Avionics News June 2017 - 75

The passive version of Orban's ADS-B base station
antenna is available now, with an active version incorporating a low-noise amplifier available on request. The antenna's enclosure can be customized with a company logo.
Orban added that the company's manufacturing partners
and in-house final assembly and test capabilities provide
for quick turnarounds of new and incremental designs.
For more information, visit orbanmicrowave.com.
PS Engineering
Gary Picou, PS Engineering's vice president, introduced
the company's PAC45, the latest in its comprehensive line
of audio panels. The PAC45 is designed for the specialmission market and features MultiTalker, a patented technology developed by the Wright Patterson Air Force Base
and exclusively licensed to PS Engineering. The technology allows crew members to locate up to six communication radios spatially in their headset. By leveraging what is
sometimes referred to as the "cocktail party effect" - the
human brain's ability to directionally distinguish unimportant conversations from critical ones - the audio-processing
technology allows crew members to orient audio from
those six individual radios in any one of nine unique positions within a stereo headset.
With a design focusing on special-mission audio requirements, the PAC45 addresses those operators' unique needs
with features like enabling up to three control heads (pilot,
co-pilot, mission observers/specialists) with single hub,
Bluetooth connectivity for telephone and music streaming, full-duplex satellite telephone capability, volume
controls for all switched receivers, CVR output and ICS
call functions. The new unit also provides unlimited dealerconfigured bezel legends, four unswitched inputs, nightvision goggle compatibility and PS Engineering's patented
IntelliVOX intercom squelch.
The PAC45 is pin-compatible with the NAT AMS series
of special-mission audio controllers, allowing relatively
easy upgrades to legacy systems. For MultiTalker operation, the only additional wiring required is to accommodate the stereo audio where only monaural capability was
installed. Since the PAC45 is all-digital, connections to
supported control heads require few wires. No external

PS Engineering's PAC45

computers are required to configure the PAC45; it's all
done from the front panel, according to the company.
PS Engineering expects initial deliveries of the PAC45
to begin in mid-2017. It will be FAA-certified to the most
recent standards.
For more information, visit ps-engineering.com.
Robotic Skies
As commercial unmanned aircraft systems become more
capable and are integrated into the airspace system, one
question their popularity poses is who will maintain them
and their systems. Brad
Hayden, president and
CEO of Robotic Skies,
believes his company has
the answer: a brokered
network of FAA Part
145-approved repair stations located across nearly
every region of the world
and optimized to provide
certification, maintenance
and repair for the emerging commercial UAS fleet.
Drawing on only the best
maintenance organizations currently maintaining manned
aircraft, Robotic Skies is offering a comprehensive, turnkey
field service program it said is designed to keep UAS flying safely and affordably.
At this year's edition of the AEA Convention, Hayden
briefed attendees on a new partnership his company has
with uAvionix Corp. to perform installation and field maintenance work for its line of avionics products designed
for commercial drone aircraft, which uAvionix said are
"the world's smallest, lightest and most affordable ADS-B
transceivers, transponders and GPS receivers." As part
of the partnership agreement, Robotic Skies will provide
sales, installation and ongoing field support for uAvionix
customers through its global network of service centers.
Among the products covered by the agreement are
uAvionix's recently announced FYXNAV GPS position source, an FAA TSO C199-approved device, which
includes a receiver and antenna, and which the company
noted provides high-integrity GPS inputs to drone autopilot
navigation systems and ADS-B equipment. Additionally,
uAvionix offers the Ping2020 (978 UAT) and Ping1090
(1090ES) ADS-B transceivers, which the company claimed
are the smallest and lightest available.
"Companies like uAvionix and Robotic Skies represent
Continued on following page
avionics news

june

2017

http://www.ps-engineering.com http://www.orbanmicrowave.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News June 2017