Pentek, Inc., introduced two additions to the Talon® family of high-speed turnkey recording systems. The Model RTR 2728 rugged portable and the Model RTR 2748 rugged rackmount recorders use state-of-the-art SSD (solid state drive) storage technology to achieve aggregate recording and playback rates up to 4 GBytes per second.

As complete recording systems, these Talon recorders are ideal for recording and reproducing wideband IF signals at sample rates up to 1 GSamples/sec. Systems are built on a Windows 7 Professional workstation with an Intel Core I7 processor and provide both a GUI (graphical user interface) and API (Application Programmers Interface) to control the system. Signal analysis tools are also provided to allow the user to monitor and analyze signals prior to, during and after a recording.

According to Rodger Hosking, vice president of Pentek, "The new Talon recording systems have the ability to capture and reproduce signal bandwidths approaching 500 MHz. The recorded signals can be reproduced to replicate live sensor equipment or receivers in the field. Todays higher-precision converters require more storage for long flights or experiments. The advanced SSDs we use in our ruggedized recorders not only add capacity, but they also keep up with the very high data rates. For example, the rackmount system can record up to 5.3 hours of contiguous data without interruption. And, both recorders operate flawlessly under shock and vibration, making them ideal for severe environments."

Data files include time stamping as well as recording parameters and optional GPS information. Files are stored in the native Windows NTFS format, eliminating the need for file conversion. Files can also be transferred from the system through gigabit Ethernet, USB ports or written to optical disks using the built-in 8X double layer DVD±R/RW drive.

The recorders SSDs are configured to support numerous RAID levels giving the user many options to balance performance versus failsafe trade-offs. They are hot-swappable and can be easily removed or exchanged during or after a mission to retrieve recorded data.

Data Streaming
Both recording systems use Penteks high powered Virtex-6-based Cobalt boards that provide the data streaming engine for the high-speed A/D and D/A converters. A built-in synchronization module is provided to allow for multi-channel phase-coherent operation. The rackmount system is scalable to accommodate multiple chassis for more channels and higher aggregate data rates.

Supporting Features and Products
Pentek SystemFlow recording software features a Windows-based GUI (Graphical User Interface) that provides a simple and intuitive means to configure and control the system.