Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2017-2018 - 27
One Mile Up "Remembering what we want to remember" is the premise behind Panel Planner J, software designed to support avionics shops and offered by Washington, D.C.area-based publisher One Mile Up. Gene Velazquez briefed AEA Convention attendees on the software package, a Java-based application running on either the Windows or Macintosh operating system, which the company noted is the "best solution for designing or redesigning instrument panels for any aircraft." The software gives users the ability to design and build instrument panels by dragging photo-realistic instruments, avionics and cockpit controls into place on an aircraft panel template. According to the company, Panel Planner J "tracks total cost, total weight and peak current, generates an equipment list, and even prints actual-size hole-cutting templates and color mock-ups" using typical office printers. Velazquez noted that avionics shops are extremely busy, and while a customer may come in and get work done the same day, more often it can be months before the aircraft comes in for the planned work. "And there's a lot to remember when that aircraft comes back." Examples include how it was sold, how the work will be designed, how it's going to be built, how it's going to be tested. The software allows avionics shops to enter, store and retrieve project-related information on aircraft, including the owner, the planned budget and its intended usage. The application works with aircraft of all sizes, and includes more than 1,600 instruments and avionics products in its database. A single-user license for the software's corporate version is $495; the multiuser version is $995. For more information, visit panelplanner.com. Orban Microwave Products Orban Microwave Products was established in 1996 as an independent radio frequency and microwave design organization. In 1998, antenna design was added to the company's capabilities. Today, Orban designs and manufactures RF and microwave subsystems, and antennas, in the 0.1 to 25 GHz frequency range. But unlike traditional companies, Orban has no standard products. Instead, it develops application-specific items when no suitable ones are available in the marketplace. The company's typical customer is unable to locate a standard product meeting their requirements or does not have an in-house design and fabrication capability. Dan Orban, president of the company, briefed AEA Convention attendees on his company's latest product, an ADS-B base station antenna, which was developed from its wide range of antenna topologies, including patch antennas, choke rings, quadrifilar antennas and antenna arrays. Orban's ADS-B base station antenna is implemented as a circular patch device operating in TM20 mode, and is specifically designed for groundbased ADS-B receivers. The ADS-B base station antenna incorporates a semihemispherical radiation pattern, with broadside gain slightly reduced in favor of gain at lower elevations, according to Orban. The antenna's radiation pattern shows maximum gain at around 50 degrees in elevation, and its design reserves space for a low-noise amplifier and a filter, both of which are available as options. 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. This antenna is designed to connect to a ground-based ADS-B receiver. The radiation pattern is semihemispherical and optimized for optimal coverage. Panel Planner software from One Mile Up is for designing and fabricating instrument panels. Continued on following page... - 27 -