text:
This project did not reach completion.
The TAPR Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum Radio project was moved to inactive status in the fall of 2002 for two primary reasons. First, we were faced with continuing parts obsolescence problems that resulted in continual redesign, and second, we were unable to obtain the RF design expertise needed to finalize the RF board.
You can read more about the difficult decision to discontinue efforts on the project in the Summer 2002 issue of the Packet Status Register.
The archived version of the FHSS project status page is provided below.
Initial Project Video Overview
An Amateur 900Mhz Spread-Spectrum Radio DesignPresented at the 1997 ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference, October 10-12, 1997.
Tom McDermott, N5EG
Bob Stricklin, N5BRG
Bill Reed, WD0ETZ
System design principles and high-level design details are described for a new spread-spectrum radio design for the 900 MHz. Amateur band. The radio is designed to provide a 10-base-T interface as the data port, and is designed to provide transport of IP-based data. It is planned to provide both stand-alone and fully-networked hub configurations. The design is based on Frequency-Hopped Spread Spectrum (FHSS) spreading. Use of Forward Error Correction (FEC) and QPSK modulation should provide significant system gain performance compared to other FHSS FSK designs. The radio is currently in the printed-circuit board layout stage.
Significant enhancement in the use and application of computer networking in the last 5 years has led to the need for high performance wireless interconnection of computers. Traditional 1200-baud and 9600-baud packet links are not able to provide adequate speed for today's web-based applications. Further, long-haul linking of multiple radios in linked configurations has proven difficult and unreliable. This can be seen from simple numerical analysis of the poor reliability of such multiple-hop configurations . One solution to the reliability issue is to utilize other transport facilities for most of the transmission distance, such as the Internet.
In industry, wireless is valued greatly for the ability to provide mobility. Thus, fiber optics has replaced radio in the long-haul telephony networks (for most, but not all applications), and wireless is increasingly looked upon as a replacement for the wire copper loop. This inverts the traditional view of the wired and wireless domains .
A high-speed mobile data access infrastructure to the Internet has many applications for the radio amateur, and could allow the provision of services and applications not possible with current commercial technologies. This is especially true as the Internet performance improves to support constant-bit rate multimedia services. Current audio coding technology provides quite acceptable audio at 13 kb/s. Videoconferencing is reasonably acceptable at 112 kb/s. Web browsing is possible at any speed, but only tolerable above 28 kb/s. A wireless interconnection technology that could support data rates in this range would provide the ability for the radio amateur to provide audio conferencing, via the Internet, from a mobile laptop computer to anywhere in the world in real time. Mobile laptop videoconferencing is similarly possible. Access to databases, maps, Email, etc., anywhere on the Internet in real time would make the utility of such a service very great. The radio amateur, equipped with such a capability could prove invaluable in many public-service scenarios. Indeed, the Internet not only addresses many of the problems of previous-generation packet networking, in fact it provides a powerful tool in its almost universal accessibility and rich diversity of information.
System Requirements
The design of a radio to meet the above applications is described. The general requirements are that the radio provide at least 128 kb/s throughput (more in other modes) while providing 20-mile coverage with 1-watt output power. 10-base-T was selected as the desired interface, and it is intended for connection to the LAN port of a laptop or other computer. It is envisaged that both a point-to-point configuration and a hubbed multi-point configuration would be supported. In the point-to-point configuration the radios would simply provide a transparent LAN interconnection pipe. For example, one radio might be connected to an Internet service, and located on top of a tall building, while the other end would be connected to a mobile laptop computer.
In the multi-point configuration, several radios are placed at a common site, such as a tall building. One channel becomes the control channel, and each of the remaining radios serves as a data channel. This provides for multiple users to simultaneously access the hub site. In the hub mode, all radios transmit and receive in synchronism. Additionally, good Internet connectivity might not be available at such a hub site, so individual data channels of the hub can be dedicated as fixed point-to-point links that provide a remote link to the Internet from the hub site. The radio design supports these configurations automatically with additional hardware. The control channel allocates access to idle data channels.
In the hub mode, the hub provides for dynamic assignment of IP addresses to the user computers via the DHCP protocol. This eliminates many of the difficulties of IP address administration in a mobile environment. However, it does not allow the user to move the computer from one node to another while connected. Instead the link will be broken and will have to be re-established with a new IP address.
Spreading Methods
Both Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and FHSS were studied. The Harris Prism chipset was initially investigated for such a radio. This chipset is designed to provide 802.11 wireless LAN for mobile laptop computers. However, this excellent chipset cannot easily provide the required system gain and performance required for a 20-mile link. It was intended to provide a low-cost low-power 1 Mb/s LAN interconnection primarily within a few 100's of feet. The Prism chipset utilizes DSSS modulation, and provides a spreading gain of only 12 dB. maximum, 11 dB typically. Further it is designed for the 2.4 GHz. band, which we felt would be difficult for average amateurs to equip with adequate antennas and feedline to meet the link distance requirement. We chose to implement the first radio design in the 900 MHz. Amateur band (902-928 MHz., a width of 26 MHz.) due to the availability of commercial components.
At first blush 20 dB of system gain (100:1 spreading ratio) within a 26 MHz wide band implies a maximum data rate of 26/(100*2) = 130,000 b/s. Since we also wanted the radios to operate half-duplex (to minimize cost), this maximum rate would be further reduced to 65,000 b/s. The data rate could be doubled if QPSK modulation is utilized, because it halves the spectral requirements. However, we noted in several spectrum analyzer sweeps of the 900 MHz band in Dallas, Texas that a large number of very strong narrow-band carriers are present. Testing with commercial part-15 radios indicated that these strong carriers render DSSS radios inoperative when the link distance was increased beyond one or two miles.
However, tests with FHSS radios under the same conditions proved to be more encouraging. Eventually, 20-mile links were achieved with one FHSS radio when the antennas were converted to horizontal polarization. Horizontal polarization reduced the amplitude of the interfering carriers by more than 20 dB. Thus an FHSS-based radio design was selected.
System Design Parameters
The parameters that were initially selected for the radio design are based on the availability of off-the-shelf SAW filters for the IF strip, what we felt was an achievable settling time for the frequency hopping VCO, available integrated circuits, and an aggressive but hopefully reasonable demodulator synchronization time. These parameters have been selected as follows:
Table 1 indicates the modes of operation that are anticipated.
The use of FEC and QPSK provides at least 9 dB improvement in system gain as compared to uncoded non-orthogonal Frequency-Shift Keying (FSK) which is utilized in almost all commercial part-15 radios. However, the use of coherent modulation techniques increases both the cost of the radio and the difficulty of the design. We felt the 9 dB. performance improvement made this tradeoff worthwhile. Fortunately, Harris provides a DSP-based digital Costas-loop QPSK demodulator IC (the HSP 50210) which appears to have sufficient programmability to meet the synchronization speeds provided that some clever algorithms ("quick-lock") are employed.
Two risks are felt to represent the greatest challenges in the radio design. First is the ability of the hopping VCOS to settle to adequate frequency accuracy and stability within 10 milliseconds. Second is the ability of the Digital QPSK loop demodulator to achieve synchronization lock with our special "quick-lock" technique. The prototype design will be used to assess these design risks.
Table 1 - Proposed Operational Modes:
Block Diagram
Figure 1 is a block diagram of the baseband processing, processor, and LAN Interface portions of the radio. Figure 2 is a block diagram of the RF and IF processing parts of the radio. The radio design is based on a Motorola 68360 microprocessor. It controls all major functions of the radio, and the LAN interface. A Motorola 68160 provides the 10-base-T Ethernet port. FLASH memory is utilized solely in the processor, to allow updates of the code at a later time without physically opening the radio or removing / programming any EPROMS.
Figure 1 - Block Diagram: Baseband Processing and LAN Interface
Circuit Description - Transmit Direction
The data from the LAN port is buffered by the 68360 and converted to a proprietary frame format based on HDLC and then sent to a Qualcomm convolutional coder IC. In modes 0 and 1, the coder produces two output bits for each input bit (rate = 1/2 mode). In mode 2, the code is punctured to rate = 7/8. These two bits become the in-phase (I-) and quadrature (Q-) channels to a Motorola QPSK modulator IC. The modulator IC provides raised-cosine roll-off at baseband of the two channels via an FIR filter. It also contains two D-to-A converters, and thus provides the I- and Q- analog baseband output signals.
The two baseband analog signal are connected to a Harris quadrature up-converter IC that generates I- and Q- signals at the IF frequency of 85.35 MHz. These signals are then further upconverted to the 902 MHz band, and filtered by a dielectric filter to eliminate the IF image frequency. It is then amplified by a Motorola integrated PA chip to about 100 milliwatts. The signal is routed through a PIN diode switch and through a pair of directional couplers to the antenna connector. The directional coupler signals are rectified and filtered, and fed to an A-to-D converter chip. These signals provide measurement of the forward and reflected power levels.
Figure 2 - Block Diagram: RF and IF processing
Circuit Description - Receive Direction
In the receive direction, the signals are passed through a dielectric filter (to eliminate the image frequency) and then to a Motorola low-noise downconverter IC. From there they pass through an 85.5 MHz, 600 kHz wide SAW filter and an amplifier. At that point, they are sent to a Harris downconverter IC which provides a large amount of gain through a two-stage limiter, and then downconverts the signal to baseband, producing the I- and Q- baseband analog signals. These signals are then digitized by a pair of 10-bit A-to-D converters, and sent to the Harris digital Costas-loop demodulator IC.
The demodulator IC first performs a complex frequency rotation to adjust for any frequency offset and phase error between the transmitter and receiver, then provides symbol timing and carrier frequency acquisition and tracking. Finally it provides AGC on the demodulated baseband signals, and performs a soft-decision threshold comparison of the I- and Q- channels against the reference level. These are in the form of two 3-bit words, one for the I-channel, and one for the Q-channel.
The pair of I- and Q- soft decision signals are sent to the Qualcomm Viterbi decoder IC. Is it capable of determining the synchronization boundary of the QPSK symbols, and decoding the FEC algorithm. The decoded bits (at one half the rate of the input bits in modes 0 and 1) are then sent to the HDLC portion of the Motorola 68360. The microprocessor recovers and removes the HDLC frame, and transmits the received data out the 10-base-T LAN port via the 68160.
Hopping VCOS
The design utilizes two VCOS in a pair of phase-locked loops (PLLS). While one loop is operational on frequency, the other loop is busy slewing to a new frequency. At the end of each 10-millisecond period, the new VCO becomes the active VCO and the previously active VCO is slewed to another channel. In this manner, each VCO plays leapfrog, being utilized half the time. This allows each phase locked loop 10 milliseconds to achieve satisfactory frequency accuracy before it is switched into service.
