Apollo Comms Part 1: Opening the S-Band Transponder and Amplifier

We open the microwave transponder and amplifier that brought you TV from the Moon, and explain the Apollo Unified S-Band telecommunications.

00:00 Intro, pick up of the boxes at Steve Jurvetson's
00:54 Apollo's space comm technology legacy
02:38 Weighing the boxes
03:45 United S-Band system explanation
09:06 Opening the boxes
10:07 Amplifier reveal
11:10 Transponder reveal
12:23 Beauty pics
12:54 Examining the boxes
19:14 Outro: complexity of the USB and future work

Links to doc:

[georgewhitehead]

I worked in the Apollo Communications Systems group at North American Aviation Space and Information Systems Division, the prime contractor for the Apollo Spacecraft and had principal engineering responsibility for the Apollo PCM Telemetry Equipment. I'd be happy to contribute my personal knowledge and experience with this, the other Apollo communications equipment and the engineers I worked with. George Whitehead

[Spookieham]

When you consider how much money it must have cost to design, build and test that one system alone you can understand where the utterly mind-boggling cost of Apollo came from.
Can't wait for the rest of it!

[ebrombaugh]

Beautiful stuff. I worked at Motorola GEG (Gov't Electronics Group) in the late 1980s and many of my older colleagues had been involved in development of these radios.

[chromosundrift]

This is so fantastic. It makes such strange phenomena as moon landing deniers even more perplexing, when all the engineering artefacts, designs and administrative paper trails are so detailed and complete. Faking all this as well as the landing would have been more work! Thanks Marc.

[ninetailscosmicfox]

The ADC restoration was the best 30 hours I've ever spent on a Youtube playlist. Fangirls like me have a high bar for this series, but only because you are the best person possible to document this.

[wmh]

They built the amplifier here in town (Cedar Rapids). Probably some retirees that designed it still around. Posted link on fb. I think they will enjoy the series.

[AsbestosMuffins]

always love that Australian dish, it looks like an ordinary windmill with an impossibly large looking dish ontop

[marwinthedja]

Unified S-Band, the kind of USB I can actually admire ;)

[winstonsmith]

The Danger High Voltage warning is humorous since anyone authorized to even look at let alone touch the innards would know that.

[Regi]

the 3 minutes of rocket engine noise really helped tie the whole experience together with headphones. Thanks a lot

[abelramirez]

Writting a report about this for the final project of my technology class. That box is a very fascinating thing.

[TheGmr]

these systems used sub-band modulation. that is many signals at different baseband frequencies combined and then sent to final PM or FM modulator. this was to allow the final RF amps, to be in compression a bit to get max RF power. PM and FM can work when amps in compression, unlike AM and SSB

[MarcelHuguenin]

Thank you gang for finding another fascinating project from that wonderful era to educate us and entertains us with. Looking forward to the next episode.

[MattVileta]

For transmitter comparison; I can get a 2.4Ghz 1 watt transceiver for an FPV drone for $30, that weighs less than 30 grams and is only 20mm X 20mm. How far we've come!

[alpcns]

Gorgeous, brilliant and fantastic engineering. Absolutely stunning, just spectacular what you guys routinely do. Apollo still gives me goosebumps. It must feel like finding and opening the Ark of the Covenant or something similarly ultra-special. Thank you for these priceless videos and enormous efforts.

[classicaudioadventures]

As an Apollo program junkie, I love your videos. Nobody out there goes into the nuances and hardware details as you do.

[SauvikRoy]

What an absolute honour getting to witness such fine engineering that defined a milestone in the history of mankind! Many thanks from the bottom of my heart, and greatest respects to everyone who designed this and you folks who are telling these stories through the eyes of the past!

[davidhardin]

A correction to your narration: The old Collins Radio Company is now Collins Aerospace, a part of Raytheon Technologies. "Rockwell Collins" is no more.

[dalemettee]

Marc, this reminds me of when I was a lot younger, I worked for a company who did a lot of work for the DOD and also for NASA. One of the contracts they had was for the L.E.M. (the lunar excursion module) trainer. I worked on the electrical hook up of all the gauges and lights inside. After all was completed, I sat down in the center couch and looked at all of the gauges lit up. Quite impressive. I never forgot seeing all of the EL panels.

[Slugg-O]

I am amazed every day by modern technology but I have far greater admiration and respect for old tech like this because it required tremendous brain power and teamwork. Much of today's tech is developed using computers for design and simulation, whereas Apollo era tech was built by hand using blood, sweat, tears, cigarettes and coffee. They couldn't just build a com system that worked, they had to build a system with the highest reliability humanly possible. I would say that next to life support the com system was the most important part of the spacecraft.