Temperature Testing of the New S-Band Transmitter Filter for DSS 54

The 1.7- to 2.6-GHz (S-Band) transmitter fllter, installed in the beam-waveguide (BWG) antennas, originally was designed for the 34-m high-e‐ciency antennas (HEFs). This fllter operated at a very high physical temperature. In the BWG antennas, this fllter is accessible to the maintenance personnel while the antenna is operational. Therefore, it is considered a safety risk. To reduce the risk, it was decided to design a new fllter with lower insertion loss and better cooling that would lower the physical temperature. The new fllter was specifled at JPL but designed and fabricated at Gamma ‘F’ Corporation. The design replaced copper for aluminum to reduce ohmic loss and added copper cooling flns to help radiate the heat away. This fllter will be installed in Deep Space Station 54 (DSS 54) near Madrid, Spain. In this article, the physical temperatures of the new fllter are presented and compared with the old fllter at various transmitting power levels. The frequency response of the fllter also is provided for future reference.