Avionics News June 2014 - 29

Aeroflex's
8320/8321
programmable
attenuator unit

So, the naysayers have the laws of
nature on their side, at least until airfoils
and petroleum-based fuels are replaced.
But they ignore the real technological
advances elsewhere: Not everything
that goes into a modern general aviation
aircraft is an airfoil or powerplant. The
naysayers also didn't attend the 57th
annual Aircraft Electronics Association
International Convention & Trade
Show, which took place March 12-15, in
Nashville, Tennessee. Among the thousands of avionics
executives, technicians, shop owners and aircraft operators
who attended - and who benefited from the invaluable
networking, training and other programs - there also were
more than a few new products announced. They ranged
from brand-new gadgets to go in an instrument panel
- of course - to the latest updates of existing avionics
and equipment, to new services, new solutions to old
problems, and even to new types of products.
Direct from the AEA Convention in Nashville, here are
the new products that were unveiled during the opening
session as part of the AEA's New Product Introductions.
Aeroflex
In addition to serving the avionics market, Aeroflex
Test Solutions' product line supports a wide range of
industries with turnkey systems, stand-alone boxes and
modular components for meeting test and measurement
requirements. The company announced its 8320/8321
series of rack-mountable programmable attenuators for
bench-test and subsystem applications, which it said
provides flexible, easy-to-program, low-cost solutions
for an avionics shop's bench test/calibration setups and
subsystem applications.
The 8320 series are available in single- or dualchannel configurations while the 8321 supports up to
12 channels. Both feature a front panel-mounted display
and controls, and offer attenuation ranges up to 127 dB.
The units incorporate solid-state components, are relayswitched and are designed to incorporate Aeroflex's line
of digitally controlled programmable attenuators. Each
comes with an array of industry-standard interfaces,
including RS-232 (serial), Ethernet (10/100 BaseT) and

USB. An interface meeting the GPIB/IEEE-488 (HS488-ready) standard is optional. The 8320-series
products have a half-rack form factor while the morecapable 8321 units and their multichannel configurations
are housed in 19-inch enclosures. Both series can be
configured for front, rear or through (front to rear) RF
signal routing.
The company's venerable IFR 6000 is a compact,
weatherproof unit designed for testing MODE A/C/S
transponders, DME, TCAS, ADS-B and TIS avionics
systems. Its features allow users to quickly and
easily provide accurate measurement of transponder
transmitting frequency, power and receiver sensitivity.
It incorporates predetermined configurations for testing
any class of transponder and automatically determining
Mode S level 1-4, and it can be used to meet the test
requirements of Part 43 appendix F (including proposed
EUROCONTROL extension), EUROCONTROL
Elementary and Enhanced Surveillance and ICAO Annex
10 amendment 77. It includes a detachable directional
antenna, a large 5.7-inch LCD display and offers a
simple user interface. Available optional features include
support for testing equipment as diverse as TCAS I/
TCAS II/TIS, DO-260A/B compliance, 1090 MHz
ADS-B GEN/ADS-B MON/GICB and 978 MHz UAT
with FIS-B/TIS-B/ADS-B. The ability to test 978 MHz
UAT systems is a new feature for the IFR 6000, and
can be retrofitted to in-service equipment by returning
it to the company. Aeroflex also provides customized
subsystems, incorporating a variety of test configurations
into a single unit.
To learn more, visit www.Aeroflex.com.
Continued on following page
avionics news

june

2014

http://www.Aeroflex.com

Avionics News June 2014

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