Notebook satcom terminal technology development

Comsat Mobile Communications and Comsat Laboratories have an ongoing multi-year development effort begun in 1992 to evaluate and develop the critical technologies required to meet future generation satellite systems offering handheld and laptop/notebook computer-sized satellite terminals. A critical assumption in the economic success of these future systems is the availability of a low cost terminal in a size and weight that can be targeted to a mass market. Some of the critical technologies identified, that were not readily available in a miniaturized form or at a low cost, included the antenna, diplexer, and intermediate frequency converter. An overview of these technologies is provided as well as the measured test results for the antenna and diplexer. While originally developed for notebook satcom terminals operating in the L-band Inmarsat system, the same design concepts can easily be scaled for other frequency bands, such as UHF or S-band. Thus, the technologies discussed are applicable to a broad range of digital satellite terminals and applications.