Abstract: A store and forward receiver for a satellite communication system employs a multi-threaded command interpreter, and an associated reduced complexity audio control language (ACL) to define commands for controlling actions at different receiver sites, each of which is programmable for its own local programming purposes. Upon receipt of a relatively simple command from the headend, the interpreter accesses and executes an associated sequence of potentially locally unique, previously stored commands, causing performance of a sequence of actions, e.g., play back of potentially locally unique, previously stored information files, interleaved with portions of a headend-source commercial audio program being rebroadcast at the receiver site. This allows different affiliate stations to produce separate potentially locally unique complex sequences of actions from a single headend-sourced command for all receivers in a network grouping.

Abstract: The standard BPSK modulation and encoding mechanisms employed by the head end of a satellite-linked DATS communication system are replaced with digital video broadcast standard QPSK modulation and Viterbi/Reed-Solomon error correction encoding that are effective to provide significantly improved link performance. Each downlinked receiver site is retrofitted with a front end link adapter interface that is operative to demodulate the link-efficient, replacement modulation and coding to baseband, and then convert the demodulated and MPEG-based packetized baseband signals into an original TDM aggregate baseband signal which is then remodulated and encoded into the communication protocol used by the existing non-upgraded receiver, so that the in-place receiver may demodulate the signal.

Abstract: A store and forward receiver for a satellite communication system employs a multi-threaded command interpreter, and an associated reduced complexity audio control language (ACL) to define commands for controlling actions at different receiver sites, each of which is programmable for its own local programming purposes. Upon receipt of a relatively simple command from the headend, the interpreter accesses and executes an associated sequence of potentially locally unique, previously stored commands, causing performance of a sequence of actions, e.g., play back of potentially locally unique, previously stored information files, interleaved with portions of a headend-source commercial audio program being rebroadcast at the receiver site. This allows different affiliate stations to produce separate potentially locally unique complex sequences of actions from a single headend-sourced command for all receivers in a network grouping.

Abstract: A mode-locked cavity-dumped laser in which the dumping is phase-coherently synchronized with the mode locking. An acousto-optic modulator is employed in the cavity for dumping. On two passes through the modulator, an envelope pulse of light has two portions deflected to a common output path, one of the portions being shifted upward in frequency and the other downward, by an amount equal to the acoustic excitation frequency. The ability of the modulator to provide output power is therefore envelope-modulated at twice the acoustic frequency. The power of successive output pulses is maintained uniform by synchronizing the phase of the circulating mode-locked pulses with respect to the phase of the envelope modulation.