IRIG 106 Chapter 10 standardizes MIL-STD-1553B data recording

In an effort to reap the benefits of standardization for data recorder file formats, the Range Commanders Council (RCC) and others in the in the US Air Force instrumentation community developed the IRIG 106 Chapter 10 standard. IRIG 106 Chapter 10 provides interoperability for such applications as test range telemetry, flight test instrumentation, mission recorders, video/data servers; surveillance and reconnaissance; health and usage monitoring; mission planning, debriefing and training; and flight operations. In addition to file formats, Chapter 10 defines the operation of various recorder and removable media (data cartridge) interfaces. IRIG 106 Chapter 10 includes specific formats for several types of flight data, including MIL-STD-1553 buses, PCM, analog, computer-generated data, images, discretes, UARTs, IEEE 1394, parallel, IRIG time, video, and voice. In addition, Chapter 106 provides standardization of time bases. The focus of this paper is on the formatting of data monitored from MIL-STD-1553 buses. IRIG 106 Chapter 10 defines packets, which can encapsulate one or more 1553 messages. Within these packets, all messages are tagged with either a 48-bit relative or 64-bit absolute time stamp. For each message, there's also a block status word, which includes indications of bus channel and message validity, and identifies specific errors. The 1553 format also defines indications of response time, plus storage of all 1553 Command, Status, and Data Words, in the order received. For the storage of 1553 monitored data, there are different strategies that may be used, involving either fixed-sized or variable-sized blocks. In addition, some IRIG 106 Chapter 10 1553 monitors leverage DMA techniques for transferring data between a 1553 monitor and host space.