ALLISS - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

ALLISS is a fully rotatable antenna

Antenna (radio)

An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...

system for high power shortwave

Shortwave

Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...

radio broadcasting

Broadcasting

Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...

in the 6 MHz to 26 MHz range. An ALLISS module is a self contained shortwave relay station

Shortwave relay station

Shortwave relay stations are transmitter sites used by international broadcasters to extend their coverage to areas that cannot be reached easily from their home state, for example the BBC operates an extensive net of relay stations....

that is used for international broadcasting

International broadcasting

International broadcasting is broadcasting that is deliberately aimed at a foreign, rather than a domestic, audience. It usually is broadcast by means of longwave, mediumwave, or shortwave radio, but in recent years has also used direct satellite broadcasting and the Internet as means of reaching...

FAQ

ALLISS is a special design case of HRS type antennas

HRS type antennas

HRS type antennas are more or less the standard antenna used for long distance high power shortwave broadcasting .- History of HRS design :...

. True ALLISS systems have solid radiators (horizontal radiating elements) versus tensioned flexible (open) radiators found with all other variations of ITU

Itu

Itu is an old and historic municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2009 was 157,384 and the area is 641.68 km². The elevation is 583 m. This place name comes from the Tupi language, meaning big waterfall. Itu is linked with the highway numbered the SP-75 and are flowed...

HRS type antennas systems. The names is based on a concatenation of two French towns ALL

Allouis

Allouis is a commune in the Cher department of the Centre region of France.-Geography:An area of lakes, woods and farming comprising the village and several hamlets, situated in the valley of the river Yèvre, some northwest of Bourges at the junction of the D20, D79 and the D122...

ouis and ISS

Issoudun

Issoudun is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is also referred to as Issoundun, which is the ancient name.-History:...

oudun.

Technological ambiguities

There are some factors that separate true ALLISS technology from run of the mill rotatable HRS Type antennas

Thales pseudo-ALLISS rotatable antenna designs were acquired from other antenna manufacturers that Thales acquired by corporate transactions.
Technically only solid radiators distinguish true ALLISS systems from all other rotatable HRS type antennas.
Only about 12% (estimate) of all HRS antennas in use globally are rotatable, and of these only 28 of the ALLISS systems have solid radiators.
One must assume that only about 10% of HRS type antennas are rotatable, but compiled statistics are fragmentary. Only about 20% of rotatable HRS antennas are ALLISS, but this may be a slight overestimate.
The Transmitter Documentation Project has most but not all stats on shortwave relay station antennas in use or historical.
The Chinese SARFT is said to replicated ALLISS module technology, so to consider ALLISS technology as being exclusively in the domain of Thales is no longer true.

Corporate name changes

Information about ALLISS can also be found associated with Thomson-CSF

Thomson-CSF

Thomson-CSF was a major electronics and defence contractor. In December 2000 it was renamed Thales Group.-History:In 1879 Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston formed the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in the United States....

-- the previous name of Thales Group

Thales Group

The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...

Technology FAQ (overview)

ALLISS technology, due to its cost and complexity -- is out of reach to most consumers as a consumer product. Cheaper solutions to ALLISS exist in the shortwave broadcasting

Shortwave

technology area.

Any competent and reasonable transmission planning person should look at all other shortwave transmission options before considering ALLISS.
As a rule of thumb ALLISS systems should only be purchased if 180 degrees of coverage is necessary.
ALLISS is only used by well funded broadcasting and telecommunications corporations that intend to use the modules over their design lifespan of 50-60 years.

Technology FAQ (operation)

ALLISS allows a broadcaster to change the following shortwave transmission parameters

direction (azimuths from 0 to 360 degrees, rate: ~1 deg / 6 sec)
broadcast frequency
Frequency
Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency...
antenna configuration (ie: HR 4/4/1 -> HR 6/4/1)

at any time.

All of these transmission mode changes can take effect in as little as 5 minutes. This flexibility can allow a broadcaster to redirect the entire shortwave transmission network to a strategically important target area in as little as 15 minutes.

ALLISS advantages vs traditional shortwave relay stations

Modular construction

ALLISS relay stations can be built on a module by module basis.
An ALLISS module can start broadcasting as soon as construction is completed.

Higher RFI & EMF

EMF

- Music :* EMF , a British band** "EMF", a bonus track on EMF's album Schubert Dip* E.M.F. , a 1983 album by GG Allin* English Music Festival, a British music festival- Organizations :...

(electromagnetic) compatibility vs traditional relay stations

ALLISS modules should be geographically scattered for security and RFI
RFI
RFI can mean:* Rowing Federation of India* Radio Frequency Interference* Radio France Internationale* Remote File Inclusion* Request for information, a business process* Rete Ferroviaria Italiana...

exposure reasons. However, few broadcasters have chosen this option mainly due to poor understanding of the technology.
Ironically, TDF
TDF
TDF may refer to:Technology:* TenDRA Distribution Format, a design of abstract machine* Testis determining factor, gene that results in maleness* Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, the antiretroviral drug...

did not pursue this option at Allouis or Issoudun — a technological blow to French security.

