ITN Helicopter
One of my most interesting and challenging projects. This was the first fully equipped Newsgathering Helicopter in the UK (and Europe).
There was no roadmap to copy here, just the basic requirement to provide an aerial camera platform capable of live transmission.
My design provided for the following capabilities and operating modes:
- Airborne Live Camera Platform
- Live commentary / reporter
- Airborne Camera capture to on-board VTR
- Airborne Tape Replay (remote controllable from ITN MCR)
- Airborne Relay for Live Two-Way reporting from remote location
My design and implementation included:
- Aerial Camera (originally camera operator shooting from the side door)
- 2.5 GHz Microwave Transmitter with gyro controlled tracking antenna
- 12 GHz Microwave Receiver with downward looking antenna for Ground to Air video relay to Studio
- Video/Audio Router (remote controllable from ITN MCR)
- VTR - With Remote operation from ITN MCR
- Off-Air TV Receiver
- VHF Comms to ITN Dispatch
- VHF Comms for Engineering
- UHF Comms Receiver for Studio Talkback
- UHF Full Duplex Comms relay to Ground
- Dedicated headset comms for Production, isolated from Pilot
- NightSun Searchlight
In addition to the payload in the Helicopter, the project also included adding tracking capabilities to an existing 2.5GHz ENG receive antenna.
The airframe was an Aerospatial AS355 Twin Engine Helicopter which was previously equipped as an Air Ambulance in the US. After import to the UK the airframe was entirely disassembled and stripped down, engines overhauled and then it was rebuilt in the custom configuration
A center console in the rear housed the microwave Transmitter, Receiver, Comms panel, Video/Audio Control and a VTR. The rear right seat was the for the engineer, below that seat were various pieces of broadcast gear.
