A1 Microwave

A1 Microwave designs and makes microwave filters and related parts in the United Kingdom. Its filters are used in satellite communications, radar, communications, test equipment, and scientific and medical systems. It sells standard filters and builds custom designs.

The company was established in 2001. It says it is a specialist in very demanding custom designs. Its engineers work with the customer's design team from the first concept onward to produce the exact solution needed. In 2010 it bought JMD Technologies. This added the ability to build complex assemblies that include the filter and the other parts of the waveguide run. These parts fit together with no need for extra connections.

A1 uses its own design and simulation software. It says this gives designs that are right first time and can go straight from computer to production. The result is a much shorter design cycle. The company sums up its approach as design meeting manufacturing.

For satcom, the range includes C-band and X-band filters. These are waveguide transmit, waveguide receive, coaxial transmit and coaxial receive types. Related parts include couplers, transitions and terminations.

One featured product is an X-band transmit filter for a manpack system. A customer asked A1 to build it from a standard receive reject filter, with a harmonic reject filter added. The unit bolts between the power amplifier output and the orthomode transducer. This needs no extra bends or waveguide runs, which means fewer parts and lower cost.

Another is a C-band receive filter for the 5G rebanding. It has very high interference rejection and meets the RED+ mask for receive frequencies of 3820 to 4200 MHz. Over 600 of these units have been used in the first wave of the US rebanding, on land and at sea. A1 says it is also suitable for coming roll-outs in Europe, Africa and Asia. A major US satellite services operator chose another A1 filter after tests, because of its strong transmit rejection.

Services

• C-band satcom filters
• X-band satcom filters
• Waveguide filters
• Coaxial filters
• Custom filter design
• Integrated waveguide assemblies
• Couplers
• Transitions
• Terminations
• 5G interference filters