All of the RF-determining reference frequencies are derived from a single crystal-controlled oscillator. This oscillator is ovenized to minimize its error from the desired frequency during temperature excursions.
The actual programming of the VCO PLLS occurs by a small PIC chip (one-time programmable single chip processor). This chip contains the hopping sequence of the radios, and cannot be altered by the user. United States Department of Commerce regulations prohibit the export of FHSS radios from the United States if the hopping sequence can be altered by the user.
The most difficult part of any design is the synchronization of the transmitter and receiver, both in terms of the Transmit / Receive switching (T/R) and also in terms of carrier frequency acquisition. An initial synchronization interval occurs prior to the radios becoming linked. This takes some time to occur. The demodulator utilizes a sweeping process to recover carrier lock. However once this is achieved, the microprocessor is capable of reading out the frequency error at the receiver demodulator from the acquisition register in the demodulator. Based on the actual RF channel utilized during the initial synchronization, it computes the master-oscillator frequency difference between the transmitter and receiver. Subsequently, each time that the radio hops channels, the microprocessor computes the new effective frequency difference, and pre-loads the demodulator carrier recovery loop register with the proper frequency offset value to place the recovered carrier very close to the proper frequency. This helps the demodulator lock very quickly. This is the "quick-lock" technique referred to earlier.
We would like to thank the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR), which is sponsoring this project.
Copyright 1997 TAPR.
Project Status Archives
January 2001
News from the Conference Call January 28, 2001
Digital Board Status:
After much Head scratching, software massaging and hardware hammering the crew reports that it is finally starting to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. To this date they have the following accomplished:
Ethernet interface is working.
The Serial interface is working.
Download of FPGA appears good.
The SDSI version 7.4 tools have their problems fixed and are working.
HTTP server is functioning properly.
Items that need to be tested and hammered out include:
The total DC current draw of the operating board.
Fully wring out the FPGA.
Check out the D-A converter base-band data output
Check out the A-D converter base-band data input.
Run the Harris demodulator through its' paces.
Check out the two screen shots that Tom McDermott has provided to get a preview of what things will look like.
(Click on figures for larger view)
There have been many software fixes and programming changes made by Tom in this endeavor as well as the hardware hacking. It looks like it is now coming to fruition though with this progress report.
RF Board Status:
The crew reports that the Transmitter is getting good signals to the RF PA at this point but the output of the PA is only +15dbm instead of the +30dbm that it should be. One theory for this is that perhaps there is something wrong with the output-matching network. It was also learned that the RF T/R switch is showing in excess of a 10db loss on TX. The RF low-pass filter is showing the same problem on transmit, but on receive has a very small amount of loss.
The receive LNA has no gain showing, but on the bright side it is showing no loss either. That is about a 15db problem. Educated guesses point to the matching network on the output again for this problem.
The Mixer/down-converter is not producing an 85 MHz IF output. The LO signals are good, The RF signals are low due to the LNA problem mentioned earlier.
One other bright picture here is that the TX I/Q modulator has vary good carrier balance without null adjustment, running better than the -70 dBC measurement limit.
July 2000
In general, progress is being made. Testing continues on the RF board with good results and testing begins on the digital board.
A telephone conference call was made Sunday evening, July 16, 2000
Dave Cummings
Steve Ludvik
Tom McDermott
Fred Peerenboom
John Schroeder
Bob Stricklin
Participants were:
A lively discussion took place about the following items.
Steve L will email copies of the schematics of the boards (as-built) in PDF form to project participants.
Steve L will email copies of the RF board layouts (in Cadence-Allegro format) and copies of the Digital board layouts in (Mentor-EDA-Connect format) to project participants. Dave C will print B-size drawings of both of the layouts and send them to Bob S, Tom M and John S.
Bob S reported the RF boards appear to be working. He had to make some component value changes and worked on the PIC code to accomplish this. He also added some LED functions to the PIC code to track program progress. He reports the code is now revision 0.10 and will send a copy to Steve Bible when he gets at least 3 frequencies working on the RF boards.
The first project that Bob S and Tom M are independently working on is to get the BDM (Background Debugging Mode) device operational. Then they will tackle getting the memory working. They report the memory SIMMS on the new boards are 16 Meg.
UPDATE: On July 26, 2000 Tom M reports that getting the BDM working is a bit more of a struggle than anticipated. He has downloaded and installed the MacGreigor software in addition the SDSI software, but both lads fail to bring up the BDM successfully. His work is focused on Verifying proper BDM signals, pull-ups, AC termination of the clocks, proper pin-out of the BDM and other items that can lead to premature baldness. We all know from past history that this is a tough problem. Once solved, however, rapid progress is usually made.
In general progress is being made. Fred P will call everyone in about two weeks to verify that all have received the schematics and board layout files from Steve L. At that time he will also check on the progress that each is making with their part of the project.
January 2000
Overall the project proceeds well. We had hoped to have the current version of the RF Board in alpha testing before January 1st, but with the additional changes in parts on board (to help with fabrication later in the process) the RF board alpha sliped into first quarter 2000. Once the final review of the new layout is complete, the process of board production and then fabriation to get us to testing should be quick. When the RF board goes into fabrication the digital board will be starting into the layout process at the new production house. This will allow the digital board to come out about the time we have the RF board testing completed. This is the plan for now.
A digital board design review was held January 1st, 2000 in Dallas, Texas.
- Greg Jones
- Steve Bible (Conference Call)
- John Schoreder
- Bob Stricklin
- John Koster
Attending the meeting:
1. PIC Code The meeting started with a conference call made to Steve Bible regarding the current status of the PIC chip for the RF board. Steve reports that his is about completed with the programming, but requested some additional information in order to complete the project. Discussion covered the table look up issues and we would send the information regarding the double indexed look up table as soon as possible. Steve feels he will be ready when the RF boards are available for testing.Summary
2. PIC and RF Testing The group discussed testing of the RF board and PIC chip. John S will post information that was discussed on testing the RF board. The group agreed that the most effective way would be to lift two pins on the PIC chip and connect a Max232 interface board to allow a program to simulate the SPI calls that the controller board would provide.
3. Digital Board Schematic Review The digital schematic was reviewed. The group proceeded to move through the list of issues to be covered on the digital board. A lot of the changes took place on the new circuits required to support the new Lvl1 Ethernet interface chip we are changing to. Changes made as a result of the meeting where made at the time and reviewed by the group. It helped doing this meeting at Bob's house so he could pull up the necessary files for review and change. Action items reflect the additional changes or information needed. Once these items are provided and solved we should be able to send the schematic capture to Steve L for layout to begin.
4. RF Board Steve L will be sending the cadence files to David C and John S for final review before the next board run/fab takes place. John S requested further information from Steve L regarding the state of the RF boards that will be delivered for testing, so that he and David could begin to develop necessary test equipment interfaces.
Overall the project proceeds well. We had hoped to have the current version of the RF Board in alpha testing before January 1st, but with the additional changes in parts on board (to help with fabrication later in the process) the RF board alpha slipped into first quarter 2000. Once the final review of the new layout is complete, the process of board production and then fabrication to get us to testing should be quick. When the RF board goes into fabrication the digital board will be starting into the layout process at the production house. This will allow the digital board to come out about the time we have the RF board testing completed. This is the plan for now.
October 1999
TAPR has signed an agreement with the Dandin Group to take the TAPR design from its current state into production which TAPR has access to production for sale back into the amateur radio community. This is an agreement we have been working on for several months. The bringing together of TAPR's and Dandin's capabilities will help the speed of the project tremendously. We will be reporting more information in the next PSR about the progress of development.
There was a RF Board design review held October 15th, 1999.
The Dandin and TAPR groups meet Sunday, October 3rd, in Dallas, Texas to hold the RF design review and move the RF design from TAPR into Dandin.
- Greg Jones, TAPR
- Tom McDermott, TAPR
- Steve Bible, TAPR
- Steve Ludvik, Dandin
- David Cummings, TAPR
- John Schoreder, TAPR
- Bob Stricklin, TAPR
- John Koster, TAPR
Attending the meeting:
Steve L (of Dandin) will be keeping the master schematic changes during the meeting with Tom M keeping the secondary notes. These will be checked against each other once the updated schematics are available.
Functional Review
Tom went through the functional and operational design of the project. Steve L had brought his block diagram of the design and the group used this as a tool to follow the discussion and resolve identification of blocks to overall operations within the radio.
The group resolved interface issues and assigned/changed interface specs to reflect current state of development. Further resolution on the interface was made later during the schematic review. These interfaces are noted on the master schematic.
The group resolved for the prototype run the connector issues. Later in the meeting the master connector was broken into two connectors (Analog and Digital). These changes are noted on the master schematic.
Layout and Physical Issues
The group discussed the layout and physical issues of the design. Steve L showed one of his examples of RF packaging. It was agreed later in the meeting that the current foot print would be kept during the layout of the board, but if the design allowed shrinkage Dandin would shrink the layout on the current size board (i.e. more blank board area that can be removed later).
Schematic Review
The group did a component by component review of the design. Several changes and corrections were made to the master schematic as the group discussed the current design. Several actions items were produced during this review (see below)
The group discussed the PIC controller on the RF Board. Steve Bible, who will be taking on the PIC programming, reviewed the PIC device and the group reviewed and made changes to the schematic in order for the design to work properly with the PIC selected. The group reviewed the operational working of the PIC with the overall design.
Other Issues
The group needs to develop a Test plan for when the prototypes arrive. Individuals will post their thoughts to the list on this subject and we will develop a test plan in the coming month.
The power supply or the location of a contract mfg for the power supply is an open item.
TAPR will be ready to hand off the Digital Board to Dandin in November sometime.
I want to thank everyone that attended the RF board review for making it such a successful meeting. The goals of 1. attain closure on key issues regarding the RF board, 2. be able to allow Dandin to take over RF layout, 3. gain clear understanding of goals for the next 2-4 months, and 4. increase the communications between the two groups and the participant members were all achieved.
