scope:

The present document applies to the following radio equipment types:

Very High Frequency (VHF) Digital Link (VDL) Mode 4 ground-based radio transmitters and receivers for air-ground communications operating in the VHF band, using Gaussian-filtered Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK) Modulation with 25 kHz channel spacing and capable of tuning to any of the 25 kHz channels from 112,000 MHz to 136,975 MHz as defined in ICAO VHF Digital Link (VDL) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) [2].

The present document provides part 1 of the technical specification.

The present document is designed to ensure that equipment certified to it will be compatible with the relevant ICAO VHF Digital Link (VDL) Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) [2] and VDL Mode 4 Technical Manual (TM) [1].

Manufacturers should note that in future the tuning range for the ground transceivers may also cover any 25 kHz channel from 108,000 MHz to 111,975 MHz.

The scope of the present document is limited to ground stations. The equivalent specification for airborne stations is ETSI EN 302 842 [i.1].

The VDL Mode 4 system provides digital communication exchanges between aircraft and ground-based systems and other aircraft supporting surveillance and communication applications. The supported modes of communication include:

• broadcast and point-to-point communication;
• broadcast services including Automatic Dependent Surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), Traffic Information Service - Broadcast (TIS-B) and Flight Information Service - Broadcast (FIS-B) capabilities;
• air-air, air-to-ground, and ground-to-air services;
• operation without ground infrastructure.

The present document is derived from the specifications:

VDL Mode 4 standards produced under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) [1] and [2];

other relevant standards as defined in clause 2.

It is envisaged that manufacturers may provide equipment supporting:

• broadcast services only;
• point-to-point services only;
• both broadcast and point-to-point services.

The present document deals with tests of the physical layer necessary to support all types of equipment.

The present document includes:

• clause 2 provides references to relevant documents;
• clause 3 provides general definitions, abbreviations and symbols used;
• clause 4 refers to a general description and architecture of VDL Mode 4 contained in ETSI EN 301 842-2 [6];
• clause 5 provides functional specifications applicable to the physical layer including transmitter/receiver requirements and the modulation scheme;
• clause 6 provides general equipment requirements;
• clause 7 provides general design requirements;
• clause 8 covers general test conditions, environmental tests and calibration;
• clause 9 provides detailed test procedures for the physical layer;
• annex A provides a detailed cross-reference to the relevant requirements contained in reference [1];
• annex B provides a Bibliography;

The full physical layer tests are provided which correspond closely to the standard set of tests used for other VDL systems.