Ground Support Systems - ASL-UK

Overview

Here at ASL, we have a great understanding of technologies from the past, present and future. With this knowledge we can support and manufacture anything from analogue electronics through to the newer digital generation. Not only this, but we are also able to design and create purpose-built test equipment to ensure your equipment is correctly functioning and certified as it should be.

We have a lot of experience working with obsolete systems that require adaptation to ensure they can still operate alongside more modern equipment. With some creative insight we can always offer ‘the same, but better!’.

Our ‘outside the box’ thinking, troubleshooting and problem solving enable us to investigate requests, issues, and jobs with a unique prospective and a high rate of success.

Platforms Supported

  • Challenger 1
  • Challenger 2
  • Vickers Mk3
  • M60A2
  • M60A3
  • FV601 Saladin
  • FV603 Saracen
  • FV103 Spartan
  • FV106 Samson
  • FV4333 Stormer
  • FV701 Ferret
  • Piranha

Products Supported

Analogue Electronics

Most of the older aircraft use very old equipment, and that in normally Analogues. These pieces of equipment need to be repaired or replaced with newly built equivalent equipment. This covers Aircraft and Rail.

Digital Electronics

Digital came after the Analogue Electronics and some older types of aircraft use a hybrid of Analogue and Digital electronics.

Electronic Valve Technologies

There is still some equipment that uses Thermionic Electronic Valves in their circuits. Valves were becoming scarce later on, after the transistor era started, but are now making a comeback.

Transistor Technologies

The Transistor made a large impact in the 1960’s, replacing vale circuits at lower voltages. The higher current Valve circuits were replaced with a later transistor known as FET’s. (Field Effect Transistors.) These would work with lower voltage and higher currents. Valves would use a typical voltage on average of 350Vdc, whereas the transistors would work at an average voltage of 12Vdc low current to 60V High current. The transistor was invented in the 1940’s by the military to make their communication radios easier to carry.

All these changes need to be taken into consideration when repairing or building new equipment.

Integrated Circuits Technologies

Later on, in the early 1070’s, the Integrated circuit arrived. This now changed the size of equipment once again. Instead of using 20 or more transistors, an integrated circuit would do the same job. Smaller and easier. As of 2020, the most transistors (MOSFETS) in an integrated circuit are 12.6 American Trillion. (That is 12,600,000,000,000).

Design of Purpose-Built Test Equipment

Sometimes, when aged equipment is sent in for testing or requires a new replacement, new test equipment needs to be designed and built to perform all the functions of the said equipment, as even now, the old test equipment and documents do not exist anymore.