FPGAs for Innovating Digital Communication Interfaces

It’s 11th May, and we just arrived at a client’s studio at 11:45pm. I assure my colleague that we’ll get it right this time. Our job that night was to link two studios over an Ethernet connection. Simple enough despite the fact that neither of us had done it before. We had gone through the manuals over and over again, 4 different manuals in fact, that’s why I felt certain, at least 80% certain it would be possible. In the end, we achieved connecting two LAWO audio engines over a VLAN network that could send and receive digital audio channels over MADI (AES 10). More on that later. After our 5 hour stint, I couldn’t help wonder how even such an interface was achieved. In this post I cover what it takes for hardware and communications engineers to prototype, test and innovate such interfaces using FPGAs.

The Ultimate Production and Transmission Broadcast Facility

Media broadcast is grossly underdeveloped in Kenya. Even with the seemingly sophistication of media broadcast in Europe and America, the Kenyan media experience is quite poor. This is due to the limited competition incumbents face that new players must aggressively work against to get a piece of the cake. Setting up a TV/radio production and transmission facility may seem like a daunting task but worry no more. This post talks about bringing together a cost effective, space efficient and future proofed broadcast facility that may be just what you need to set yourself up! Specifically, it outlines the general workflow of the entire system and the hardware and software that can be used for smooth operation.

Off-Grid Communications For The Masses: Smart Metering

In East Africa, a large percent of the population still does not have access to electrical energy and its benefits. To address this, several companies have developed micro-grids to provide AC power to rural East Africa. In order to sustain these grids, a remote, robust communication system has to be developed for purposes of metering and billing. In this post, I propose several efficient designs of a communication system that could be used to monitor and manage off-grid customers. Specifically, it proposes the technologies that can be used, the hardware and software implementation of such as system and how it can make business sense addressing equipment and operation costs.

Simplification in Design of Wireless Systems: 5 Useful Steps

As we all know, wireless is the preferred method of connectivity between most of our devices. This is going to take more precedence in coming years. The number of connected devices per person and the demand for fast, reliable content delivery within a network is rapidly increasing. Add that to the already ongoing craze of developing IoT devices and the super-scaling of server farms to support them. In my view, RF, DSP and embedded systems engineers will have a lot going on. This shift is largely dependent on the wireless systems we build. In this post, I try to figure out the best way forward in design of wireless systems.

How Computers ‘See’ and Add Value to Your Media: An Intro to Computer Vision

This decade has been defined by advancement in data based technologies and learning algorithms. Terms like AI and automation have been used extensively to explain current trends in just about all industries. They have also been used to spark debates over fears of massive unemployment and increased consumerism that these technologies may bring. It is of much importance that you, yes YOU, the reader, to check and understand how these technologies may transform your way of life in years to come. One you may or may not have heard of is Computer Vision, that is likely to transform my current area of work and in this post I look at what this means for you and I.

What a Systems Engineer Can Do For You: 7 Guiding Principles

For several months now I have worked as a systems engineer in the broadcast field. Having applied myself as one during this period, I have realized there are certain best practices to consider while working as one. Research on this topic led me to understand the principles and processes guiding the work of systems engineers in all sorts of fields like manufacturing, defense, telecommunications, power systems. All follow standard models to execute their duties and in this post I shall elaborate what they are.

Easy Ways to Simulate the Strongest Microwave Links

Having recently been involved with several microwave link installations and servicing, I have gathered several best practices to installing digital IP microwaves and obtaining the best PtP (point-to-point) links from them. A PtP link is simply a directional link between microwave antennas with a clear line of sight. During installation, several prior calculations have to be made to ensure the best possible link as well as mitigate the chances of link failure. With the recent development of online geographical maps, these calculations have been even more simplified and in this post we will dive into using these tools.

Getting It Right With Audio Quality And Consistency

Of the twenty one senses that we have, hearing plays a large role in how we experience the world we live in. When it comes to video, humans tend to accept the limitations of the current generation technology. Remember when monochrome TVs were widely adopted? Mom remembers. However, we always expect clean, crisp audio from our entertainment/news platforms. Bad sounding media is often unforgivable as compared to poor image quality. Herein lies the need to ensure consistent great quality audio reaches your listeners. Let’s check the considerations audio engineers in your plant can contribute to the highest possible audio quality and consistency.

5G and the War for Supremacy: The 4 Key Technologies Involved

Fifty years from now, when you’re aged and wrinkled (assuming we won’t have discovered the cure for aging) you’ll be sure to tell your grand-kids of the war for the rise of the 5G cellular network from 2016 – 2020. You’ll explain to them how the differences in spectrum efficiency, power efficiency and performance in connectivity were used to decide the ultimate victor. The challengers being MU-MIMO, D2D, NOMA and mmWave technologies. How the battles were fought, not on the ground or sea, but through the electromagnetic spectrum led by top research scientists all over the globe. You’ll remember to tell them that the puppet-masters were the telcos giants while us, the wee subscribers, could only hope for the best outcome. Better yet, direct them here for a simplified description of the technologies currently involved in the 5G revolution.

Quick Guide To Radio Broadcast Transmission

Your studio is already set up and it’s now time to go LIVE! Right? Well, there is the issue of how to get that audio to your audience. In Kenya, FM radio is the most common, and profitable, form of broadcast. This is why most of the infrastructure to support it has been set up across the country. Installation might be a grueling task for a small team (such as ours about a month ago), but the outcome becomes far more rewarding than I expected. In this post I go over the technologies that make radio broadcast transmission possible.