UAV-1002185-001
14
Rev D
Rotorcraft Installations
tailBeacon will broadcast that it is in an airborne state at all times when the
emitter category is set to “Rotorcraft”. Therefore, for rotorcraft installations
to meet the performance requirements of TSO-C154c, this equipment may
only be installed on rotorcraft that do not have a means of automatically
determining air-ground status.
6 System Specifications
6.1 System Functionality
tailBeacon is a tail mounted unit that contains a 978 MHz transmitter,
power line transponder monitor, GPS/SBAS receiver, barometric pressure
sensor and altitude encoder, and LED position light. This device transmits
ownship Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data
through the UAT data link. It monitors an installed transponder, through the
aircraft power wiring, for Mode A/C replies. tailBeacon includes an internal
GPS/SBAS receiver. This receiver allows the unit to function as its own
position source.
6.2 Altitude Encoder with Continuous Calibration
™
The integrated altitude encoder does not require connection to the aircraft
static pressure system. Instead, tailBeacon benefits from being mounted in
an ideal altitude sensing location, and contains Continuous Calibration
™
technology. This patent pending technology automatically and continuously
calibrates the integrated altitude encoder for correspondence with the
aircraft transponder’s altitude encoder, allowing compliant operations in
remote and challenging environments.
6.3 Power Line Transponder Monitor
tailBeacon utilizes uAvionix’s Power Transcoder to ensure proper
synchronization of data elements between Secondary Surveillance Radar
(SSR) replies and ADS-B transmissions. These elements include Mode A
squawk and IDENT status. In remote areas where you may not be
interrogated by SSR, these data elements may at times be unavailable.
The Power Transcoder additionally serves to provide Continuous
Calibration
™ data to the altitude encoder.
