The Model 3U from Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions (CAES) is a frequency Up/Down Converter that operates from 0.5 to 18 GHz. This SOSA-aligned, conduction cooled, VPX RF Payload Card, provides one channel for up conversion, one channel for down conversion, and a synthesizer in a single, 3U slice. It has been designed to be an RF front end for electronic warfare, ELINT and electronic support/surveillance/attack. The frequency converter has an Instantaneous IF Bandwidth of 2 GHz and an IF Frequency of 3.5 GHz. It has a P1dB of 20 dBm, provides a gain of 25 dB and has a noise figure of 17 dB.
This converter has a modular architecture designed for phase coherent applications. With a modest level of design effort this card can be reconfigured into various combinations such as: two up or two down converter channels; or a 6U with various combinations of four channels. It offers multiple pickets mixed with the DDS and fixed VCOs mixed with the wideband DDS. The unit requires a DC supply of 12 V and consumes less than 85 W of power.
