Falcon Research
 18365 - 63A  Avenue
Surrey, B.C. V3S 8A8
Canada
Phone: (604) 576-8235 / Fax: (604) 576-8243
Email  phillip_eldridge@telus.net

Communications Support for Field Operations.

VHF-FM Base / Mobile Radios VHF-FM portable radios HF-SSB Base radios VHF-FM Repeaters Technical Notes

Falcon Drilling has operated a Radio Communications rental, sales and consultation service since 1990 but with the growth of the drilling operations over the past two or three years a decision was made in April 2008 to cease our outside rentals and sales operations as of May 1st 2008. Falcon Drilling now has many projects in diverse areas of the world. For safety, finance and logistics support reasons, we and our clients, require a superior level of communications on the project site as well as to the regional offices and the international head office in Prince George, British Columbia. In addition to the usual radios and satellite communications systems the company has now embarked on a project to have all regional offices connected in real time via Internet VPN links to the Prince George office. Depending upon bandwidth availability we may also be able to make these services available to our clients at a future date.

We will continue to supply and install Satellite terminals on our projects where we require Internet access and email service.  The Direcway terminals use a 98 cm or 120 cm dish and can provide Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephony service that permits toll free dialing of 604 area code telephone numbers from anywhere in B.C. or the Yukon. Long distance calls to other area codes in North America are typically 8 cents per minute.  Inmarsat TT3060A, Inmarsat BGAN satellite telephones and Iridium 9505A portable satellite telephones are used throughout our organization.  More information on the shared access Internet satellite systems can be found at http://www.galaxybroadband.ca , and http://www.xplornet.com/index.php . Information on Iridium services can be found at http://www.iridium.com/index.php .

Radio communication equipment includes HF-SSB, VHF-AM, VHF-FM  radios in both portable and mobile / base station configurations. Certain portable and mobile radios are field programmable and custom configuration to suit particular applications is a specialty. Secure voice encryption is available on certain VHF-FM radios. Field portable repeaters weighing only 20 lbs. housed in Pelican 1450 cases are available to expand local coverage or provide integration with VHF radio services. For an explanation of some of the terminology used refer to the Technical Notes.

Internet Satellite terminal systems:-

 

  The Direcway DW7000 and HN7000 satellite terminal system provides Internet access, file transfer and email service to remote sites throughout most of Canada at very attractive rates.  The system requires 110 VAC supply and uses a 98 cm or 120 cm dish.  Most importantly the system offers a VOIP telephony service that provides toll free calling to or from any other 604 area code telephone.  North American long distance rates outside of 604 are typically 8 cents per minute.  Further information on the Direcway system is available upon request. The Direcway terminals are useable across most of North America although installation in the USA must be performed by an FCC approved installer.  Coverage in the central Canadian regions requires the use of larger antennas and there is no coverage in some areas.  There is very little coverage in the northern Canadian regions.

 The Anik F2 satellite terminals use a 66 cm dish and are so portable that they can be lifted with one hand!  They offer the same data transfer speeds as the Direcway but are useable over the whole of the Canadian region with the same small dish.  They cannot be used in the USA or Mexico but offer much better Canadian coverage in a much smaller package.  The terminal is also much cheaper than the Direcway and everything comes in one box.

We will provide azimuth bearing and elevation values for your site if you specify the Latitude and Longitude of the proposed location. Your geology professionals can then do a quick check of their topographical maps to ensure that there is a clear line of sight to the satellite.

Dedicated VSAT terminal systems:-

 

   The three surrounding pictures show the C band 2.4 meter antenna system installed at Oromin Exploration's site in Sabadola, Senegal in February 2006 by Falcon Research Ltd.  This system provides very high speed access via the Newskies NSS7 satellite to the Internet, email and VOIP telephone service.  It also allows for the transfer of very large GIS and similar files.  The VOIP unit is a 604 registered telephone so all calls to the head office in Vancouver are toll free.  This is a dedicated VSAT system that provides guaranteed quality of service meaning that there is no degradation due to excessive channel loading such as is experienced with the smaller systems shown above. C band operation was chosen as it is less affected by heavy rain than Ku or Ka band.  The inside equipment consists of a wireless router with 4 Ethernet ports, an external wireless access point that will be used to provide camp wide wireless access and the 604 area code registered VOIP telephone unit.  Although the operating cost of this system is much higher than the Direcway or Anik F2 systems the guaranteed quality of service and bandwidth offer significant advantages in very remote but larger scale projects.

VHF-FM portable radios - ICOM:-

ICOM F30GT & F30GS - a 256 channel radio available in a field programmable (GT version) rated at 5 watts Tx power. Weight with battery is 15oz and dimensions are 2.125" x 5.5" x 1.5".  Both radios cover the frequency spread from 136.00 MHz to 174.00 MHz and can be programmed for 12.5kHz or 25 kHz channel spacing per channel as required.   Channel display is a large two line LCD.  These radios are supplied with a NiMH long life 1650 mAH battery.   All portable radios can be equipped with an automotive kit that includes a magnetic base 5/8 whip vehicle antenna and 12 VDC cigarette lighter adapter that permits efficient and transportable use between any vehicle.  This system greatly extends the radio range in critical situations such as logging roads.

ICOM F3GT - not shown - a 100 channel 5 watt radio that has numerous accessories available that allow it to be adapted to suit low power vehicular applications and still serve as a portable radio at the work site. Also front panel field programmable in terms of transmit and receive frequencies.  The battery of choice is a NiMH 1650 maH battery that provides a very long period between charges.

VHF-FM base & mobile radios - ICOM:-

ICOM F520 - This 50 watt radio may be configured for standard vehicular use or, with an additional 12VDC power supply and base station antenna it may be set up for use as a base station. The radio accommodates 256 channels within the frequency range of 136.00 MHz to 174 MHz, each channel can be set to either wide or narrow channel spacing and the display is a 10 character LCD.  The transmit and receive frequencies for any channel can be front panel programmed making it very useful when traveling on logging roads.   Max transmit power is 50 watts and receive sensitivity is 0.21 uV at 12 dB Sinad. Weight is 2Lb 6oz and dimensions are 5.5" x 1.5" x 6.75".

 

HF-SSB Base / Base transceivers:-

ICOM M700 - Traditionally HF-SSB transceivers have been used for medium to long distance communications and to a large degree have now been replaced by Satellite telephone systems. However for cheap and effective base to base communications over paths that are too long for VHF they are still a viable alternative. This radio is field programmable on all 48 channels and transmits at 150 watts PEP. There are several different antennas for specific applications. A 20 amp, 12 VDC powers source is required. Weight is16.0 lbs. Dimensions are 5" x 12" x 15".

VHF-FM Repeater systems:-

Designed for maximum portability the FR200 and FR300 repeaters are used to extend the range of portable and mobile or base radios beyond the usual line of sight limitation. Utilizing a low power transmitter operating at only 5.0 watts, ranges of 20 kms from portables to the repeater and another 20 kms from repeater to base are being achieved with the new FR300 design. The repeater requires a 12 volt lead acid battery which is maintained in a charged condition by the solar panel (if fitted). Several units can be operated in series to extend the range even further or to penetrate into difficult terrain as has been done in B.C. and in Labrador. Industry Canada radio licenses are held by Falcon for operation of these systems throughout B.C., Yukon, N.W. T. and Labrador. Several systems have been used in Mexico and Alaska. The radio equipment is housed in a Pelican 1450 shock proof case and weighs 20 lbs,  the solar panel is 14"x48" and weighs 28 lbs.