The mission of the spaceprobe was to last 2 years, but is has been 25 years now!

SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) is a space probe, created in cooperation between NASA and ESA. It was launched into orbit on December 2, 1995. SOHO had three goals initially. The first was to study inner dynamics and structure of the Sun. Then, it was to determine why the outer atmosphere of the Sun is so much hotter than its surface. Finally, it was to study the solar wind in detail.

At the beginning of December 2020, the probe celebrated its 25th anniversary. On that occasion, NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) prepared an interesting surprising video. They compiled a "short" footage of 25 years of watching the star. It is worth a mention that, at that time, the Sun completed two full solar cycles lasting 11 years each.

In 25 years, the ESA/NASA SOHO observatory has captured thousands of flares, coronal mass ejections, sunspots and coronal holes that continually break out of the sun.

Nowadays, the Sun is investigated by two modern probes. The first is the Parker Solar Probe and the other is Solar Orbiter. Interestingly, SOHO is the most successful comet discoverer in the history of astronomy. Thanks to the probe, over 4,000 comets were found! The success of SOHO is a testimony of the talent of its designers and instrumentation in the 1990s, when the world was completely different.

Why MJPEG stream in cameras?

Video stream encoded in MJPEG format was often used in surveillance systems installed many years ago. It was replaced due to a lower performance than that of the competitive H.264 codec. However, home automation systems or alarm systems often, particularly the legacy ones, support only the MJPEG encoding. To make an IP camera connection possible, proper image stream compression parameters have to be set. In the case of Hikvision IP cameras, this is possible only for the auxiliary stream, i.e. the low resolution one.

Video stream parameters required to run MJPEG
(auxiliary stream and the resulting resolution limitation and encoding)

Access to such a stream is provided through the HTTP port, and its syntax without authentication is:
https://[camera IP address]:[HTTP port]/Streaming/channels/102/httpPreview
Example: https://192.168.0.64:80/Streaming/channels/102/httpPreview

For access with authentication:
https://[user]:[hasło]@[camera IP address]:[HTTP port]/Streaming/channels/102/httpPreview
Example: https://admin:12345@192.168.0.64:80/Streaming/channels/102/httpPreview

Adding tags to the 2nd generation IP Villa door station via a web browser.

The 2nd generation IP Villa door stations have a built-in web server that enables logging in directly and configuring it via a web browser. They are also provided with a Mifare tag reader (13.56 MHz) to control the first relay (e.g. opening the gate). In addition to a master card and software iVMS-4200, one of the ways to add tags to the door station is to initiate the adding process after logging in via the browser. Go to the Configuration -> Intercom -> Access control and elevator control tab. After pressing the Issue card button, put tags against the reader in the door station. Correct addition of each tag will be indicated with a single sound. Adding is complete after pressing the Issuing card completed button.

The process of starting and ending of the door station tagging

Amplification of DVB-T/T2 signals in (S)MATV systems.

The key issue in broadcasting the DVB-T/T2 digital terrestrial television programs is the reception of multiplexes with a large level differences. While in small systems (with 5-20 sockets) such a difference, although not recommended, is usually not an issue, in the larger ones, where the level difference at the input is increased by changing the attenuation of the cables along with frequency, it may cause signal loss in a part of the system. This effect can be eliminated by using channel amplifiers. The role of an amplifier is to selectively amplify one or, in case of receiving digital programs, several television channels. This means that the desired channel is amplified to the highest degree, and the others are attenuated.

Key features:

Safe method of extracting optical fibers.

Among the types of fiber optic cables, a large group is that with single-tube or multi-tube design. An example of a single-tube cable is the popular and universal DRAKA U-DQ(ZN)BH. Installers often ask for tools to process this type of cable.

The most important and indispensable tool is a rotary stripper, e.g. Ideal L5922. This type of tool can perform a number of functions, the most important of which is the incision of the tube in which the fibers are placed. The incision is done by turning the blade several times on the surface of the tube. Then the tube is broken by hand so that the loose fragment can be taken out. This method is a 100% safety guarantee for the fibers inside. Opening the tube with a regular upholsterer's knife, another type of fiber stripper, or a different tool, does not ensure a similar degree of safety.

Rotary Coaxial Stripper IDEAL 45-163 L5922 is an indispensable installation tool

In addition to incising tubes, the L5922 stripper can be used to cut the outer sheath/jacket of other types of optical cables, both transversely (if we want to take off e.g. 30-50 cm of the sheath) and longitudinally (useful for cables not equipped with ripcord for tearing the sheath). All the blades are adjustable to control optimum cutting depth and to avoid damaging the internal structure of the cable.

New version of HDMI converters.

The Signal-HD HDMI to IP converter enables the user to connect remote (up to 100 m) source of HD content to HD-enabled television/monitor, using one CAT5e/6 cable. 6. The package includes the transmitter and receiver units. The H3614 converter sold by DIPOL currently has the hardware version v4.

Note! Version 4.0 is not compatible with version 3.0 and 2.0 devices.

HDMI to IP converter Signal (multicast) v4.0 H3614

IP signal coming from the transmitter may be applied to an Ethernet switch to split it among multiple H3614R receivers. The bit rate of the compressed signal at the transmitter output is approx. 15 Mbps. A dedicated H3614R receiver is required for correct decoding of the signal – preview on a PC with a network adapter is not possible. The maximum distance between active devices is 100 m (when using min. category 5e twisted pair cable).

HDMI > IP converter application diagram (point-to-multipoint connection)

Fiber optic CCTV system – serial topology. One of the questions most frequently asked by installers is the one about the possibility of connecting several camera points (poles) with one fiber optic cable. It is possible, but it should the choice of more experienced installers, equipped with the appropriate tools... >>>more

Splicing diagram of 12J cable fibers of a CCTV system on 5 poles – 38 splices

Reliability and modernity