ETTC'2003 - SEE

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Abstract
European Telemetry Standardisation Committee
ETTC’03 briefing SC3 - acquisition and storage
S.W.Lyons
QinetiQ U.K.
swlyons@QinetiQ.com
This report, presented under the auspices of the European Telemetry Standardisation
Committee (ETSC) – sub committee 3, cites data acquisition & storage issues facing the
telemetry user community and reports upon associated standardisation activities. The
briefing includes an update upon ongoing Range Commanders Council standardisation
tasks.
Background
Magnetic tape based recording technology has for several decades provided telemetry
engineers with a means of electronically recording and reproducing telemetry for post trial
data reduction and analysis. The need for standardisation in this field was incontrovertible
and magnetic recorder/reproducer standards were duly devised to further the compatibility
of recording devices on test Ranges; primarily to provide a standard medium/ format to
permit the interchange of data records between the various facilities. [1]
The body principally responsible for this activity was the Telemetry Working Group of the
Inter-Range Instrumentation Group (IRIG), which under the name Range Commanders
Council (RCC) retains this distinction to the present day. Indeed the ubiquitous IRIG
compatible multi-track recording systems were manufactured in quantity by several
European and U.S. companies and, with a large installed user base, these recorders still
remain in regular use to this day in telemetry and other data acquisition applications.
By the 1970’s telemetry applications had changed from being entirely analogue in nature
to include PCM formats. Initially this transformation was accomplished by assigning
track(s) for recording serial PCM data, but as data rates increased alternative techniques
became inevitable.
This transition from the analogue to digital domain through the adoption of parallel high
density digital recording techniques [2] was by no means problem free, with the user
community frequently experiencing data fidelity problems. Prominent users of high-density
digital recording systems reported that they were obliged to devote considerable in-house
effort to overcoming recording related problems. During this period HDDR systems were
invariably engineered around IRIG 28 track tape transports. However, the proprietary
digital formatting electronics employed essentially negated any format standardisation and
for the most part telemetry users lamented the absence of an IRIG interchange standard;
preferring not to be reliant on a single supplier for equipment [3]
In 1981 the recording Industry users and manufacturers forum [4] was established in the
UK. TRIUMF was modelled on the American Tape Head Interface Committee. [5]