The TAPR FHSS Project Team. (L-R) Bob Stricklin, John Schoreder, David Cummings, Steve Bible, Tom McDermott, and Greg Jones.
Steve Bible, Tom McDermott, and David Cummings reviewing issues regarding the PIC processor on the RF Board.
Steve Ludvik, of the Dandin Group, working on a circuit analysis with Bob Stricklin and Tom McDermott.
The RF and Digital Boards.
August 1999
To update the status of the TAPR FHSS radio project: we brought on two additional members to the design team a few months ago, John Schroeder, K5ZMJ, and David Cummings, WA5TET. John and David have been working on revising the RF board. We found that due to a miscommunication with our board shop, that the dielectric thickness between the board core and the outer signal layers was only 7.5 mils, instead of the expected 25 mils. This lowered the effective impedance of the 50-ohm microstrip lines down to 21 ohms, which has caused problems with the RF signal levels. Additionally, several of the RF components that we used on the original layout of the RF board have since been discontinued. So John and David are redesigning the RF board to eliminate those parts, and substitute them for more general-purpose parts that we hope will have a longer production lifetime.
A more difficult part cancellation was that of the Motorola MC145750 QPSK modulator component. This part provided a number of functions in a single, compact IC. Unfortunately only having available limited documentation we were not able to get the phase-locked loop on it to operate. This, coupled along with it's production cancellation has forced us into a difficult redesign. Several years ago this type of redesign would have been virtually impossible for us to cope with, but thanks to improving FPGA technology, we are going to implement the baseband FIR filters for the modulator in a Xilinx FPGA (Field programmable Gate Array) component. One of the great difficulties with high-speed digital data radios is implementing the modulation filters. We need a large number of taps with a significant amount of precision of the coefficient values. The processing requirements (high data rate, lots of taps) places the computational load beyond what almost any general-purpose software-programmable DSP chips is able to accomplish. Fortunately, Xilinx has released a 'core' generator for their FPGA parts which implement in bit-serial arithmetic symmetric and non-symmetric FIR (Finite Impulse Response) digital filters. Our computation shows that they will be just fast enough to implement our modem filters. These filters will provide square-root of raised-cosine shaping to the transmit baseband I- and Q- channels. This logic will be added to new logic we have to generate for differentially-coding and word-formatting the QPSK symbols. Previously, we had also implemented the symbol-timing recovery logic in a small FPGA for the Harris QPSK demodulator, so we can put all of these different logic functions into a single Xilinx device.
Current estimates are that it will take about 40,000 gates of logic to fit all of this into a single FPGA. We've identified the proper parts, and the costs are within the design tolerance. Fortunately, the part comes in a 100-pin quad leaded flat pack that is amazingly small, so Bob Stricklin, N5BRG is confident he can fit it and a new dual D/A converter all onto the existing digital board. The D/A converter is from Analog Devices - it provides 2x interpolation of the signals which reduces the demands on the reconstruction filters after the analog output port. All the parts are surface-mount, and the FPGA has small lead spacing (about 20 mils) like the Motorola processor part (get out your microscope to probe these parts!).
All of these changes will result in the interface between the digital and analog radio boards being changed to baseband I- and Q- in both the transmit and receive directions. One benefit of doing this is that we will be able to test many of the receiver functions of the digital board by looping back the transmit signals to the receive signals. It also removes all of the digital baseband processing form the RF board - so hopefully the RF board will be easier to port to new frequencies in the future.
We now have design kits for the Xilinx components, and have begun coding and testing the logic. The Xilinx parts contain internal RAM to implement the logic configuration of the gates. Normally, a serial FLASH prom is used on the PC board to load the Xilinx part with it's logic functionality. We are instead going to implement a loader in the 68360 microprocessor. This will allow us to put all of the logic for the part into the software configuration of the radio, and alter the actual logic in the part with updates to the software, only. The code will be in the microprocessor's FLASH memory, and the processor will download the FPGA during the boot-up time.
Unfortunately, all of this redesign and component substitution has of course delayed the project. Our hope is that by beefing up the design staff we can put the RF and baseband design efforts in parallel, and keep things moving. One lesson learned is that ham radio projects now have to be finished within the production lifetime of the components used on the project - and those times are shrinking FAST!
April 1999
The team has found and fixed about four bugs in the radio transmitter section and are now getting about 35 milliwatts output power at 915 MHz (should be 100 mW, but this is only 5 dB. away). Bob Stricklin, N5BRG, needs to get the -5v supply working before we can test the T/R switch and see how much of this gets to the antenna connector.
This development will allow signal tracing back down the receiver path on the radio. 35 mW on the transmit board provides a strong signal on the receiver for troubleshooting.
Tom McDermott is experimenting with two different acquisition algorithms and derived the analytic performance of one of them. He will continue to run simulation determining which acquisition algorithm we will want to try to use in the first radio.
March 1999
During the TPRS Fall Digital Symposium, held in Austin on December 12th there was a lot of discussion about connecting radios to Internet Service Providers, based on actual experiences reported first hand. Joe Borovetz, WA5VMS's, experiences in working with his ISP and past discussion at conferences makes it seem that the first level of networking of the radio should be basic LAN bridging. This would be easier to setup and configure than routing in the early stages of deployment, where a city will have a handfull of radios to begin with.
As a result, we have modified the XINU stack on the radio to incorporate a 6-port software Ethernet switch between the TCP/IP stack and the Ethernet interface. This switch interfaces at the Ethernet-frame level (layer 2) between the radio stack and the 10-base-T port on the TAPR radio. It is an Ethernet learning-bridge, and appears to be compliant with IEEE 802.1D specification for learning bridges.
This required modification of some of the modules in XINU, and the inclusion of several new modules dealing with layer 2 switching. This has been completed and tested (as much as we can without the radio link). The stack and the 10-base-T ports have been verified to operate properly through the switch.
The learning bridge provides some intelligence so that LAN bridges will not forward unnecessary LAN traffic across the radio link, while still allowing transparency in the LAN bridging for ARP and other broadcast protocols. Additionally, the switch allows the stack on one radio to talk to the stack on another radio. This allows configuration and status control of a stack from both the near and far ends of a radio link.
The solution that has been implemented results in a radio with one IP address (the on-board stack) and one Ethernet address (the 10-base-T port). The radio link shares the Ethernet address from the 10-base-T port so that the bridging tables on the two radio will properly synchronize automatically. The layer-2 switching function assures optimum usage of the bandwidth on all three ports: radio, stack, and 10-base-T. Discussion with some of the hams at the meeting who work at Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet Network Access Providers (NAPs) indicates that this solution should work well with minimized setup difficulties.
December 1998
Project Meeting
The development group meet for a social/review meeting on November 28th,
1998. The goal of the meeting was to have some food and discuss the
As of the meeting, the RF board is transmitting a QPSK modulated signal on a single frequency of 913MHz. Basic functionality has been demonstrated; however, there's a lot more to test on the TX side of the design. There has been really good progress made in a short period of time. This was a major milestone reached. Work will start to check out the receiver when the transmitter is a little further along. This testing will be more difficult but since a lot of the circuitry is common there is less to check out. A second unit will have to be completed, including known modifications to the PCB, for this testing.
The digital board CPU, network interface and the Qualcomm forward error correcting (FEC) chip Q1900 is working. We are also able to communicate with the QPSK decoder registers. Initial testing indicated that a more elaborate PLD solution would be required to support the high speed phase adjustments and to support the odd clocking required for FEC. A design is completed and ready for test and debug. A small PCB will be built to test this before we make another pass at the digital PCB. The group has discovered that high-speed phase adjustment is needed for Harris QPSK demodulator. The PLD has some 350-500 gates of logic.
The group has been very happy with the performance of the Qualcomm part. Thanks to Frank Anontio, N6NKF, for his assistance in getting us the samples we require for the project.
The Software/Firmware is in place to handle the key networking interface and to continue radio testing. Current plan is to use an HTTP interface to control and test the radio functions. A PC based tool to interface with the radio using UDP packets also works. The httpd software on the radio is working and the radios basic parameters can be accessed via a web page and reconfigured.
Also, the group has decided to use a Dallas Semiconductor Button part in the project. The "button" is a two wire interface which provides a registered MAU ethernet address for the radio.
The function of the hardware and software is so complex that each small section of the radio must be proven before we can move on to the next issue.
The projects moves forward, but as each small step is taken we can see just how much more work will be required before we have a fully functioning high-speed radio available.
Until the next report.
Status update for the FHSS radio project.
- The SPI driver is written and working. The protocol module for the interface to the PLD is written, but cannot be tested until the PLD is ready, and that's a ways down the road.
- HTTP/1.0 daemon is written, and code to send/receive HTML files is working. This allows using a web-browser to read the configuration from the kernel, and updating some of the parameters. The final parameter save portion is just stubbed off right now until we settle how they are stored and configured in memory. But can demo the operation from a browser and it looks nice.
- Further testing of the Ethernet performance occurring. Getting started writing a layer-2 demultiplexer in the TCP/IP stack. The current XINU stack only performs layer-3 routing, and has no layer-2 functionality. This will then feed some new software that does segmentation of the ethernet frame to fit into the radio's 10 millisecond transmit periods, and then encapsulate it with the radio link protocol. Layer-2 demultiplexing will probably require some frame cloning on ethernet packets containing broadcast addresses (sending the copy to layer-3).
November 1998
The Digital Board is fully operational with the OS and Stack. The project team has gotten the Qualcomm Q1900 convolutional coder/decoder (Viterbi decoder algorithm) working. The team is now ready to move on to sending coded I+Q data to the QPSK modulator on the RF board.
Below is the status since June. Sorry for the delay in this update.
Tom McDermott, N5EG, presented a status report at the 1998 ARRL and TAPR DCC. The audio and overheads can be reviewed.
The project team has gotten the Qualcomm Q1900 convolutional coder/decoder (Viterbi decoder algorithm) working on the FHSS board. They are now able to send HDLC packets from the 68360 to the Q1900, loop them around with a couple of wires and accurately decode them with the Q1900. They then can send them to the HDLC receiver on the 68360 and successfully receive the frames. This means that the register and HDLC driver code is working, and the clock, data, timing and signals into and out of the Q1900 are functional. The spec sheet for the Q1900 leaves a lot to be desired in the timing department - basically they ended up measuring all the signals with a scope to figure out what it is doing.
