Figure: Telemetry Control Box (TCB-A16). Sixteen antenna sockets are on the back side, as well as the PoE socket. The TCB-B16 is identical in appearance, but provides stimulator command transmission in addition to telemetry signal reception.
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The Telemetry Control Box (TCB) is a coaxial antenna telemetry receiver. It is also a sensor location monitor, and command transmitter. For telemetry reception, it provides antenna sockets on the back side, into which we can plug Loop Antennas (A3015). The TCB-A16 provides sixteen antenna inputs. For location monitoring, it provides us with the number of the antenna that receives the strongest signal from each telemetry sensor, as well as a measure of the power of this strongest signal. For command transmission, the TCB commandeers all its antennas for transmission of commands to implantable stimulators. The TCB-B16 will transmit the same command on all sixteen of its independent antenna outputs, interrupting telemetry reception for a few tens of milliseconds, and allowing us to operate stimulators and sensors within the same Faraday enclosure using the same data acquisition system.
The telemetry signals transmitted by our sensors are infrequent and weak. They are unlikely to ever cause disruption of other devices using the 902-915 MHz frequency band. But the TCB-B boxes generate up to four Watts of radio-frequency power during their ten-millisecond command transmissions. In countries where the 902-915 MHz band is reserved for unlicensed use, there is no legal requirement that you operate your stimulator system within a Faraday enclosure. But in countries where this same frequency band is used for mobile phone communication, we recommend you purchase Faraday enclosures from us to make sure the system does not disrupt nearby users of the same band.
Telemetry Control Box (TCB)