Case Studies

Watchman radar communications board modernisation for Selex

The Watchman radar is a system still widely used at regional airports worldwide despite being designed 25 years ago.

It is a respected and trusted system which is required to have 100% availability. Failure of the radar system would cause airport closure. Over time, key parts have become obsolete and increasingly difficult to source. Urgent preventative action was required to avoid critical failure through lack of spare parts. Newbury Innovation, in partnership with Selex, re-developed the communications section of the data communication boards, designed modern test jigs and redesigned sections of circuitry to incorporate modern componentry.

Very demanding requirements were made for signal attenuation performance. A laser diode replaced a pin diode at the transmission section when an obsolete high voltage avalanche diode was replaced. 40db losses had to be tolerated without loss of signal integrity. Newbury Electronics Ltd manufactured and populated the replacement boards for Selex and these are now being installed at airports throughout the world as required.

Back to List