Software for Analyzing Earth/Spacecraft Radio Interference

The Spectral Analysis Tool (SAT) computer program assists in analysis of interference between radio signals in Earth/spacecraft communications. SAT provides an easy-to-use interactive graphical interface with a menu for selecting among the following utility subprograms: an editor for modulated signal and interference sources of various spectral widths, an editor for inserting an interfering sine wave into the spectrum, a filter editor for simulating effects of a band-limited channel, and a graphics editor for viewing and textual editing of power spectra and spectral-density plots. Also provided are calculators for signal and interference bandwidth and power, plus communication-link-budget tables and interference-analysis tables with choices of antennas, amplifiers, and receivers. The main output of SAT comprises data on interference-to-signal power ratios and system losses with respect to interference-free baseline systems. Optionally, SAT generates color or gray-scale spectral plots or information in textual (including tabular) form on results of power calculations, link-budget parameters, or any other parameter(s) of interest. SAT has been written for execution on a desktop computer running the 3.1, NT, or 95 version of the Windows operating system. The complete SAT software package fits on a standard 3.5-in. (8.89-cm) diskette.