It's time to start space tourism.

Virgin Galactic has sent the first ever tourist to a suborbital journey. Beth Moses, the head of the training department for future space travelers, had the pleasure of seeing our planet from a space perspective and experiencing the state of weightlessness.

Virgin Galactic, founded in 2004, is a part of Richard Branson's Virgin Group. In the near future, the company intends to take as many as six passengers aboard a spaceplane reaching the edge of outer space (as the internationally accepted standard, it is the height of 100 kilometers above the surface of the Earth). On the occasion of the first passenger flight, the VSS Unity aircraft reached a record height of 90 kilometers and the speed of over 3 Mach.

The first tourist flew into space with Virgin Galactic!

According to information provided by Virgin Galactic, despite the danger accompanying such pioneering flights, 700 people have already booked their tickets for a flight costing 250 thousand dollars!

Injecting CCTV signals into TV antenna systems.

Conversion of baseband audio-video (A/V) signals into radio frequency (RF) channel is called modulation. This process allows for distributing the signals coming from all kinds of sources, such as computers, DVD/Blu-ray players, security cameras etc. through antenna systems. Nowadays, the device used for this purpose (modulator) is usually equipped with HDMI input(s). The output RF signal injected into the antenna system is available in the distribution network as additional TV channel (DVB-T multiplex) that can be received by any suitable television connected to the RF network.

View of the HDMI to DVB-T R86111 encoder/modulator (RF OUT side).
The DIP switches allow the user to select a TV channel.

HDMI to DVB-T Encoder/Modulator (Full HD 1080p/60Hz) R86111 encodes and modulates Full HD (1920x1080-60p) signal provided to its HDMI input to RF signal in accordance with DVB-T standard (COFDM).
The output DVB-T multiplex contains one channel modulated by the source signal. This way the source signal from a DVR/NVR can be distributed to multiple televisions connected to the antenna system. It makes an attractive alternative to installations based on HDMI splitters and cables.

DVB-T modulators without HDCP support are much cheaper than those with HDCP support. In the case of the source signal coming e.g. from a DVR, the cheaper alternative is a reasonable choice.

What is the maximum PoC transmission range?

PoC, Power over Coax, is a power supply system used to energize HD-TVI cameras over the same coaxial cables that transmit video signals from the cameras to the DVR. This method of remote power supply eliminates the need for additional cables/wires - each camera is connected to the system via a single coax, or optionally, via (F)/UTP cable (min. cat.5e, with the use of a suitable adapter/balun). A decent transmission range is guaranteed by the application of high quality cables, such as Triset (coaxial) or Netset (twisted-pair cables). The diagram below shows the achievable transmission distances:

Attainable PoC transmission distances in the case of different standards and cables

Saving screenshots from cameras in Hikvision IP NVRs of I series.

Hikvision IP NVRS of I series, e.g. DS-7608NI-I2 K22083, can save screenshots from cameras according to a schedule or as a response to an alarm event. In each case the administrator can set the time interval between the captured screenshots from 3 seconds to 24 hours. The screenshots are based on video data provided by the secondary stream. This functionality of the NVRs can be used e.g. for documenting a building's construction progress. After setting up continuous recording throughout all days of the week, the screenshots can be captured all day round at specified intervals. It is possible to define up to 8 time periods for each day of the week and specify the mode of operation in each period (continuous, triggered by motion detection or other alarm event).

Configuration of "Capture Schedule" in the DS-7608NI-I2 K22083 NVR

An emergency mechanical splice.

Very often installers use mechanical splices in the case of fiber optic cable damage, where there is a need for cutting off the damaged cable segment and the fibers are not long enough to use conventional fusion splicing methods. In general, fusion splicing requires larger cable reserve than mechanical splicing.

View of ULTIMODE FAST-MS1 L5550 mechanical splice in the tray of the L5559 protector

The best protection of mechanical splices is provided by dedicated casings. The L5559 protector has been specially designed for the ULTIMODE FAST-MS1 mechanical splice. It is intended for mechanical splices installed on optical cables with diameters of 2-3 mm. The special construction of the cable clamps on both sides of the tray ensures that any longitudinal stress is fully transferred onto the protector, not to damage the fiber. Additionally, the 91mm long casing does not allow for bending the cable near the splice.

Another UniFi device of UAP series.

Unifi UAP-AC-LITE N2577 is an integrated solution for building WLAN / Wi-Fi networks operating in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands with the use of 802.11ac MIMO 2x2 standard. Thanks to a unique construction, the Unifi UAP offers unparalleled performance in such a compact device, data transfer rate 300 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbps in the 5 GHz band.

The UniFi UAP is an easy to use and manage Access Point. The device has an elegant look and can be mounted on a ceiling or wall using the included accessory kit. The UniFi UAP can be powered by PoE from the included AC/DC PoE adapter, or from PoE 802.3af/at port of a network switch.

A distinguishing feature of the product is advanced management through UNIFI WiFi Enterprise System. With the system, the administrator can configure and manage wireless network composed of UniFi devices directly from a web browser. The software enables the administrator to view the status of devices and operation parameters in real time. Additionally, the software also allows for import of premises maps to display the signal range of each device. The alternative for the software is the application of the UniFi CLOUD KEY UC-CK N2571 hardware controller.

Access point Ubiquiti UniFi UBNT UAP-AC-LITE-EU 802.11a/b/g/n/ac 300+867 Mb/s N2577

March 1, 2019 - SAT Kurier Award for TERRA DVB-T modulator. The winner of the SAT Kurier Awards poll in the category Best multimedia product / accessories has become TERRA MHD001P DVB-T modulator. The poll was organized by the SAT Kurier bi-monthly magazine on the occasion of the SAT KRAK trade show and conference held in the Metropolo By Golden Tulip Krakow Hotel. The voters appreciated the high quality, easy configuration, and competitive price of the product, as well as the expected long service life, supported by a 4-year warranty. The statuette was given by the organizer of the conference to Piotr Wasniowski, the Marketing and Advertising Director of DIPOL company.

What does 1080p Lite recording mode mean? Some DVRs designed for use with modern analog cameras provide 1080p Lite recording mode (common names of the mode are also 1080L or 1080N). The mode can be available both in DVRs not supporting the Full HD 1080p recording resolution and in those supporting it, but only at limited frame rate. In the 1080p Lite recording mode the surveillance video is recorded in a non-standard resolution of 960x1080 pixels at 25 fps. It is useful when the higher recording speed at the highest possible resolution (taking into account the specifications of the DVR) is the most important demand... >>>more

Comparison of the 1080 Lite and typical image resolutions used in CCTV:
1080p (1920 x 1080 px) and 720p (1280 x 720 px)

Signal Fire AI-8 fusion splicer