The digital board still needs to have the Harris DSP and the 2 A/D's checked out, but most of the digital board is now working properly. The team is now ready to move on to sending coded I+Q data to the QPSK modulator on the RF board. Bob Stricklin, N5BRG, has been working on that board, and is checking out some undocumented operational aspects of the Motorola part (like how it syncs the I/Q line).
The goals for the short term include:
- Install the Qualcomm and Harris parts on the digital board being tested. Write access routines in C to talk to the registers on both parts. These routines handle the strange way the Harris part communicates and handles the addressing offset to the registers. The Harris stuff is working, but the team hasn't tested the Qualcomm stuff yet, but it should be easier to do I/O than the Harris stuff, by far!
- Install a Dallas Semiconductor DS2401 electronic serial number chip on the board being tested. This uses PB4 to communicate to the processor. Have C code working to pull the 48-bit serial number out of the part. This will become the Ethernet MAC address for the board. Will code it so that if the DS2401 cannot be read for some reason, that a default MAC address will be utilized from the conf.h file, and an error message will be dumped on the console.
- Add the code to the 22V10 to do the decoding of chip-select and Read/Write for the Harris part, and the clocking for the Qualcomm part. Bob has installed a harness on it so that it can be reprogrammed right on the board. Really slick, Bob!
- Complete the port from our current XINU 7.2.2 to version 7.9.
- Program the HDLC serial channel on the 68360 to talk to the Qualcomm chip.
As reported in the last report, the VCOs are operational on the RF board. Now that the major elements of the digital board are completed, the team is not focusing on the RF side of the project. Getting the OS and stacking running before the 1998 DCC was a major achievement.
Some of the goals regarding the CPU board include:
- CPU operational test, register verification (Complete Jan 98)
- verify BDM working (Complete Jan 98)
- RAM + FLASH testing (Complete Feb 98)
- Ethernet I/F working
- Develop stack running (Complete Aug 98)
- exchanges ethernet packets
- 360 register I/O code
- PC display / control of 360 registers
- PC display / control of VLSI registers
- Write PIC & 360 code, use simple stack to verify: (Under Test)
- all VLSI registers can be read/written
- (HARRIS, QUALCOMM, etc.)
- 360 can talk to/from PIC
- 360 can read/write packets via Ethernet I/F
- 360 can talk on HDLC to Viterbi chip for data
- Modify PCB artwork and rebuild CPU board (Complete Aug 98)
The VCOs are now operational on the RF board and further testing of each section is underway. Some of the goals regarding the RF board include:
- Verify VCO spectral characteristics (Complete Jan 98)
- Put Motorola QPSK encoder on board, drive from PIC (Under Test)
- Add HARRIS 3724 Mod/Demod, test (Under Test)
- Add Tx mixer, Tx PA, T/R switch
- Add Rx down converter, IF post amp
- Loopback testing
- Turn RF board artwork
Here are a few images taken during the two meetings. Click on the photos to see the larger version
A photo of the CPU board Rev 2. CPU is operational. RAM (72 pin SIMM top). Flash (two chips in center). The CPU board is operational with both the OS and TCP/Ip Stack working on it!
A photo of the RF board Rev 1.
The RF and Digital boards connected. The BDM debug interface is seen in the upper right corner.
June 1998
The kernel for the radio is ported and is being debugged. The hardware problem still exists with getting the Ethernet port to work correctly, but the teams feels that the next alpha run of the digital board will clear that problem up. The emphasis in the last 3 months has been on the digital board and kernel, thus the RF board has not changed status -- operational at baseband.
Project Meeting
The following people were present:
- CPU operational test, register verification (Complete)
- verify BDM working (Complete)
- RAM + FLASH testing (Complete)
- Ethernet I/F working (Partial)
- Modify PCB artwork and rebuild CPU board (Begun)
- exchanges ethernet packets
- 360 register I/O code
- PC display / control of 360 registers
- PC display / control of VLSI registers
- all VLSI registers can be read/written
- (HARRIS, QUALCOMM, etc.)
- 360 can talk to/from PIC
- 360 can read/write packets via Ethernet I/F
- 360 can talk on HDLC to Viterbi chip for data
- Verify VCO spectral characteristics (Complete)
- Put Motorola QPSK encoder on board, drive from PIC ((temporary data))
- Add HARRIS 3724 Mod/Demod, test
- Add Tx mixer, Tx PA, T/R switch
- Add Rx down converter, IF post amp
- Loopback testing
- Turn RF board artwork
Greg Jones, WD5IVD
Bob Stricklin, N5BRG
Tom McDermott, N5EG
Bill Reed, WD0ETZ
John Koster, W9DDD
The development group meet for a design review meeting on June 28th, 1998. The goal of the meeting was to set goals for the upcoming 6-8 months and review past progress.
As of the meeting, the digital board is about to be put into a second revision to eliminate the errors in the first board. Most of the digital board is fully tested, except for the ethernet interface. The interface shows intermittents during testing and the group feels that the cleaned up board should eliminate the problem.
The basic kernel is operational on the board, with the exception of the Ethernet driver module. The serial, timer, and several other modules have had to be rewritten from the ground up. It is expected the the ethernet driver may take 2 months to fully rewrite and get functional, since the manner in which the kernel handles the buffers might have to be optimized for our processor. As was discussed last issue, we have acquired a copy of XINU (a preemptive multitasking, prioritized scheduler) and a full-blown TCP/IP stack based on the design in the books by Doug Comer. We have to change the assembly modules, and port the code over from a SUN 3 workstation to the 68360 design. The total RTOS/STACK design is 630 different software code modules! Once the kernel/stack is operation, then we actually have to write the radio code. The Software Development Systems Inc (SDS) development tools have worked out very good. The tools include a Crosscode complier suite and singlestep on chip debugger.
Some of the major goals achived in the last 6 months include:
Some of the future goals regarding the CPU board include:
Develop simple stack running (Partial on commerical board)
As reported in the last report, the VCOs are operational on the RF board. Further testing of the RF board has been delayed while the group has focused on the digital board The purpose being to get the digital board going so that more software people can be brough onboard to help, while the RF board gets worked on. Some of the goals regarding the RF board still include:
Until the next report.
March 1998
Agreement reached with Software Development Systems (SDS) to provide development tools to TAPR at a reducded price.
The project team has decided to do all development around XINU, since the full source is freely available and meets the needs of the project. As of this writing, the software group has ported the code to the CPU board and is currently testing and debugging.
January 1998
Meeting to discuss short term goals and overall strategy for next 6-8 months. CPU operational as of this meeting and memory under test. RF board being brought up one section at a time. VCOs operating as modled.
Project Meeting
The following people were present:
- CPU operational test, register verification (Complete Jan 98)
- verify BDM working (Complete Jan 98)
- RAM + FLASH testing (Complete Feb 98)
- Ethernet I/F working
- Develop simple stack running
- exchanges ethernet packets
- 360 register I/O code
- PC display / control of 360 registers
- PC display / control of VLSI registers
- Write PIC & 360 code, use simple stack to verify:
- all VLSI registers can be read/written
- (HARRIS, QUALCOMM, etc.)
- 360 can talk to/from PIC
- 360 can read/write packets via Ethernet I/F
- 360 can talk on HDLC to Viterbi chip for data
- Modify PCB artwork and rebuild CPU board
- Verify VCO spectral characteristics (Complete Jan 98)
- Put Motorola QPSK encoder on board, drive from PIC (temporary data)
- Add HARRIS 3724 Mod/Demod, test (temporary data)
- Add Tx mixer, Tx PA, T/R switch
- Add Rx down converter, IF post amp
- Loopback testing
- Turn RF board artwork
Greg Jones, WD5IVD
Bob Stricklin, N5BRG
Tom McDermott, N5EG
Bill Reed, WD0ETZ
John Koster, W9DDD
Frank Perkins, WB5IPM
Lon Cecil, WB5PKJ
The development group meet for two in-depth design and review meetings on January 2nd and 3rd, 1998. The goal of the meeting was to set goals for the upcoming 6-8 months. You can see some photos from the meeting at http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/taprfhss.html.
As of the meeting, the digital board is coming to life with the CPU starting to function. The Flash memory and RAM are now being tested. Then the network interface will be checked out. When this is done code development for the radio can really get underway. Initial code development and testing with the Motorola MC68360 will be done with a the simple 8 pin BDM. interface described in the Motorola literature. At this time we do not have access to the more expensive tools which would reduce development time. Real progress on the project is visible with major sections of the RF board functioning and the CPU operational on the digital board.
Some of the goals regarding the CPU board include:
The VCOs are now operational on the RF board and further testing of each section is underway. Some of the goals regarding the RF board include:
There has been a lot of discussion regarding development environment. In the short term, the group can use existing public domain development tools for the initial tests, but a more substantial complier, assembler, linker will be required past the initial testing. Several packages are being examined with diab??? being a leading choice.
Some of the goals in the development environment tools area are to ensure the requirements list is meet for the selected items: Assembler C compiler (C++ preferred) with assembly source output capability, viewable as text Linker for multiple C++/Asm modules Symbolic Debugger (C++) Means for debugger to interact with target proc. (most likely BDM Interface) Runs on PC platform Identify Vendor, Ident configuration for above requirements Price the package, secure funding
Several people have inquired about what software will be developed. While the team is continuing to discuss this, no decision has to be made until we get past many of the initial issues of getting the radio operational. A first thing to work on will be the selection or the development of the kernel and an OS for the CPU, in order to help programming past the initial test phase. An important issue is to select something that will allow others interested in developing code the ability to do something. The team has examined several stacks and kernels and is currently looking seriously at XINU as the environment for the radio.
Here are a few images taken during the two meetings. Click on the photos to see the larger version
Spectrum Analyzer showing one VCO in a test transmit. The RF board is attached on the right side. The VCO is outputting a single constant frequency, about 1.022 Ghz. The VCO's hop in about 6 milliseconds, but are held at a constant frequency for this display. The RF board has two VCO's, PLL circuits, TCXO, and buffers installed. The RF mod/demod, and other parts are not yet installed.
Close up of RF board attached to spectrum analyzer.
Closeup of high resolution spectral analysis of the VCO output. Vertical is 10 db/div. This shows phase noise of LO is reasonably near the expected value. The VCO is not hopping for this test. The reference-frequency sidebands can not be seen in this photo, but they are about -60 dBc (the reference frequency for the PLL is about 100 khz.).
A photo of the CPU board. The CPU (right) is operational and the RAM (72 pin SIMM top) and Flash (two chips in center) are being debugged and tested. The cable is connected to the BDM interface which is used for testing and development of the board.
Bob Stricklin, N5BRG and Bill Reed, WD0ETZ.
Tom McDermott, N5EG (top), showing Frank Perkins, WB5IPM (bottom), the testing of the VCO on the spectrum analyzer.
Tom McDermott, N5EG, and John Koster, W9DDD.
Lon Cecil, WB5PKJ, and Frank Perkins, WB5IPM.
September/October 1997
Alpha boards arrive from board house. Task of testing boards and design begins. Project review and check by TAPR project liasion. All go to run first boards.
- An Amateur 900Mhz Spread-Spectrum Radio Design paper presented at 1997 ARRL and TAPR DCC
Video of Alpha Boards (Nov 11, 1997) (QuickTime, 13.2M, 8mins)
Comments concerning project from Bob Stricklin, N5BRG (Nov 11, 1997) (QuickTime, 13.2M, 8mins)
March 1997
Formal proposal made to TAPR and accepted by TAPR board. First round project funding approved and project team begins board design and layout.
January 1997
Project team informally begins to work on a FHSS radio design.


