Rapco Systems Engineering In addition to the products detailed on preceding pages, Rapco Electronics can also offer comprehensive systems engineering support to their clients.  We design, build and commission complete Frequency Reference Systems with Caesium, Rubidium or Quartz based reference sources, Distribution Amplifiers, Phase Comparators, Frequency Difference Meters, Auto Changeover Units, Battery Support Units etc.  Projects may involve responsibility for a Time & Frequency system on behalf of a client for whom it is not core business or acting as support for a Prime Contractor/Integrator. In either case Rapco can supply expertise and problem solving skills to ensure objectives and deadlines are met. Facilities available In addition to all the normal facilities expected of a modern electronics organisation, Rapco have a number of advantages, making them an ideal partner for Time & Frequency work. These include the ability to provide the specialist skills and knowledge to produce price competitive and high performance solutions. Additionally the Company has invested heavily in plant such as a sophisticated phase noise measurement system to maintain the quality and performance of designs produced. Working to ISO 9001:2000 standards, The Company has extensive archives of software and hardware designs which permit the manufacture of highly customised products. Where an off the shelf solution does not exist, the engineers thrive on the challenge of developing and testing a new design to meet customers' requirements. Services offered System planning Often clients are unsure about what is needed to meet their timing requirements. Rapco can advise on possibilities, and acting as consultants, form a systems proposal that will meet all aspects such as Budget, Performance specification, Serviceability and Future Expansion. System design In addition to the provision of basic system features, Rapco System Design also includes consideration of matters such as physical size, weight, power consumption, thermal management. spares requirement, servicing and training. Manufacture All Rapco products are built and tested in-house, thereby ensuring good control of quality standards. Another consequence is that custom modifications can readily be incorporated - the whole operation under the watchful control of the responsible design engineers. Manuals and Documentation Rapco products are highly specialised and reliable. As a result documentation is seldom consulted and needs to be of a very high standard to give required information concisely and in sufficient detail. Rapco manuals are written by authors who truly understand the products and can ensure that essential detail is conveyed to the reader. System integration and test Often, formal testing of a customer's system is required. Rapco Systems Engineering department can provide test specifications to prove the integrity and performance of their systems. This can be either directly with the customer or included in a prime contractor's proposals. Tests can be performed at the factory, privately or witnessed by the customer and end user representatives World-wide delivery As part of the contribution of Systems Engineering, equipment can be provided conforming to standards required in just about any part of the world. This includes attention to power and statutory requirements as well as the ability to pack and transport delicate electronics to site in good condition. Commissioning Generally, commissioning is a factory based process. On acceptance by the customer, Rapco equipment is normally shipped for integration with the remainder of the application hardware. If required, Rapco engineers can be requested for site commissioning. The may be particularly important if for example there are local problems with GPS reception to be solved. Site and factory repairs and servicing A good system deserves good support and Rapco maintains comprehensive records of customers installations so that support can be offered throughout the system life. Spares are maintained and test engineers have access to test facilities that are of production standard and quality. Our existing customers know that they can rely on us to provide technically excellent, cost effective solutions for their precision time and frequency requirements.  They also know that our after sales service is unsurpassed. Give us the opportunity to add your name to our list of satisfied customers.  We look forward to receiving your enquiries - you will not be disappointed with the reception you will receive from our competent and enthusiastic team.   Typical installations Calibration Installations This installation provides a high performance and high reliability reference frequency system as required by a typical calibration laboratory.  The number of reference frequency outputs available can be increased easily by the addition of 900 series Distribution Amplifiers. In this installation, the 1886 also performs the function of automatically detecting any failure of the Master Oscillator and switching to the Standby source. The inclusion of a TVM14 means that when ever calibrations are carried out there is a simultaneous record taken of frequency variation between the oscillators and temperature at which the calibration was carried out. This can aid traceability and accuracy analysis. Satellite Ground stations This installation features high levels of redundancy and back up to reflect its mission critical status. Each oscillator uses GPS signals to give long term accuracy to the Rubidium source. While this unit would have good performance in the event of GPS signal loss, its short term performance would suffer like all Rubidium sources, from noise. For this reason the Rubidium output is used to steer a very low noise Quartz oscillator which provides the station's prime signal For high availability, this oscillator arrangement is duplicated, backed up by battery and continuously monitored for frequency deviations. Alarms from individual units are collected at the central 1870A panel and a composite signal is forwarded to the station Control and Monitoring system. The remainder of the system consists of Distribution Amplifiers and associated modules. Functions required include automatic changeover from Master to Standby sources in the case of a fault, long line driving, Custom frequency generation (Doubling, E1, T1 etc.) and multiple low noise outputs. These would typically be used as reference inputs for Up converters, Down converters, Modulators etc.   Data timestamping installation