L-DACS1 physical layer laboratory demonstrator

In this paper, an L-DACS1 physical layer laboratory demonstrator is presented which has been implemented recently in FPGA technology by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The main goal of this lab demonstrator is to perform first compatibility measurements between L-DACS1 and legacy L-band systems where interference from L-DACS1 towards the legacy systems as well as interference from the legacy systems onto the L-DACS1 receiver is considered. The lab demonstrator is already implemented up to the first intermediate frequency at 10.7 MHz. The radio frontend for up-/down-conversion to/from the L-band is scheduled to be delivered in May this year. First compatibility tests are planned to take place in the labs of the German ATC authority DFS this summer. Using real hardware equipment, these tests will give valuable insight into the L-band coexistence issue and possible deployment scenarios.