret was configured to record two input channels under the control of a discrete record/standby input:

• A CTS Channel in which the CTS data input is EIA-422 NRZ-L data and an EIA-422 synchronous clock. The nominal data rate for this channel is 5kbit/second.
• An ESM data channel in which input is EIA-423 self-clocking Miller code data. The nominal data rate for this channel is 20kbit/second.

The S3DR-M product is used in conjunction with an SES-supplied ground-based replay facility that is able to replay data from an eight-hour mission in 10 minutes or less.

The S3DR-M product can be used with memory device capacities up to 1 Gigabyte, but for the Nimrod 2000 application 128Mbyte was adequate. The supplied data recorder was required to fit, alongside existing equipment, in an aircraft equipment tray. The recorder is to be installed in such a position that the recorder and the recorded media can be easily removable from the aircraft for replay to existing ground based analysis equipment.

The decision to purchase the S3DR-M system was based upon a number of key issues:

• The use of high-capacity/low-cost PCMCIA ATA flash storage devices.
• The high processing performance and data throughput achieved by the unit.
• The ability to customise the SES solution to meet customer specific requirements.
• The availability of ground replay facilities.
• The pre-qualified nature of the recorder making it suitable for almost immediate use in the Nimrod Aircraft.
• The low cost of the unit.

Most significant was the decreased risk of using readily available existing hardware.