Each ALLISS module is fully automated, so there is no need for technical staff. When there are 2-5 ALLISS modules scattered over several hundred square kilometers, a three person support staff is enough to keep the modules in operation year round (provided these modules are visited monthly for repair and maintenance).

With conventionally designed HRS type antennas shortwave relay stations with their obligatory: transmitter hall, switch matrix, coaxial or open feeder line

Feeder line

-Telecommunications:In communications, a feeder line is a peripheral route or branch from a main line or trunk line.-Electrical Engineering:...

systems and multiple antennas (~90% of shortwave relay stations are built this way) much larger staffs are required.

Cost per module

Around US$10 million.

Some modules have been rumored to cost as much as US$15 million.
With 4 different module versions cost per module can vary by as much as US$5 million.
At least 30% of the cost of each module is related to the still exotic metallurgy and metalworking requirements needed to construct each module.
Because of the costly and complex metallurgy construction requirements, ALLISS technology is 'off limits' to many developing nations including even a few advanced nations in the developed world.

Versions of ALLISS modules

According to the current Thales

Thales Group

The Thales Group is a French electronics company delivering information systems and services for the aerospace, defense, transportation and security markets...

brochure on ALLISS, there are 6 different versions of the ALLISS system. These versions are sorted by date of initial installation.

1995: France at Issoudun
Issoudun
Issoudun is a commune in the Indre department in central France. It is also referred to as Issoundun, which is the ancient name.-History:...

and Allouis
Allouis
Allouis is a commune in the Cher department of the Centre region of France.-Geography:An area of lakes, woods and farming comprising the village and several hamlets, situated in the valley of the river Yèvre, some northwest of Bourges at the junction of the D20, D79 and the D122...
- Low Band Modes (HR) : 4/4, 4/3, 4/2, 2/4, 2/3, 2/2
- High Band Modes (HR) : 4/6, 4/4, 4/2, 2/6, 2/4
- Band coverage: 5.9 MHz to 26.1 MHz (10 modules)
- Band coverage: 5.9 MHz to 17.9 MHz (2 modules)

1997: Germany at Nauen
Nauen
Nauen is a town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 38 km west of Berlin and 26 km northwest of Potsdam.-History:...

-A
- Low Band Modes (HR) : 4/4, 2/2
- High Band Modes (HR) : 4/4
- 2 systems installed

1997: Germany at Nauen
Nauen
Nauen is a town in the Havelland district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 38 km west of Berlin and 26 km northwest of Potsdam.-History:...

-B
- Low Band Modes (HR) : 4/4
- High Band Modes (HR) : 4/4
- 2 systems installed

2002: Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

at Al-Seela
- Low Band Modes (HR) : 4/4, 2/4, 4/2, 2/2
- High Band Modes (HR) : 4/4, 2/4, 4/2, 2/2
- 2 systems installed
- Band coverage: 5.9 MHz to 17.9 MHz

2003: China
- Low Band Modes (HR) : 4/4, 2/4, 4/2, 2/2
- High Band Modes (HR) : 4/4, 2/4, 4/2, 2/2
- Band coverage: 5.9 MHz to 26.1 MHz

2009 : Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

at the Voice of Kuwait shortwave relay station at Kabd operated by the Ministry of Information.
- Image of the HR 2/2 ALLISS rotatable antenna http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=kuwait&sll=51.151786,10.415039&sspn=20.453081,56.733398&ie=UTF8&ll=29.153047,47.762251&spn=0.003467,0.006925&t=h&z=18 similar Thales model HP-RCA 2/2 and a full ALLISS system. The second and third rotatable systems are due South and South Southwest of the current ALLISS and have been in operation since the first Gulf War. http://maps.google.de/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=de&geocode=&q=kuwait&sll=51.151786,10.415039&sspn=20.453081,56.733398&ie=UTF8&ll=29.153047,47.762251&spn=0.003467,0.006925&t=h&z=18
- This model appears to be similar to those sold to China. There may be some export requirements that may keep HR 6/4/x models from being exported to politically sensitive regions.

2009: Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

-- The SARFT is said to have received a contract via the Chinese Foreign Affairs Department to replicate ALLISS modules in Cuba at an undisclosed or undetermined location. This is according to Glen Hauser's World of Radio transmission of 25 June 2009. There is no mapping evidence to indicate that construction has begun.

Transmitter

Typically ALLISS modules possess a 500 kW polyphase shortwave transmitter.

Digital 'AM
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...

' type transmitters are preferred for their compactness.
Many 'Push-pull' (Class-B) transmitters may be too large for some ALLISS installations.
Essentially all 300 kW and 500 kW PDM
Pulse-density modulation
Pulse-density modulation, or PDM, is a form of modulation used to represent an analog signal with digital data. In a PDM signal, specific amplitude values are not encoded into pulses of different size as they would be in PCM. Instead, it is the relative density of the pulses that corresponds to...

