MeteorComm News

MeteorComm hires new Engineering Director: Clark W. Palmer

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 19:41:55 GMT

MeteorComm a wholly owned subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE:BNI), recently hired Clark W. Palmer as the new Director of Engineering. The former Electronic Services Division Commander for Washington State Highway Patrol, Mr. Palmer will contribute seasoned leadership and a successful track record of completing projects to the continued growth of MeteorComm. Clark stated that he is excited about becoming part of the MeteorComm team, working with the engineering team to design and develop key technology to improve safety and asset utilization for the railroad industry.

Challenges are not new to Mr. Palmer. He led the State Patrol’s efforts to provide statewide interoperability as a part of Washington’s Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, served as co-chair of the 2010 Olympic Security Committee’s Interoperable Communication Workgroup and served as a member of SAFECOM’s Emergency Response Council, while managing the State Patrol’s telecommunication division responsible for statewide microwave, land mobile radio, data network, and telephone systems.

Don Sytsma, president of MeteorComm comments, “Clark’s in-depth background in IT and critical infrastructure wireless telecommunication interoperability will be a valuable asset to MeteorComm in achieving the combined goals of interoperability, safety and reliability.”

MeteorComm is a wireless telecommunications company that provides reliable, cost effective data communications solutions and services through its robust packet-switched data networks. MeteorComm has been serving a diverse customer base that has served industries in railroad, marine, public safety and environmental monitoring.

Click here to download this press release.

MeteorComm Showcased at the IWCE

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 16:29:09 GMT

MeteorComm, the company that commercialized meteor burst communications in the 1970's, made it possible for developing countries to create affordable remote climatic and hydrologic monitoring systems that are critical to weather prediction and flood control. This year at the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE), MeteorComm will be introducing a new multi-band, voice and data Software Defined Radio (SDR) designed for safety critical applications.

MeteorComm has applied its expertise in reflecting radio waves off of ionized meteor trails traveling at thousands of miles per hour to delivering reliable, mobile data and voice communications products and network services to commercial and public safety fleets. MBNET™, MeteorComm's peer-to-peer, mesh network protocol suite delivers reliable, end-to-end data packet delivery for mobile applications such as mission critical fleet tracking, messaging and status reporting. The centerpiece of MeteorComm's hardware platform is the MCC-6100 SDR that was designed to provide interoperable data and voice communications for the Railroad Industry and built to withstand the punishing environment of a locomotive cab. MBNET™ and MeterComm's base stations and mobiles have been deployed across 23,000 miles of track, that stretches across 27 States, from the challenging Anchorage to Fairbanks rail corridor to the searing plains of the arid Southwest. With the approval from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), MeteorComm radios and MBNET™ services form the communications backbone for Electronic Train Management Systems across the nation, operating 24/7 in a safety critical environment.

At the IWCE, MeteorComm introduced the MCC-6100 SDR as a solution to interoperability concerns of Public Safety, Emergency Services, Railroad Police as well as local and state Police, Fire and Disaster Response Units. The secure private wireless communication system that was on display showcased how the radio can interact with different communication systems seamlessly and on different frequency bands.

MeteorComm™ is a wireless telecommunications company that provides reliable, cost effective data communications solutions and services around the world through its robust packet-switched data networks. With over 30 years of technology experience, MeteorComm™ has been serving industries in railroad, marine, public safety and environmental monitoring.

Click here to download or print this press release.

MeteorComm Powers BNSF’s Electronic Train Management Communications

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 13:42:44 GMT

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) with Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF) announced, on January 8th 2007, FRA’s approval of BNSF’s Product Safety Plan (PSP) allowing BNSF’s to implement the Electronic Train Management System (ETMS) on portions of their railroad network.

In commenting on the PSP approval, FRA Administrator Joseph R. Boardman said, “This is a major achievement that marks the beginning of a new era of rail safety.”

ETMS requires movement-related information, such as authority limits, speed limits, signal aspects, switch position and work zones delivered reliably in real-time for Wabtec’s onboard computer system to process. BNSF realized that its existing data communications infrastructure would not have the capacity and performance needed to move this information between the locomotive, waysides and dispatch center. BNSF turned to MeteorComm’s™ MBNET technology to provide a high performance, robust wireless network to meet the demand. MeteorComm™ developed a new Software Defined Radio (SDR) platform for the locomotive industry that contains up to three Part 90 transceivers (VHF and UHF), Wi-Fi and GPS that functions like a router by automatically directing voice and data packets (information) between various wireless networks and on board devices as the locomotive transitions from the yard to line-of-way. The SDR can automatically tune itself to the correct base station using the appropriate Radio Frequency (RF) and data protocols based on its location. Not only does this create seamless communications within BNSF’s network but it also allows a BNSF locomotive to be interoperable with other railroad equipment while on their track.