text:
Carving Station
Adding a carving station can addYou can enhance the visual appeal of any buffet with the addition of one of these stations. Not only do they allow you to offer freshly-carved meat to your patrons, they also provide an attractive presentation that highlights your food. Sliced meat that has to sit in a warmer for long periods of time can dry out and lose its flavor. These stations offer freshness with an added visual benefit and customized experience many customers enjoy. More

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Dear visitor, welcome to SPRINKLER TALK FORUM - You Got Questions, We've Got Answers. If this is your first visit here, please read the Help. It explains how this page works. You must be registered before you can use all the page's features. Please use the registration form, to register here or read more information about the registration process. If you are already registered, please login here.
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text:
Study Abroad and Exchange at University of Wollongong
The University's Study Abroad and Exchange Programs allows UOW students to enrich their educational experience with study in another country. The programs are underpinned by formal exchange agreements with more than 180 universities across the globe, and funding support from both University and government sources.
Study Abroad
Student Exchange & Study Overseas
At the Wollongong campus, the Office of Global Student Mobility offers a suite of study abroad and exchange programs including:
- Semester or year-long student exchange and study abroad programs
- Short courses, Study tours, Faculty-led programs, Internships and Practicum placements
- Visiting Research Program


text:
The golfers competing in the final round of the 2013 Cleveland County Amateur Tournament Championship Sunday may have thought their were in an episode of the Twilight Zone.
Yet it wasn�t because of the difficult rough at the Cleveland Country Club that kept scores high with only two players matching par 72 on the day.
No, the field had to think it was in a repeat episode. That�s because in every competitive division, the winners were the same as 12 months ago.
Jody Clary staked claim to the Richard Shelton Memorial Championship Trophy for the second straight year, and third time overall, with a six-stroke win.
In the Seniors Division (ages 55-and-up), Gary Howze captured the Stan Sherman/Lefty Blanton Trophy just as he did in 2012.
In another historical reprise, Richard Gold took home the Jake Kiser Memorial Trophy in the SuperSeniors Division ages 65-and-up) for the second time in succession.
If the repeat trend wasn�t already obvious, the Deer Brook representatives won the Dan Allen Cup team championship just as they did 365 days ago.
Clary, who owned a two-shot lead heading into the final round, matched par and finished at four-under 212. That was six shots ahead of second place Tommy Gales (218) who, you guessed it, was the runner-up for a second straight year.
Jeff Janda was in third place at 222 with Jerry Austin fourth at 224 and Josh Etters in fifth at 225.
Rounding out the top 10 were Spencer Jones (226), the only other golfer to match par on the day, followed by a three-way tie for seventh place at 228 between Colonel Hopper, Brad Myers and Eric Spicer. Alex Anderson was in 10th place at 230.
In the Seniors Division, Howze�s 84-77-75 effort put him at 236, two shots ahead of Terry Abercrombie Senior at 238. In the SuperSeniors Division that ended Saturday�s Gold�s 152 score for 36 holes was four ahead of Homer Lovelace (156).
The winning team at Deer Brook posted a 651 total, taking the top three scores from its foursome of Clary, Gales, Janda and Austin. Kings Mountain Country Club was second at 680 with River Bend at 715 and the Royster Memorial crew at 758.
2013 Cleveland County Amateur
Day 1: Deer Brook Golf Club (par 72)
Day 2: KingsMountain Country Club (par 72)
Day 3: Cleveland Country Club (par 72)
Top 25 scores
Jody Clary 72-68-72�212 (-4)
Tommy Gales 68-74-76�218
Jeff Janda 74-74-74�222
Jerry Austin 72-77-75�224
Josh Etters 75-73-77�225
Spencer Jones 73-81-72�226
Colonel Hopper 76-76-76�228
Brad Myers 77-74-77�228
Eric Spicer 77-69-82�228
Alex Anderson 68-83-79�230
Rick Milligan 79-74-78�231
Jacob Sigmon 79-76-77�232
Russ Putnam 82-75-77�234
Jackson Beam 78-82-75�235
Gary Howze 84-75-75�236
Patrick Lavender 78-76-82�236
Jason Fullbright 80-79-78�237
Bart Lee 76-84-77�237
Jody Ridings 85-74-78�237
Terry Abercrombie Sr.81-81-76�238
Matt Curtis 79-81-78�238
Will Franks 76-76-86�238
Walt Puckett 78-79-81�238
Curtis Bailey 83-79-78�240
Charlie Hamrick 82-77-81�240
William Mabry 80-76-84�240