, PSM
Phase-shift keying
Phase-shift keying is a digital modulation scheme that conveys data by changing, or modulating, the phase of a reference signal ....

, polyphase (4 x PDM) transmitters are preferred for structural reasons.
It is not customary to install a 300 kW transmitter in an ALLISS module, but such installations are possible.
TDF's Montsinnery Relay Station has 2 ALLISS modules installed, but without an installed shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...

transmitter. This same design arrangement is used by the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

Oman Relay Station Al-Seela.

Antennas (high band)

Three HRS array antennas types are available for broadcasting

Broadcasting

in the traditional shortwave

Shortwave

broadcasting bands.

For tropical and lower frequency shortwave broadcasting

HR 4/2/1 (using low band antenna)
HR 2/4/1 (using low band antenna)
HR 2/2/1

For traditional shortwave broadcasting

HR 4/2/1
HR 4/4/1

For highly directional shortwave broadcasting

HR 6/4/1
HR 6/2/1

The HRS 6/4/1 is not available for use in the 26 MHz band.

Antennas (low band)

One Low Band antenna exists for Tropical Band broadcasting. It takes up the entire back side of the ALLISS module. This Low Band antenna counterbalances the primary transmission antennas used in traditional shortwave

Shortwave

broadcasting.

Relay stations with ALLISS modules

Documentation format — Nation : Broadcaster : City(Modules, Date Sold)

France : TDF : Issoudun (12 modules, 1993 and 1997)
Germany : DW : Nauen (4 modules, 1997)
French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

: TDF : Montsinery (2 modules, 1997)
Oman : BBCWS & VT Merlin : (2 modules, 2002)
China : SARFT : Qiqihari : (12 modules, 2005)

Total number of modules sold since 1989: 32

Technological shortcomings

ALLISS technology in spite of its near perfection (for the needs of the typical shortwave broadcaster) has not been adopted to the degree that its designers originally intended.

A list of reasons for this design's slow uptake

most broadcasters cannot afford the design -- at the cost of 15m USD most ALLISS modules are beyond the reach of most broadcasters; Radio Canada International's average budget in the 2000s has been under 35M CAD (as an example)
complexities in pricing : you cannot find a yearly catalog with prices for ALLISS modules with prices indicated in most of the world's important currencies -- and the modules cannot be acquired by payments in SDR
SDR
-Places:* Santander, Cantabria* Santander Airport, IATA airport code* Somalia, previously known as the Somali Democratic Republic* Southern Distributor Road, part of the Newport ring road in the United Kingdom...

s either
new transmission sites are required: this is a universal civil engineering planning problem that is not improved by ALLISS technology
no universally agreed upon ITU procedure for express approval of ALLISS technology that local telecommunications regulators (like the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...

in the United States or the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in Canada) can use
most broadcasters can lease transmission capacity from other broadcasters
in the post Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

political climate Russia has opened up its shortwave relay stations to other broadcasters -- this has created surplus of transmission capacity in Eurasia
traditional HRS antenna type shortwave relay stations can be built much more cheaply and can have more optimally designed antennas for each target area
there are a lot of compromises in the ALLISS antenna design -- no ALLISS configuration will behave as predictably as a fine tuned fixed azimuth HRS type antenna
shortwave
Shortwave
Shortwave radio refers to the upper MF and all of the HF portion of the radio spectrum, between 1,800–30,000 kHz. Shortwave radio received its name because the wavelengths in this band are shorter than 200 m which marked the original upper limit of the medium frequency band first used...

broadcasting does not have the same overall strategic value it once had during most of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

-- therefore implementing ALLISS is not seen as a national priority
in many nations that may actually need or benefit from ALLISS broadcasting technology (like Australia) there is a leadership gap either within the international broadcaster or within the foreign affairs departments that keeps the technology from being deployed

Notable sites

The International broadcasting center of TDF (Télédiffusion de France) is at Issoudun/Ste Aoustrille. Issoudun is currently utilized by TDF

TDF

TDF may refer to:Technology:* TenDRA Distribution Format, a design of abstract machine* Testis determining factor, gene that results in maleness* Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, the antiretroviral drug...

for shortwave

Shortwave

transmissions. The site uses 12 rotary ALLISS antennas fed by 12 transmitters of 500 kW each to transmit shortwave broadcasts by Radio France International (RFI), along with other broadcast services.

External links

Audio-visual presentations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcGDaFG_Guc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWZdtF7g8I4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cBwrXhW98I
Installation at Allouis and Issoudun in 1992

Technology portals (non-Thales)

http://HireMe.geek.nz/ALLISS.html

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

FAQ

Technological ambiguities

Corporate name changes

Technology FAQ (overview)

Technology FAQ (operation)

ALLISS advantages vs traditional shortwave relay stations

Cost per module

Versions of ALLISS modules

Transmitter

Antennas (high band)

Antennas (low band)

Relay stations with ALLISS modules

Technological shortcomings

Notable sites

See also

External links