RF communications system and method
An RF communications (COMM) system includes a COMM antenna connected to a signal processing unit including a multi-channel analog navigation/communications (NAV/COMM) transceiver and an analog COMM transmitter. The system is configured for switching between the transceiver and the transmitter, based on preprogrammed parameters including prioritizing signals based on keywords, system location and other parameters. An aircraft application is disclosed. A global navigation satellite subsystem (GNSS) subsystem can be connected to the signal processing unit for locating the telecommunications system. A method includes the steps of providing an RF communications system for aircraft and other applications.
1. A radio frequency (RF) communications system, which comprises:
a communications (COMM) antenna;
a signal processing unit configured for receiving comm signals from said COMM antenna, said comm signals constituting communications;
a transmitter/receiver (tx/rx) switch configured for switching said signal processing unit between transmit and receive modes;
a multi-channel transceiver configured for receiving and transmitting the comm signals on multiple channels, one of the multiple channels being a primary channel and one of the multiple channels being a secondary channel;
a voice-to-text (VTT) processor connected to said signal processing unit and configured for detecting concerning words in the communications from said secondary channel and transcribing said communications from said secondary channel; and
an output device connected to said VTT processor and configured for indicating that concerning information was found on the secondary channel and displaying textual output corresponding to said communications from said secondary channel.
2. The RF communications system according to claim 1 , said multi-channel transceiver being an analog NAV/COMM transceiver.
3. The RF communications system according to claim 1 , further comprising a smart device configured for receiving said communications and displaying the textual output.
4. The RF communications system according to claim 3 , said smart device including said VTT program.
5. The RF communications system according to claim 1 ,
said primary channel being an air traffic channel for communicating with air traffic control (ATC) and other aircraft; and
said secondary channel being a weather channel.
6. The RF communications system of claim 5 , wherein the VTT processor is further configured to transcribe the concerning information into a weather report.
7. The RF communications system of claim 1 , wherein the signal processing unit is further configured to switch the secondary channel to a primary channel when the VTT processor detects concerning words in the communications from the secondary channel.
8. The RF communications system of claim 1 , wherein the concerning words are pilot pre-selected words and phrases.
9. The RF communications system of claim 1 , wherein the concerning words are at least one of aircraft call signs and aircraft tail numbers.
10. The RF communications system of claim 1 , wherein the output device is further configured to display a visualization graphic corresponding to transcribed instrument approach instructions.
11. An RF communications method, which comprises the steps of:
receiving comm signals from a COMM antenna via a signal processing unit on multiple channels via a multi-channel transceiver, said comm signals constituting communications, one of the multiple channels being a primary channel and one of the multiple channels being a secondary channel;
switching said signal processing unit between transmit and receive modes via a transmitter/receiver (tx/rx) switch;
detecting concerning words in the communications from the secondary channel via a VTT processor connected to said signal processing unit;
transcribing said communications from said secondary channel via the VTT processor;
indicating via an output device connected to said VTT processor that concerning information was found on the secondary channel; and
displaying a textual output corresponding to said communications from said secondary channel via the output device.
12. The RF communications method according to claim 11 ,
said multi-channel transceiver being an analog NAV/COMM transceiver.
13. The RF communications method according to claim 11 , said output device being a smart device.
14. The RF communications method according to claim 13 ,
said smart device including the VTT program.
15. The RF communications method according to claim 11 , said primary channel being an air traffic channel for communicating with ATC and other aircraft, and said secondary channel being a weather channel.
16. The RF communications method of claim 15 , further comprising a step of transcribing the concerning information into a weather report.
17. The RF communications method of claim 11 , further comprising a step of switching the secondary channel to a primary channel when the VTT processor detects concerning words in the communications from the secondary channel.
18. The RF communications method of claim 11 , further comprising a step of receiving pilot-selected words and setting the pilot-selected words as concerning words.
19. The RF communications method of claim 11 , further comprising a step of displaying a visualization graphic corresponding to transcribed instrument approach instructions via the output device.