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March 4, 2020 - Vista, California -
Axiom Test Equipment,
an electronic test equipment rentals and sales company headquartered in North
County San Diego, has published a blog post entitled "Keep UAVs Flying High with
Proper Testing." This blog is the first in a series of three planned articles that will
take a closer look at the global fascination with UAVs and how they are used, whether
for farming or for warfare, and some of the best test tools that can be applied
to ensuring the best UAV performance possible. The
OQ-2A, one of the first remote-controlled target drones produced in the U.S.,
was made by the Radioplane Company owned Hollywood actor Reginald Denny.
Norma Jeane Mortenson, aka Marilyn Monroe, was discovered there.
"Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly
known as drones, have been a part of military operations for decades, often paving
the way for an operation with their remote intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance
(ISR) capabilities. Those familiar with military drones may think of million-dollar
UAVs like the Predator with comprehensive electronic weapons payloads, including
radar and sophisticated navigation and guidance systems. The military demand for
fixed- and rotary-wing UAVs has grown steadily over the past decade, but it is not
the only market for these remote-controlled vehicles. Drones are rapidly gaining
popularity in many other commercial and industrial markets, such as construction,
real-estate aerial views, commercial and industrial security, warehouse management,
law enforcement, firefighting, surveying, and even for crop dusting and fertilizer
inspections in agriculture. Smaller, commercial-grade drones are also being used
for home and office surveillance and for entertainment, as 'toys' for hobbyists
experimenting with different electronic payloads (such as RF control links and video
cameras).
Many of these UAVs are smaller, battery-powered versions of full-scale aircraft,
with more advanced composite materials and features such as folding wings. A steady
trend in UAV design has been in miniaturization and in providing more capabilities
in smaller units. Quadracopter drones with four rotary wings and on-board visual
sensors (cameras) have been designed that weigh less than 1 lb. and fit within the
palm of the hand. Such miniaturized UAVs also feature quite extensive electronic
systems, such as millimeter-wave (mmWave) radars, that enable them to fly safely,
without interfering with each other or with existing air traffic. To ensure safe
operation, whether in large military UAVs or smaller commercial/industrial drones,
these electronic systems must be properly tested, and that calls for knowing which
systems to test and the right kinds of test equipment. This blog is the first in
a series that will take a closer look at the global fascination with UAVs and how
they are used, whether for farming or for warfare, and some of the best test tools
that can be applied to ensuring the best UAV performance possible. Testing is essential
to ensuring that all types of UAVs meet their electronic performance specifications,
and not just for the assurance that the ISR data for an upcoming battlefield engagement
is reliable; for the growing number of commercial 'hobbyist' drones, the U.S. Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) is now requiring a three-year drone registration to
manage U.S. airspace, especially to avoid accidents around airports with their 'manned'
(and 'womanned') aircraft.
Diagnosing a Drone
Electronic testing of circuits and systems within a UAV can involve quite a comprehensive
set of measurements, considering the many different electronic systems within a
typical drone. While weapons systems may only be found within certain larger military
UAVs, guidance and navigation systems, such as those based on Global Positioning
System (GPS) satellites, are installed in most drones, whether for military or civilian
use. With the constantly decreasing costs of GPS receiver integrated circuits (ICs),
GPS receivers can be included as part of the navigation systems of even the lowest-costing
hobby drones and almost all industrial, commercial, and consumer UAVs. By using
geospatial data, these on-board GPS receivers..."
Click here for... the REST of the story...
If you would like help selecting any type of test equipment for your project,
contact Axiom Test Equipment's sales department at
sales@transcat.com,
call 760-806-6600, or browse Axiom Test Equipment's inventory online at
www.axiomtest.com.
About Axiom Test Equipment
Get Exactly What You Need. Rent - Buy
- Repair - Trade-In
Established in 2005, Axiom Test Equipment strives to continually improve itself
and offer the best value for its customers. We offer our customers several practical,
efficient and cost effective solutions for their business or projects' test equipment
needs. Whether you need to
rent &
buy test equipment, repair test equipment, sell or trade equipment, we are committed
to providing superior customer service and high quality electronic test equipment.
At Axiom Test Equipment we provide several services. We
rent electronic
test and measurement equipment. We also sell test equipment. If you have a piece
of malfunctioning or broken test equipment we also have an in-house repair lab.
For anyone seeking a way to offload their surplus or obsolete equipment, we offer
a trade-in program or we can buy the equipment from you.
We stock a comprehensive inventory of equipment and can use our extensive network
to find you those hard to get items. We believe in getting equipment to you quickly
and at a competitive price.
RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling
2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed
formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit
design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at
the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps
while tying up your telephone line, and a nice lady's voice announced "You've Got
Mail" when a new message arrived...
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All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images
and text used on the RF Cafe website are hereby acknowledged.
March 4, 2020 - Vista, California -
Get Exactly What You Need. Rent - Buy
- Repair - Trade-In