Barrett Communications’ 4077 high-frequency (HF) Map & Track solution provides an advanced live asset-tracking capability using a HF radio signal that is indispensable for deployed mobile teams. It allows for effective management and enhanced operations in marine and land environments.
Barrett Communications business development manager, Jason O’Keefe, explains the new 4077 HF Map and Track system. “Previous HF tracking solutions required a base station to request a GPS position and then receive this information prior to displaying the asset location. The time taken to do this limited the number of assets that could be tracked or how often a position could be updated.”
Live situational awareness for mobile assets
The Barrett 4077 HF Map & Track solution utilises a unique GPS Push function, where the asset automatically sends its GPS location to the tracking station. This greatly reduces the time to update the location and allows a greater number of assets to be tracked and/or updated of the location more regularly.
The new tracking system also enables the use of open-source downloadable maps for end users. This impacts the total cost of the system significantly. “It was identified as a key benefit by an end user in India recently,” O’Keefe notes.
The Barrett 4077 HF Map & Track features tools for monitoring mobile assets, including user-definable areas for zoning of safe regions, exclusion zones and routes. Identified data is displayed on the mapping software with overlayed coloured areas that do not compromise the display of the map, ensuring that the system is easy to operate.
“It’s useful for cordoning off areas that you don’t want vehicles or vessels to go into,” says O’Keefe. “It provides accurate data on their movements and can also provide previous routes travelled or routes travelled over an operator determined timeframe.
“You might also put a geofence around a friendly headquarters and it can notify friendly headquarters when one of their vehicles reaches an area. It’s all designed to keep field operatives safe.
Automated GPS transmission for mobile asset tracking
The Barrett 4077 HF Map & Track is designed to interface cohesively with the Barrett 4050 HF SDR transceiver, which automates GPS transmission. The GPS push feature offers automated transmission of multiple-channel encrypted GPS data, which is used to display the received position on the tracking software.
There are multiple operating scenarios for the Barrett 4077 Map & Track, with a single ‘scanning’ base station transceiver set-up, as well as a multiple receiver base station, which allows for even faster location updates.
The 4077 Map & Track has been successfully deployed for four months with an Indonesian commercial operation.
Barrett Communications offers specialist military communication equipment that can be used to provide secure connections for mobile and base teams deployed in remote locations. The company has an extensive portfolio of adaptable communications systems that are designed to enhance military and commercial operations worldwide. Solutions can be found for a range of applications, including HF and ultra-high very high frequency (UVHF) for long-range or short-range deployment.
The latest offering from the company, the PRC-4090 tactical HF software-defined radio systems radio was previewed at DSEI in London, UK, in September as an enhanced replacement for Barrett’s 2090 HF radio.
