Winter weather can play havoc with antennas, which, in turn, play havoc with an Earth station's customers who are suddenly bereft of their much needed connectivity.
Walton De-Ice Plenum and heaters on FOC-15G, 18 meter antenna, Fucino. Photo is courtesy of Telespazio.
Walton De-Ice battles such conditions as a leading designer and manufacturer of satellite Earth Station Antenna (ESA) weather protection solutions. The firm has just announced that Telespazio, a Leonardo-Finmeccanica and Thales company, has upgraded their Walton’s Plenum Hot-Air De-Icing systems (Walton De-Ice Plenum, Snow Shield and Ice Quake systems) with Walton’s latest CE-approved gas heaters and control systems to help provide the highest level of uptime during winter at the Fucino Space Center. At Fucino, Telespazio will upgrade seven gateway antennas, ranging in size up to 18 meters in diameter. Telespazio joins a growing number of facilities in Europe that have recently added or upgraded Walton De-Icing systems.
To maximize energy consumption efficiency, existing customers can upgrade Walton De-Ice’s latest gas heaters. Walton’s Hot Air De-Ice systems — including the company’s unique Plenum enclosure installed on the rear of an antenna — provide the most reliable and economic antenna de-icing solutions on the market. Walton systems offer maximum flexibility with electric, natural gas, and liquid propane gas heater options. Unlike other types of heaters such as electric pad systems that can cause reflector distortion, Walton Hot Air De-Ice systems heat the entire antenna reflector uniformly, which minimizes reflector distortion that can cause signal problems, even more so at Ku-, and Ka-Band.
Walton De-Ice Plenum and heaters at Fucino Space Center. Photo is courtesy of Telespazio.
Established in 1963 for pioneering satellite telecommunications, the Fucino Space Center is the largest civil space center in the world and is active in the areas of satellite orbit control, telecommunication, television and multimedia services. A team of more than 100 specialized engineers and technicians provides Orbit Control operations including TT&C services (Telemetry, Tracking and Command) as well as the complete range of activities relating to space missions operations from launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) to post satellite operational life de-orbiting.
During the IBC 2016 trade show, September 9-13, 2016, at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam, at Stand 1.A62, W.B. Walton Enterprises (“Walton De-Ice”) will be promoting its latest in gas and electric heated hot-air Plenum systems for large antennas (3.7 to 32 meters), as well as its innovative Ice Quake, and Snow Shield solutions for 0.6 to 6.3 meter antennas.
According to Bill Walton, President of W.B. Walton Enterprises, Inc. (Walton De-Ice), these upgrades will better protect the facility's ESA signals from the effects of snow and ice.