text:
B is for Benghazi.
An attack on the American consulate in Benghazi that killed the American ambassador to Libya and three others threatened to upend President Obama's contention that he had al-Qaida on the run — and eventually drove United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice out of the running for Secretary of State.
ESAM OMRAN AL-FETORI, Reuters Photo
Copyright © 2019, The Baltimore Sun, a Baltimore Sun Media Group publication | Place an Ad


text:
- This event has passed.
Stars In Making (Ages 6-11)
March 6, 2018 @ 6:15 pm - 7:00 pm
|Recurring Event (See all)
An event every week that begins at 6:15pm on Tuesday, repeating until June 11, 2018
An event every week that begins at 6:15pm on Monday and Friday, repeating until June 15, 2018
This class is geared towards kids from 6 to 11 years old and it covers the full syllabus in all 10 dances in Pre Bronze and Bronze 1 Levels. More advanced techniques, steps and style are presented.
* No or some dance experience required


text:
Get Heard! Get Noticed! Get Leads! (TM)
Hosted by: Annette Locke of Premier Designs
and Patrice Bilenski from Carina Cards.
This is an informal networking event, open to any business woman who would like to increase her business contacts or clients in the Shaler/Gibsonia area.
Things to bring:
- 10-20 business cards or marketing material
- cash for your lunch check
- $5 meeting fee (non members only)
11:30 pm - attendees arrive, reviews menu, gives the server their drink order, and open networking: everyone stands up to introduce oneself to others and pass their business card
11:45 pm - server takes lunch order and the sign in sheet is passed around
12:00 pm - 60 sec. commercials begin
12:30 pm - each person gives a testimony or referral for someone attending the lunch
12:45 pm - Premier member does a 5 min. company presentation
12:50 pm - WSBA announcements from Debi/Susan
1:00 pm - lunch has ended. Open networking is welcomed.
Be prepared to do a 60 second commercial about yourself. Please RSVP if you plan to attend this lunch. If your schedule becomes free the day of the lunch, then you may attend without an RSVP. This lunch is subject to cancellation when the lunch has 3 or less RSVPs. Lunch cancellation policy.
If you are not a WSBA member and would like to attend as a guest, please contact Kimfitnesschic at firstname.lastname@example.com
If you have an interest in becoming a General member ($50/year) or Premier member ($100/year) of WSBA, please contact Debi Arnett or firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
In 2010 BAFTA paid tribute to Coronation Street's behind-the-camera talent with a Special Award, as the much-loved soap approached its 50th year.
BAFTA/Steve Finn
In December 2010, Coronation Street clocked up its 50th year. Along the way, the show has hired writers, directors and crew who have gone on to become some of the biggest names in television and film. The Academy's Special Award, presented at the British Academy Television Craft Awards on Sunday 23 May, recognised the behind-the-camera talent nurtured by the much-loved ITV soap.
Before the Television Craft Awards ceremony, Matthew Bell talked to some of the key players from the show's history.
From the very first episode on 9 December 1960, Coronation Street has been attracting TV hopefuls. "The show went out on a Friday evening. On Monday morning, I had a call from Jack Rosenthal, wanting to know if we'd be needing other writers. Of course, Jack was a massive asset," recalls Coronation Street creator Tony Warren. Rosenthal, who later wrote the BAFTA-winning Bar Mitzvah Boy, penned more than 100 episodes.
Three-time BAFTA winner Michael Apted directed Coronation Street for nine months in 1966, having originally provided holiday cover for Mike Newell, who later conquered Hollywood with Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire¬. "It was a great experience," recalls Apted. "In many ways the show ran itself – it was extremely well organised. It had great writers and crew, and you couldn't really go wrong.
Many of the greatest writers of British television drama have cut their teeth on soap," - Paula Milne (Writer)
"I learned how to work with actors. It had a mix of some of the biggest stars of British TV as well as newcomers," he recalls. "It was also a golden period for writers," adds Apted, who directed scripts by Corrie legends Rosenthal, Peter Eckersely and John Finch.
Paula Milne, who won a BAFTA for The Politician's Wife in 1996, wrote for Coronation Street in the late 1970s. "It was the natural training ground for writers and also directors. I wanted to write it to learn from my stuff being produced, not write plays which might never get made. I also felt that shows like 'The Street' were the true theatre of the people. Actually I still do," she says.
Coronation Street is more than a TV institution; it's an industry. It takes 60 cast members, a writing and editorial team of 30, and hundreds of crew and post-production staff to produce five shows a week, 52 weeks a year. "The demands are extraordinary – there's a hell of lot of perspiration that goes into making Coronation Street but the real key is to keep the creative and technical excellence at the highest possible level," says current executive producer Kieran Roberts.
He says tonight's Special Award is "particularly exciting for all the people who've worked so hard over the years behind the scenes. There's a tremendous loyalty. We have people who've been with the crew for 20-plus years."
"There's a tremendous loyalty. We have people who've been with the crew for 20-plus years," - Kieran Roberts (Exec Producer)
Peter Whalley has been writing for the soap for the past 31 years, penning over 500 episodes – more than any other writer. Paul Abbott and Frank Cottrell Boyce both wrote some 50 episodes, while other renowned scribblers, such as Jimmy McGovern and Kay Mellor, dropped in, wrote an episode and moved on.
"I wouldn't go as far as to say that a writer has to work on a soap, and specifically Coronation Street, to make it," says Roberts, "but many of the greatest writers of British television drama have cut their teeth on soap.
"Coronation Street is very much a writer-led show. It gives a huge amount of respect to the writer and the writing process. That was something that was laid down by Tony Warren from the very beginning."
Though he notes that "pride's a sin," Warren is still enamoured of his creation 60 years later. "It's the nearest thing I'm ever likely to have to a child," says the gay writer. And is he amazed the show is still with us? "I'm delighted it's lasted so long. By the time the first episode went out I was 24. At 24 you don't think about next year, let alone 50 of them."
|ITV Picture Archive
|ITV Picture Archive
|ITV Picture Archive
|ITV Picture Archive
|ITV Picture Archive
|ITV Picture Archive


text:
The most amazing and friendliest girl you'll ever meet. Rakshas are mostly of Indian descent. Rakshas can be described as beautiful, kind, poise, athletic, hot, tall, and have sharp minds and memory. Rakshas are the ones to fall in love with. Rakshas are loved by everybody and can get to be very social. They are talented at everything they do and are very intelligent. Rakshas are rare and unique. Don't ever doubt their abilities.
Raksha is an amazing girl!
Raksha's so smart!
Raksha's so smart!
by bingodog February 07, 2013
Most Rakshas are of Indian or Sri Lankan ethnicity. A "Raksha" is poise, kind, well mannered and gorgeous. They're also known for their sharp mind and memory.
by Minnie x January 04, 2012
raksha is a girl who is rated and goes to heathfield school for blind people. to be a "raksha" is a high compliment and means that you are highly rated within the community.
by humza khan 215 February 03, 2009
Protection. (Condom)
Emily : You bought raksha?
James : *pulling a packet out of his pocket* Oh yeah baby!
James : *pulling a packet out of his pocket* Oh yeah baby!
by desikpopper March 18, 2017


text:
Watch how to make this recipe.
For the topping: Grease a 12-cup standard muffin tin with butter, even if using a nonstick tin. Combine the blackberries, granulated sugar and lemon juice in a small bowl. Let this macerate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Mash with a fork, then strain the juice into a small bowl and discard the solids. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the muscovado sugar and blackberry juice and cook until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened. Divide the caramel mixture among the cups then divide the hazelnuts over the caramel.
For the filling: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place the tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Lightly flour a flat surface. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry onto the floured surface and lightly roll out with a rolling pin to an even thickness. Brush both sheets with the butter leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry. Divide the blackberries over the butter. Combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the surface of each sheet. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam-side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2-inches wide. Place each piece, spiral-side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet. Bake until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch, 30 minutes. Remove from the oven onto a baking rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Use a small offset spatula to remove the buns from the tins, and place upside down on a serving platter.


