Alpha GCASE DUO – One GCS fits all land, air, water
The Alpha GCase DUO is a ruggedized portable stand-alone control station designed to operate in harsh conditions and with enormous flexibility.
This ground control station has two 15“ sun-readable screens that permits two operators to work side by side, one controlling the unmanned vehicle and the other controlling the payload.
Flexibility
The high flexibility of the system is achieved thanks to its modular payload bay, designed specifically for electronic components. The modular payload bay is pre-drilled and has a detachable plate with space available for easy subsystem installation. The payload bay contains the following interfaces:
- 2 USB ports
- 1 ETH port
- 2 Fused protected DC power sources.
Also for the greatest range-demanding operations the GCS DUO can interface with an external tracking antenna through a military connector. This connector is also linked to the payload bay through the following standard interfaces:
- 1 RS232 port
- 1 Secondary RS232 port that can serve also for 2 PWM channels as input control signals for the Pan and Tilt Unit.
- 1 Ethernet port.
- 2 Fused protected DC power ports.
Thanks to these integrated interfaces for both internal and external systems, the GCS DUO can serve for multiple projects. And by simply removing 4 bolts, users can access and replace the system.
Configurability
Alpha Unmanned Systems has also designed 2 tracking antenna units that fit nearly all possible needs; from the shortest to the longest range.
The GTrack 30 is a lightweight and compact tripod that is used for ranges up to 30 Km or more depending on the data link used. It is very efficient thanks to its orthogonally placed patch antennas.
The GTrack 50 is an extremely robust tripod that is 3.2 meters high and has a large and big parabolic antenna with dual polarization. Depending on the datalink selected, the GTrack 50 is capable 50 km or even 100 km ranges with the use of power amplifiers.
Safe electronics
The power distribution system of the GCS Duo uses two Lithium Ion batteries that serve as the primary power source in the configuration up to 3 hours (with no tracking tripod). Once an external power source is connected, a smart batteries management system will charge these batteries and monitor different parameters including the number of cycles, or the balance of the cells and temperature.
If the tracking tripod is installed, the internal batteries act as back-up in case of external power source failure.
In addition, all power sources have integrated resettable fuses to protect the electronic systems.
Ruggedized and ready for all types of environments
Designed for use in the most demanding scenarios, the GCS DUO and GTrack units are IP64. The GCASE Duo uses a “wheeled peli-type case” as its frame and all electronic components have been selected to withstand the most extreme use cases. To avoid any damages due to transportation or in dynamic environments, for example, the hard disc of the embedded computer is solid-state and provides outstanding performance. The two integrated screens have configurable brightness that reach the 1600 nits. Regardless of the brightness of the sunlight, the GCS operator will always have a clear view.