Don Sytsma, MeteorComm™ president and chief executive officer said, “The approval by the FRA to operate ETMS is a milestone for the railroad industry and MeteorComm™ is proud of its SDR platform and engineering team that helped make ETMS possible.”

“ETMS is the first approved automatic train control system that prevents train collisions and over speed accidents, meeting the criteria of one the National Transportation Safety Board’s most wanted list,” said Matthew K. Rose, BNSF chairman, president and chief executive officer.

MeteorComm’s™ vision is to provide wireless solutions to the railroad industry for making timely, informed decisions to enhance productivity and safety awareness. BNSF has relied upon MeteorComm™ radios and network protocol to provide wireless communication not only for the ETMS program but their Hy-Rail Limits Compliance System (HLCS) as well.

MeteorComm™ is a wireless telecommunications company that provides reliable, cost effective data communications solutions and services around the world through its robust packet-switched data networks. With over 30 years of technology experience, MeteorComm™ has been serving a diverse customer base that has served industries in railroad, marine, public safety and environmental monitoring.

Click here to download a pdf file of this announcement.

MeteorComm's MCC-6100 is World’s First Multi-band Software Defined Data Radio

Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:59:59 GMT

MeteorComm Wireless Communications is now shipping an FCC-approved Software Defined Radio (SDR) that brings together revolutionary technologies to create a single communications platform designed for multiple uses such as land, rail and marine vehicle tracking, emergency services, and remote data acquisition. The MCC-6100 SDR can seamlessly establish connections from low-band VHF legacy frequencies through UHF and up to the latest 2.4 GHz (WiFi) standards to maintain uninterrupted data communications from 9600 bps (bits per second) to 54 Mbps. Functioning as a multi-band, multi-port wireless router, the MCC- 6100 acts as a bridge between older low frequency and newer high frequency fixed or mobile communications networks, providing maximum interoperability.

A single SDR can function as a remote, a base station or a repeater, which provides a self-organizing Mesh Network Topology, ideal for Extended Line Of Sight (ELOS) fixed and mobile networks in rural or marine settings. The MCC-6100 offers voice communications currently on high-band VHF, eliminating the need for separate voice and data radios. Integrated Differential GPS and I/O allow accurate position and other user defined status to be reported at real-time speeds. New levels of interoperability are achieved through software configurable waveform modulation schemes, which also insures against obsolescence.

The MCC-6100 SDR joins MeteorComm’s family of data radios, which are all designed around MeteorComm’s patented communication protocol, MBNET™. This protocol combines CSMA (carrier sense multiple access) and TDMA (time division multiple access) to achieve channel utilization greater than 90% while minimizing contention. This greatly reduces communications infrastructure (base stations and repeaters) for a given area of coverage and the need for multiple frequency licenses compared with traditional point-to-multipoint MAS networks. MBNET™ - a military-grade mesh network protocol - delivers TCP/IP connectivity and error free messaging with full routing, flow control and end-to-end acknowledgement. Remote configuration, firmware upgrades and status monitoring are all accomplished over-the-air which reduces the need for on-site maintenance.

Railroad Switch Safety Demonstration Project Begins Testing with MeteorComm Solar Powered Switch Monitors

Wed, 16 Nov 2005 12:45:02 GMT

BNSF has completed installation of the trial Switch Point Monitoring System (SPMS), which continually reports the position of each switch to the Network Operations Center (NOC) in Fort Worth. The information is displayed for the dispatchers and matched against track warrants to make sure none of the switch positions conflict with the train's cleared route. Switches left in the wrong position have been a leading cause of railroad accidents.

The test involves the installation of MeteorComm's Solar Powered Switch Monitor System at 49 switches along a 174-mile section of non-signalled BNSF Railway track between Tulsa and Avard, OK. The system includes a MCC-545C Packet Radio, switch position sensors, AC or solar power supply, antenna and enclosure at each switch located in dark territories. Switch position and site health are automatically reported to the NOC immediately on change and regularly every five minutes. For more information, see the FRA's press release.

Embedded GPS becomes standard feature for the MCC-545 B/C

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 16:29:37 GMT

A new 12 channel GPS receiver will now be embedded on all transceiver printed circuit board assemblies for the MCC-545B and the MCC-545C Packet Data Radios.

The new embedded GPS receiver will replace the Motorola M12+ module that was previously offered as an option only. The M12+ has been discontinued by Motorola, effective July 8, 2005.

Upon customer request, the embedded GPS can be activated through the purchase of an Activation Kit that includes enabling software, operator manual and a coaxial cable to the front panel GPS antenna connector.

The GPS receiver can be programmed to report its position at intervals from 15 seconds to 24 hours. The position report includes latitude, longitude, azimuth, elevation and speed.

MeteorComm HQ has moved! Go to our Locations page for more information.

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 12:35:04 GMT

A Positive Train Control Symposium was sponsored by NTSB in Ashburn, Virginia on March 2-3, 2005. Presentations were given by BNSF and Wabtec on ETMS.