text:
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Weigo•Saseng was Accepted as a Disciple in Shaliu River
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Turning Point in German National Self-Image
We all know the ritual only too well, one that at regular intervals further aggravates what are already difficult relations between the "West" and the "Islamic world": a horrific deed is followed by its programmatic misuse for propaganda purposes, frequently in order to reach specific political ends, accompanied by plenty of polemics and unwarranted generalisations.
And thus it's no wonder that none other than the controversial Iranian President Ahmadinejad, already ostracised due to his notorious denial of the Holocaust, should seize on the opportunity provided by the brutal murder of Marwa al-Sherbini to demand that the United Nations undertake sanctions against Germany.
Although polemic attacks on the West are part of the standard repertoire of the ultraconservative and regime-loyal media in the Islamic republic, Ahmadinejad's statements this time are not only disgraceful in view of his less-than-laudable regime's miserable human rights record – they are also easy to see through as an obvious attempt to distract attention from the violent suppression of the peaceful protests following his questionable re-election. Mr. Ahmadinejad and his cohorts are literally living in a glasshouse.
Lack of empathy and critical self-reflection
Of course it's true that many were irritated by the relative disinterest displayed by Germany's media, which first relegated the beastly murder to the "In Other News" section, fatally failing to adequately acknowledge the incident's Islamophobic dimension, as well as by the "inexplicably sparse reactions" (Stephan J. Kramer) of Germany's leading politicians – all of which had the effect of amplifying what was at first the genuine indignation felt by most ordinary Muslims at the slaying.
But it didn't stop at that: these failings prepared the ground for demagogues and agitators in Tehran and Cairo to capitalise on the tragedy of Marwa al-Sherbini for their own ends.
Marwa was hence soon styled the "headscarf martyr of Europe". Some of the Arabic mass media deliberately fanned the flame of prejudice against Germany, painting a distorted picture of the situation that made it look as though a climate of fear and persecution prevailed here, a kind of pogrom atmosphere against Muslims.
They even claimed that the unemployed Alex W., a German of Russian descent who has spent most of his life in Perm in the Ural region, where anti-foreigner and anti-Islamic attacks are a daily event, had acted on behalf of the German Federal Government!
In the meantime, the government has expressed in no uncertain terms its horror at this atrocious crime and has made it clear that there is no room in Germany for xenophobia. In the reputable German media a controversy is flaring on the phenomenon of hostility to Islam.
Does this mean everything is okay again? Unfortunately not, because irrational images of the enemy and the quest for martyrs are not conducive to fine differentiations.
Unwarranted generalisations
The murder of Marwa al-Sherbini must without doubt be seen as an anti-Islamic act – as clearly expressed in the statements of the perpetrator. But it is and remains an isolated case.
The fact must not be overlooked that the media discourse lamentably took off in the wrong direction. High-profile "critics of Islam" tend to make "Islam" responsible for all the misery in this world and as a rule are generally suspicious of all Muslims, often without distinguishing between Islam and Islamism, nor between a justified, well-grounded critique of grievances in the Islamic context and mere agitation.
Nonetheless, neither a lack of empathy combined with indifferent reporting in the media nor the delay with which politicians took a stance on the crime can be seized upon as justification for excessive censure, unwarranted generalisations and accusations regarding Muslim life in Germany, such as those lodged a week ago by Gamal al-Ghitani, a well-known Egyptian man of letters and publisher of the weekly culture newspaper "Akhbar al-adab".
In an article published in his own paper, Al-Ghitani did not hesitate to voice the defamatory, populist assertion that Germany now harbours "a new Nazism whose victims are the Muslims". He also made use of the incident in passing to insufferably lambaste the editor-in-chief of the acclaimed cultural policy magazine "Fikrun wa Fann", which has for over forty years dedicated itself to the cultural dialogue between Europe and the Islamic world.
Whether al-Ghitani's motives come from feeling personally insulted or merely represent a calculated provocation is immaterial; his comments are in any case absurd and utterly unfounded.
Positive turnaround in attitudes toward Islam
A further tragic aspect of the debate is that both the exploitation of the Muslim world's indignation and the discussion that has broken out on the alleged anti-Islamic mood in Germany have threatened to obscure the fact that relations between the German state and the Muslims living here have taken a turn for the better.
Thanks to the Islamic Conference initiated by the Minister of the Interior, a framework has been created for the first time for an institutionalised dialogue between the German state and the Islamic community. This process of open dialogue between the state and its Muslims has already laid the foundation for mutual recognition and cooperation.
For the first time in post-war history, a German Interior Minister has avowed Islam as part of Germany. True, the prerequisites are still lacking for the formal recognition of the Muslim community as statutory body, but the perceived public acceptance of Muslims has increased tangibly, as expressed not least by the reactions to the "Kermani affair".
Now it's up to the German Muslims themselves to unite under a broad consensus and agree on a representative body in order to achieve their aim of making Islam a true national institution – instead of focusing on spurious debates such as swimming lessons for schoolgirls. There's no longer any need for German Muslims to look to their ancestors' homeland for reassurance, because their homeland is now Germany.
Loay Mudhoon
© Qantara.de 2009
Stephan J. Kramer on the Murder of Marwa al-Sherbini
In Solidarity with All Muslims
"The murder of Marwa al-Sherbini is the consequence of largely unchecked hate propaganda against Muslims spread by everyone from marginal extremists right through to people at the centre of society," says Stephan J. Kramer, General Secretary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany
Egyptian Reactions to the Murder of Marwa al-Sherbini
Pent-up Rage
For over a week one issue has dominated the Egyptian media, an issue which has provoked rage, despair and profound shock amongst the population: the murder of the thirty-two-year-old Marwa al-Sherbini at the beginning of July in the regional courtrooms of Dresden, Germany
Interview with Germany's Interior Minister Schäuble
"We Must Give the Muslims Time"
How can one bring about peace among the various religions? An interview with the German interior minister and protestant Wolfgang Schäuble on the integration of Muslims into the value system of the German constitution. Interview: Patrick Bahners


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Satisfied with President Obama's policies? Or less government control, the constitution
I want you to understand when you read this letter that you know no matter how the election goes it will have no impact on my life but it may on yours. If you are satisfied with President Obama's policy, namely:
•controlling freedom of speech and religion
•never passing a budget and thus a $5 trillion deficit
•rising prices of fuel, utilities, groceries, medication and every day living
•that the constitution is an outdated document
•abortion and contraception is ok and to be paid by tax payers, as mandated in Obamacare
•making apologies for America
•control of the jobs in the private sector with regulations and fines, as mandated in Obamacare
•welfare over workfare
•allegiance to the Muslim flag first and then the American flag second
•cover ups of the recent attacks on the Libyan embassy
President Obama was informed of the danger that was building in Libya and was asked for more support but chose to ignore it since he was too busy campaigning for re-election. As a result, Mr. Stevens, the ambassador to Libya, and three civilians were murdered. In 48 hours after the attack, the intelligence sources informed the White House that it was a terrorist attack but President Obama refused to acknowledge that information and he blamed You Tube for the disaster and then he blames the Secretary of State and gave misleading information to the ambassador to the United Nations which he shared with the world. President Obama refuses to call the attack a terrorist attack so as not to offend the Muslims. Plus, the day after the attack President Obama chose to continue his campaign in Las Vegas. Congress is going to start an investigation why these things happened regarding the Libyan affair.
If you are satisfied with these facts, then President Obama is your leader.
Governor Romney's policies are totally different from President Obama's. He believes in free market place to create jobs, less government control and adhering to the constitution when making decisions. It does matter to me but these are your choices.
Nora Zientkowski
Tomahawk, WI
Orland Park, IL
Your vote is important
On November 6th, a vote will be taken to determine who will occupy the White House for the next four years. It will be a defining moment.
In 2008 Barack Obama was elected on the promise of "hope and change". The hope has changed to despair and change has been for the worse.
Recently, Obama said he should receive a grade of "incomplete" for his presidency thus far. There is another incomplete he should have – his credentials for the presidency. If the American public knew what was in the records Obama paid 2.8 million dollars to have sealed, he might not be president today.
Under Obama, the fiscal health of this country has been disasterous. The economy and unemployment figures verify this fact. Under the Affordable Care Act (OBAMACARE), Americans can expect over twenty new taxes to support it.
His foreign policy is one of appeasement. To him it is more important to leave Washington for a fund-raiser than to deal with the deaths of four Americans in Libya. He'd rather go on The View to talk to Whoopie Goldberg than to talk to Benjamin Netanyahu (the Israeli Prime Minister).
With the help of George Soros, I believe he wants to change the Second Amendment to outlaw firearms.
His Cap and Trade policy will cause energy prices to increase over 30% and gasoline prices to increase over five dollars per gallon. He wants to decimate the military by severely reducing funding for the Defense Department.
On page 261 of Obama's book titled Audacity of Hope, he says he stands with the Muslims should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that no other president has so boldly and arrogantly thwarted the will of the American people and ignored laws. President Obama has turned the White House into a house of lies filled with broken promises. Remember his promises when he ran in 2008?
If you look at his record and how he has hurt this country, it is obvious that he does not deserve a second term. Again, he will use his friends at ACORN (now called AHCON – Affordable Housing Center of America) to commit voter fraud as they did in the last election.
If you feel the presidency should be held by a person of honesty, integrity and truthfulness, Obama is not the answer.
I believe Obama is an avowed Socialist and he is taking this country in the direction of Socialism. That's why he wants four more years to finish the job. Winston Churchill summed up Socialism in these words: Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery".
Will Americans allow this country to slide in Socialism where hope is dead, prosperity and entrepreneurship will be stymied and the American dream disappears? Or, will voters choose freedom, liberty and a new tomorrow where hope can be achieved, the economy thrives and dreams become a reality?
Ronald Lueneburg
Political endorsements: Romney; vs. Obama
Letters to the Editor from the Tomahawk Leader.
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Win A 4GB Sandisk USB with Ubuntu 9.10 Pre-installed
With the release of Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala we've decided to kick off our newsletter by giving away a free Ubuntu 9.10 USB drive. Anyone who subscribes to the BeginLinux.com newsletter will be entered into the drawing which will be held November 5th, 1 week after the Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala release.
The USB drive is a 4 GB Sandisk Cruzer with a red gator skin print. It comes with Ubuntu 9.10 stable installed and ready for use. You can buy a 4GB Ubuntu 9.10 USB drives on our site for $15.95, the cheapest price you'll find online!
Subscribe to our newsletter and win it!
UPDATE: These odds are looking good. With only 3 days left in the giveaway we've had less than less than 100 new subscribers. Subscribe now and win a portable, practical Ubuntu 9.10 USB Flash drive. Hurry up!
Giveaway ends 11/05/09.
November 4, 2009 at 2:51 am
Gator skin? *Real* gator skin? *shudder*
Couldn't you offer a prize w/o any animal flesh in the bargain? As things now stand, if I win, I'll turn down the gift.
Please, no animal sacrifice for Ubuntu's success! I like to think we've evolved beyond that…or most certainly, should.
November 4, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I'm relieved to hear that the gator skin is fake. You might include that in the description, such as: "red gator skin print in vinyl". Thanks, and good luck to your site…I've been a happy subscriber to BeginLinux for at least several months, now, including rss feed.


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PARIS ( Reuters) - The French government will propose a law by year-end to change the way global Internet companies are taxed in France in a bid to counter what it sees as tax avoidance by Web giants like Google and Amazon, according to a newspaper.
Les Echos newspaper, citing a Finance Ministry report entitled 'Taxation of the digital economy,' said the government would seek to tax the user data that web companies collect in the course of their businesses.
Companies like Google and Facebook, for example, offer free services to users and then sell targeted advertising to companies based on the size of their audience.
"Since web companies pay little tax in France on their real business, the authors of the report recommend a taxation system that is based on the user data the companies exploit," the newspaper said in a version of its Friday edition posted on-line, without providing more specifics.
The government wants to move quickly on the proposals, the newspaper said, and could include them in its budget bill for 2014 that usually is submitted to Parliament in September.
(Reporting by Leila Abboud; Editing by Dan Grebler)
Copyright (2013) Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions
Get the latest Google stock price here.


