3dB Labs, a developer of highly optimized RF spectrum collection solutions has announced the commercial availability of their SCEPTRE software. SCEPTRE is a deployable, remoteable ISR collection software. ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) Signal Collection refers specifically to the capability to identify, monitor, collect, and exploit RF signal data.
A simple use case for SCEPTRE can be an engineer who is looking to test a new transmitter for RF leakage. They need to turn on SCEPTRE and sweep the receiver over a broad spectrum to establish a baseline of the RF environment. Then they save this baseline, and use it as the trigger when they turn on their equipment i.e when they conduct another sweep, they will be alearted to new energy that does not match the static test environment.
They then record that data, DF it to ensure it is coming from their transmitter, analyze it, and determine what it is based off of parametric information.
The software suite can act alone or as a network of receivers to perform rapid signal analysis for ID, tip and cue, c-uas, and interoperability for geolocation. It can be integrated with multiple simultaneous different receivers on stationary or mobile collection platforms and provides real-time analysis of COMINT, FISINT, and ELINT signals. Sceptre can perform real-time bit breakout, data streaming out, and pulse descriptor word creation. It also serves as an arbitrary waveform generator and is capable of file playback at RF. Its versatile nature allows a user to leave it unattended for days with its built-in circular pre-d buffer, an ideal solution for remote access, RF surveys, or post-event analysis.
SCEPTRE is designed to interface to several commercially available SDRs, downconverters, upconverters, digitizers, and data streams. SCEPTRE’s unrivaled efficiency allows for real-time analysis, processing, and recording on up to dual 1 GHz channels or 2x 500 MHz channels from a portable laptop. SCEPTRE’s capabilities include, but are not limited to:
- Low Probability of Detection
- Geolocation Interface (ITAR Restriction may Apply)
- Pulse Detection
- Remote Web Interface
- Pre-D Circular Buffer
- Analog Demodulation: AM, FM, PM, SSB
- Digital Demodulation: FSK, ASK PSK, QAM
- Digital Video
- ADS-B Demodulation
- AIS Demodulation
- Pulse Measurement
- Pulse Descriptor Word Generation
- Customizable Detection
- Algorithms for Mission
- Specific Applications
- Range-Doppler Processing
- Wideband Swept Spectrum Scanning
- Non-causal Recording
- Cross-spectrum, Coherence, and Group Delay
- Delay-(Conjugate, Add)-Multiple
- Band Power Measurements
- Nonlinearity Spectrum
- Bit Breakout
- Ability to Pause Realtime, Look Back, Zoom, Place Markers
- Precision Time and Frequency Tracking Throughout
- Flexible Recording Tagging
- Remote Control with Realtime Streaming
- Tuner Sever to Multiple Networked Clients
- Open API and Streaming to External Applications
- Software Tuners
- Time-Domain Displays
- Oscilloscopes, IQ Plots, Time-Time Rasters
- Dual-Channel Trigger
- Antenna Positioner Control and Tracking
- TLE Driven Positioning
- Aircraft, KML, and Signal Slaving
- Arbitrary Waveform Generator
- DAC interface, playback at RF
SCEPTRE is designed to run on macOS and Linux (CENTOS, RH, Ubuntu) with Windows options available upon request. Its performance scales with processing power and can be run remotely on an Atom board, a rack-mounted server, and anything in between.
Architecturally, SCEPTRE comes in five main varieties to suite user specific needs:
- SCEPTRE-Offline for file replay and analysis
- SCEPTRE-1G for USB interface and 1Gb data streaming over ethernet or network sources
- SCEPTRE-10G for 10Gb data streaming sources
- SCEPTRE-Offline-PRO for file replay and analysis with GPU enablement
- SCEPTRE-PRO for real-time data streaming with GPU enablement
SCEPTRE is available now. For more information, click here.
