Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Burhans, R. W..
A ganged potentiometer with the interesting property of a constant 10k ohm or greater series impedance for all rotations of the shaft was rediscovered. The device provided a versatile passive mixer circuit when used with most signal sources and can be used as a variable series input summing resistor in operational amplifier networks. The potentiometer gave simple solutions to missing problems with a single control knob.
Master-slave sequence ordering of the Omega system is suggested as a method of improving the pair geometry for low-cost receiver user benefit. The sequence change will not affect present sophisticated processor users other than require new labels for some pair combinations, but may require worldwide transmitter operators to slightly alter their long-range synchronizing techniques.
A sampled binary phase lock loop is proposed for periodically correcting OMEGA receiver internal clocks. The circuit is particularly simple to implement and provides a means of generating long range 3.4 KHz difference frequency lanes from simultaneous pair measurements.
The details are presented of methods for providing OMEGA navigational information including the receiver problem at the antenna and informational display and housekeeping systems based on some 4 bit data processing concepts. Topics discussed include the problem of limiters, zero crossing detectors, signal envelopes, internal timing circuits, phase counters, lane position displays, signal integrators, and software mapping problems.