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GetUsedParts.com necesitaba un nuevo diseño de fondo de Twitter y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 100 diseños de 25 diseñadores freelance.
We are a free automobile and truck parts request service for people looking for parts in the USA and Canada (and some people overseas). People searching for parts log on, complete our easy form, and instantly connect with our used car part sellers from coast to coast without ever leaving home.
Used car part vendors who are looking to expand their market become sellers with our service, as we connect them with thousands of people searching for parts daily. We offer a free trial before the sellers begin their monthly service. The sellers are our customers and pay a service charge.
Our target audience is anyone looking for used car and truck parts, people in the junk car or salvage yard industry, as well as vendors looking to sell parts. With twitter, we'll be communicating information regarding the value of used automobile parts, industry news, and any cool info related to the auto industry.
We are looking for a really sharp looking twitter background for twitter.com/getusedparts. Our GetUsedParts.com logo (preferably logo2.psd in LOGO.rar) should be incorporated into this design and the overall color scheme should go with our website (http://www.getusedparts.com).
We've just recently started with twitter, so there is only a plain background and the icon is not up yet for our avatar.
We would like to incorporate the following information:
Find Your Used Auto and Truck Parts at:
Please do not use pre-created backgrounds or templates, we would really like this to be totally customized for our company.


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Moderators: Three Stars, dagny, pfim, netwolf
Shakes wrote:Think this one is ending early (1st 10 mins or so). Both teams must be totally spent and prone to mistakes.
offsides wrote:Boston looking pretty strong this period. They might just steal this one.
Lt. Dish wrote:Do not like.
Oh, well.
Chefpatrick871 wrote:Lt. Dish wrote:Do not like.
Oh, well.
Yeah. I have a hard time believing anyone here would root for the team that completely embarrassed us. I get that ppl think Kane is a dbag, but I'm fairly certain Marchand + Charra have him out dbagged.
meow wrote:Shawn Thorton has only played 4:56. Why even dress him at that point?
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Here is the T&C partner list. Please remember to submit your creations to Nicole's Taste & Create website by October 24th, 2011!
If you have any questions or problems, check out the How it Works page, or please feel free to email me at cowgirlmin07 [at] gmail [dot] com.
Have you heard of Taste & Create? It's a monthly food blog event in which participants are randomly paired off, and must choose and create a recipe from their partner's blog. It is great fun! A picture of everyone's creation and a brief "review" gets posted on the Taste & Create website, linking back to your own blog post.
If you'd would like to sign up for NEXT month, please email me by the 8th of the month. You'll be randomly paired with another food blogger, and the fun will begin!
Can't wait to see what you all create!


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Traffic changes announced, safety encouraged
As Mississippi State begins the fall semester, university officials are encouraging students, employees and community members to be mindful of the high traffic volume, along with road closures and new directional changes due to construction.
"We're encouraging students and all others to take some time to familiarize themselves with the current layout of the campus," said Dan Whatley, MSU construction administrator. "We also want employees and those from the local communities to be aware of updates and changes that have been made during the summer."
Whatley listed several intersections considered high-traffic areas that may be circumvented when possible. They include:
--Tracy Drive and Lee Boulevard near the University Florist and WMSV radio station;
--George Perry Street and Walker Road, near the MSU Post Office and Chapel of Memories;
--President's Circle and Bully Boulevard near Allen Hall;
--Hardy and Morrill roads near the Longest Student Health Center;
--Bost Drive and Stone Boulevard near the Bost Extension Center; and
--Bost Drive and Barr Ave.
He said existing road closures and new directional changes include:
--B.S. Hood Drive, closed for Davis Wade Stadium construction;
--A portion of Barr Ave. north of Davis Wade Stadium, also closed for construction; and
--A traffic flow reversal around Bell Island in front of the Chapel of Memories, Hull Residence Hall and Butler-Williams Building, now going counter-clockwise--west-bound only--toward Lee Boulevard--now going east-bound only from the stadium's utility parking lot.
Mike Harris, director of parking services, said his office is encouraging commuting students to take time to plan their campus routes based on the assigned parking zones.
Commuters are urged to "arrive to campus early to allow time for finding a parking space," Harris said.
"If the assigned zone happens to be full, overflow parking is available at Humphrey Coliseum and is serviced by the shuttle system's Purple Route," he added.
Harris reminded both new and returning students that shuttle routes are designed to circle campus, with various stops along the way. Also, there are routes coming to campus from outside the university proper. To view all routes in real time, visit www.transit.msstate.edu.
As added aid in locating available parking spaces, commuters may utilize the new Parker App, a free download available from iTunes or Google Play app stores.
"The app will show you available parking, as well as full lots," Harris said. "It can save time, frustration and money by reducing drive time."
For those with bicycles, Dean of Students Thomas Bourgeois said the two-wheelers are a welcome alternative to four-wheel vehicles since they help alleviate many traffic and parking issues.
"We have seen a tremendous increase in bike use and the university is working to make the campus as friendly to bicycles as possible," Bourgeois said.
The veteran campus administrator also provided the Division of Student Affairs' "Tips for Cyclists." They include:
--Using extreme caution, slowing down or walking bicycles when interacting with pedestrians, especially when using sidewalks to access bike racks.
--Avoiding pedestrian crosswalks, instead traveling on marked bicycle paths and applying the same "rules of the road" as automobiles when approaching intersections with a roadway.
--Wearing helmets and other safety equipment while on campus, as well as properly maintaining the mechanical equipment for the safest riding experience possible.
--Understanding that, while the university encourages the wearing of helmets, a City of Starkville ordinance requires all persons on a bicycle to wear protective headgear.
--Parking at campus bike racks is mandatory. Bikes locked or left anywhere else are subject to impoundment by the University Police Department.
--Visiting the Parking Services office at the Roberts Building for free registration of personal bicycles in case they are lost, stolen or confiscated.
Harriet Laird | University Relations


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All our prices include 20% VAT. The price you see is the final price you pay!. A full VAT receipt will be provided with your order.
This Premium Tempered Glass Screen Protector is perfect for the ruggex model in the title. It protects your ruggex from knocks and scratches. Ultimate Scratch Protection with an industry-high 9H hardness (harder than a knife blade), this protector is virtually impossible to scratch, whatever you whack against it. Perfect Fit Precisely cut to cover the entire flat surface of your ruggex screen, keeping the earpiece speaker, camera, light sensor and home button totally unobstructed. With a Retina Clarity 99% Transparent, 0.3mm thickness and Oleophobic Coating, enjoy your ruggex original HD retina display and high-response touch. Smooth Feel Premium tempered glass makes this screen protector much smoother than plastic alternatives. Fingers glide across just like your original glass screen.
0.3mm Tempered Glass for enhanced impact resistance.
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Extremely high hardness: resists scratches up to 9H (harder than a knife).
Dust-free, fingerprint-free, one-push super easy installation, bubble free.
Oleophobic coating protects against fingerprints
Wash your hands with a good soap to remove excess oil and dirt. Clean tabletop indoors to help prevent dirt and dust particles from getting on the screen while applying the glass. Clean Your Phone - First of all it is very important that you take your time during Step #1 to clean and prep your phone before placing the glass.
Why buy from MantisTech?
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Full 12 months UK warranty on all our NEW items unless otherwise stated. For full details Click Here
We stock all our items ourselves in our own warehouse in the UK. We do not dropship or use other suppliers overseas to ship our products. If it says we have the item in stock then we have the item in stock and in the UK
As we hold all our own stock in the UK you can be assured we'll get your order to you ASAP. Next Day delivery is an option on checkout.
We don't just sell our products, we use them ourselves too! We know all our prdoucts inside out so we can offer unrivalled after sales support. We want long term business from you so we don't just abandon you after you've bought just one item from us. We have many happy customers who buy from us regularly.
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Here are four reasons why you may want to reconsider.
1) You will have to wait 2-4 weeks for the item to arrive, and then it may not arrive at all.
2) No matter what the seller will tell you, if you buy from outside the EU, you WILL have to pay 20% Vat and 14% Import duty. So what seems a cheaper purchase will have expensive hidden costs. Customs' invoices will be sent through 3-4 weeks after the item arrives.
3) If the seller attempts to aid you in avoiding these taxes by declaring the item illegally as a gift there is a high probability customs will impound the item. You will then have paid out a lot of money for nothing.
4) Warranty will be an issue if you buy from abroad. If you're lucky enough to buy from a Chinese or Hong Kong seller which does offer a warranty you'll find that should a fault occur the cost of sending the item back is hugely expensive (up to 50% of the item value). This is once of the reasons that they may be cheaper.
Buy from MantisTech a genuine UK Seller and we'll promise...
1) Delivery is normally next day but usually within 3 working days as all of our stock is in the UK and sent from the UK
2) No nasty customs or duty payments to make; the price you pay with us is the final payment you make.
3) We test all our stock before we send out however any fault or warranty issues are dealt with in the UK quickly and efficiently
BEWARE OF SOME UK COMPANIES WHO DROP SHIP THEIR PRODUCTS FROM ABROAD. This means that you will have the same issues as if you bought from abroad. Always ask if they have items instock and where their stock is. A tell tale sign is companies who specify that deliveries can take 7-14 days. If they had their stock in the uk it would only take 1-3 days normally.
At MantisTech you can easily tell if any item is instock as each item has a stock indicator. We're also proud to have all items in stock in the UK ready for fast safe dispatch!


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Finish off your next game day outfit with this one-of-a-kind Drexel Dragons Backroad Trucker adjustable hat from Top of the World!
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