GREAT WESTERN NETWORK HEAD END
Monitors for some of the sites on the network
Not as pretty from the back view
BNI (Broadband Networks Inc.) and Philips Analog gear front view with Autopatch Enclosures in the middle
Back view of analog gear
Believe it or not, there is an Autopatch 64 x 128 router behind these wires
State Network gear - Cisco Gigabit Ethernet switches and Fiberdyne wdm devices.
Spare Philips and BNI gear
Spare mods, demods, and misc. connectors
Technical Information about our network:
We use a combination of Philips and BNI (http://www.bnisolutions.com) Transmission Equipment Rack located at the Hub Site at Washburn High School. Also, American Lightwave Systems analog broadband equipment is utilized in various sites of GWN.
Audio / Video equipment is switched using a 64 x 128 Autopatch ( http://www.autopatch.com ) Router. We have had Autopatch matrixes running our switching since day one and they are virtually trouble free. If something does go wrong, they are right there to help fix it with their life time warranty.
Each of the sites in the Great Western Network have the following equipment located near their ITV classroom:
At least 1 transmitter (the device that generates the fiber optic light stream) (1300 nm window)
At least 1 transceiver (the device that receives the light stream from the previous site)
1 modulator (the device that takes the video and audio signal generated by the classroom equipment (cameras, microphones, etc.) and place it into the light stream.
3 demodulators (the device that takes the previously generated signals and converts it back to video and audio and then back into the classroom). One demodulator for each classroom monitor.
A gigabit ethernet switch to carry the data traffic on the 1550 window of the fiber.
The above equipment allows A/V signals to travel up to approximately 30 miles before the signal needs to be repeated.
The equipment behind the teachers console from top to bottom consists of the playback/record switch for the VCR, the VCR, Incoming Amplifier and on the bottom, the Outgoing Mixer. In this photo, a Picture-In-Picture unit is installed to the left of the VCR on the top shelf.