Night Flight technical detail



Voice communication is achieved with 50 watts, two meter FM on the regional ATV voice coordination frequency of 144.34 mhz, with occasional operation on 146.52 mhz. A Tempo S-15 transceiver with amp and audio interface is shown. Not shown is the antenna; a quarter-wave vertical whip projecting downward from the rear fuselage radiates a nearly omnidirectional pattern.

2 meter fm equipment


Fast scan NTSC video is transmitted with 100 watts peak sync at 439.25 mhz. A Wyman Tridon-2000 transceiver and related gear is shown in the photo. The Tridon outputs 3 watts, with a 100 watt Mirage amp (not shown). Duty cycle must be limited due to available dc power.

Cockpit illumination is limited to the normal three watt red light so as not to disrupt pilot night vision, but the six infra-red LEDs on the CCD camera have proved more than adequate to show good instrument panel detail. The pilot will sometimes use a penlite to make adjustments, look at maps, etc... even though the video shows what appears to be a normally lit scene - the camera sees the deep red light better than the pilot.

Video equipment




The package is mounted in a small aluminum rack, with an integral camera mount at the top in the rear cockpit area.



Airborne equipment block diagram