by John McHale
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Officials at Syndetix in Las Cruces, N.M., last year used a rugged broadband power amplifier from Ophir RF in Los Angeles to help combat terrorism in the Middle East during the months following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Ophir RF's broadband power amplifier was used in efforts to combat terrorism.
Syndetix officials needed the device adapted and ruggedized for their specifications in two weeks time, when it normally takes six to eight weeks for that type of specification, says Thomas Mullineaux, director of sales and marketing at Ophir. "We had all hands working around the clock, it was really a race against time."
The device for the Syndetix application was a hybrid of Ophir's Model 4059 and Model 4039 broadband power amplifiers, he says. Mullineaux declined to comment in detail on the device or the application due to the nature of the mission.
During that two weeks Ophir engineers were able to meet the exact Syndetix specifications and perform all the ruggedization, and harsh-environment testing so the amplifier would function efficiently in mission-critical situations, Mullineaux says. Ophir officials also did not have to worry about shipping delays, because the military took care of that part, he adds.
Ophir's amplifiers are commercial-off-the-shelf devices, however for most military applications they are modified according to customer specifications, Mullineaux says. "The Syndetix application demonstrated how fast we can turn a product around."
Ophir designs and manufactures high-power, solid-state, broadband, and band-specific amplifiers. The company's products range in frequency from 10 kilohertz to 8 gigahertz, with power levels from 1 watt to more than 2 kilowatts.
Communication applications include cellular and personal communication services, multi-point distribution service, wireless local loop, satellite communications, and frequency relocation. Broadband applications include electromagnetic compatibility and radio frequency interference testing and traveling wave tube replacement.
Syndetix has expertise in electronic warfare technology and electromagnetics. The company has a methodology for electrical/electronic systems design, development, and fabrication, modeling and simulation, and software development. Syndetix has also recently expanded into the commercial market in such applications as oil sludge reclamation systems.
For more information Ophir RF Inc., contact Hannah Markowitz by phone at 310-306-5556, by fax at 310-577-9887, by mail at Ophir RF, 5300 Beethoven Street, Los Angeles, Calif. 90066, by email at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ophirrf.com.
For more information on Syndetix Inc., contact the company on the World Wide Web at http://www.syndetix.com.
