Under the Hood of an SCA Radio (2010)

About this workshop 

This workshop will provide an overview of the JTRS SCA specification and describe how it can be used to successfully implement an SCA radio. The process followed by radio manufacturers to implement SCA radios will be reviewed and commented. Examples provided will be based on the experience of Ultra Electronics TCS who were one of the very first organisations to deploy SCA radios in the battlefield.

Finally, the second half of the workshop will be used to look under the hood of the high-capacity line-of-sight tactical radio manufactured by Ultra Electronics TCS. During that process, SCA tools will be used to connect and control the SCA High-Capacity Line-of-Sight ANGRC-245 Radio.

Who should attend this workshop?

Managers, project leaders, and developers investigating the use of the SCA should attend this workshop. The workshop will provide an overview of the SCA development process used by a successful radio manufacturer that has fielded an SCA radio. Lessons learned will be presented and discussed.

About your workshop leaders

Steve Bernier is a research scientist at the Communications Research Centre (CRC) Canada where he leads the advanced radio systems group. He currently focuses on the development of software-defined radios using the Software Communications Architecture (SCA). Steve's team is responsible for the adoption of several key features of the SCA specification and for the very popular open-source SCA Reference Implementation Core Framework called SCARI-Open. His team has also created the only commercial-off-the-shelf Core Framework to have been deployed in battlefields. Steve is a regular speaker at software defined radio conferences and has been an active member of the Software Defined Radio Forum for the last 10 years. Before joining the CRC, Steve worked for Lockheed Martin where he developed real-time message-oriented middleware for distributed systems. Steve received his B.Sc. in computer science in 1997 and his M.Sc. in 2000 from the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.

For over 50 years, the Communications Research Centre (CRC), Canada, has been providing technical expertise to both the Government of Canada and industry in satellite, terrestrial, wireless, and optical communications. Through its research, CRC is helping to address emerging challenges in information and communications technologies (ICT).

CRC is a source of advice and support for the Canadian federal government in the development of policies, regulations and standards; and of ICT applications in areas such as national defence, public safety, and space-based communications. CRC also shares its expertise with the ICT sector to develop and commercialize products and services.

CRC is recognized as a world leader in software development for SDR technology. Maker of the JTRS certified SCA reference implementation (SCARI), CRC also offers the most comprehensive integrated development environment for the SCA. CRC has been intimately involved in driving the evolution of the SCA and draws from its long experience to offer consulting services and training. CRC's team is constantly pushing the limits to improve performance, collaborating with best-in-class partners to support the major RTOS, ORBS, processors, boards and systems.

Serge Harnois is a software design specialist at Ultra Electronics Tactical Communication Systems since 1998, where he acts has an architect and technical leader in SCA design. Serge led the software team who delivered the AN/GRC245, the first SCA, high capacity line of site radio in the world in 2007. More than 2000 of these radios have been delivered to NATO countries and deployed in battlefields around the world. Before joining Ultra, Serge worked as a real-time software developer in Electrical Transport and distribution Control Systems. Serge received his B.Sc. in computer science in 1992 from the Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.

Ultra Electronics-Tactical Communication Systems (Ultra-TCS) is a leading supplier of tactical Line of Sight (LOS) radio relay equipment and systems. TCS is commited to providing its customers with communication system solutions and services that exceed expectation. In order to continuously achieve this, Ultra -TCS has maintained and improved a Quality Management System which is certified ISO 9001:2008. Ultra-TCS can trace its roots back to the Canadian Marconi Company when it started supplying tactical radio relay equipment to the US Army in the 1960's. The communications Division of Canadian Marconi was sold to CMC Electronics and then to Ultra Electronics in 2002.