eNewsletter

November 2009

Enabling the Smart Grid with Cutting Edge Electrical Load Measurement
Justin Schmid, Vice President, Mobile & M2M Group, Sierra Wireless

The concept of the Smart Grid relies on the dynamic management of supply and demand resources through a combination of data, communications and controls. This level of automation allows for real-time operational optimization of the grid, which affects everything from energy economics and emissions to security and reliability.

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BANNER DX99: BATTERY-POWERED, INTRINSICALLY SAFE WIRELESS TRANSCEIVER

Collect analog, digital and temperature information in hazardous areas with Banner DX99 FlexPower Nodes—a combination of wireless RF communication, battery technology and intrinsically safe electronics.

The DX99 Battery-Powered Node is a revolutionary combination of 3 key state-of-the-art technologies combined in a single compact housing:

1)   Battery-power supply that provides up to 10 year battery life

• Robust wireless technology to transmit and receive mission-critical data up to 3 miles
• Intrinsically safe operation that provides a cost-effective method of data collection, monitoring and transmission in hazardous classified locations

Technical Points of the DX99:

• Available in rugged polycarbonate or metal housing; both are intrinsically safe and rated IP67
• Polycarbonate housing models certified for use in Class I, Division 1, Groups A, B, C, D; Class I, Zone 0, Group IIC; and Group IIC, Zone 0
• Metal housing models certified for use in Class I, Division 1, Groups A, B, C, D; Class II, Division 1, Groups E, F, G; Class III, Division 1; Class I, Zone 0, Group IIC; Group IIC, Zone 0; and Dust, Zone 20
• DX99 FlexPower Nodes provide intrinsically-safe power for 4-20mA and Namur sensors
• Input types include RTD, thermocouple, 4-20mA, 0-10V dc and discrete

About Banner. Banner Engineering is the world’s leading manufacturer of wireless networks, photoelectric and ultrasonic sensors, vision sensors, electronic machine guarding systems, fiber optic assemblies and precision measurement systems.

Learn more at : www.bannerengineering.com/DX99is

Semaphore Releases SMS Database Uploading for SCADA RTU Product Line
Semaphore, a CSE Global company, has introduced a data logging enhancement for its T-Box line of SCADA system RTU products. Available in the T-Box Wireless Monitor, T-Box LT, and T-Box MS RTU products, this new feature allows data archives and sampling tables to be transmitted via SMS messaging.
 
Commonly employed for short text messages, such as alarms and events, SMS provides inexpensive data transmission using very low power. This makes it well suited for products which use battery or solar power systems. Now process information can be transmitted with minimal impact on network and power budgets. SMS further extends RTU applications to areas in which weak cellular signal strength allows only SMS messages to be transmitted.

T-Box is an IP-based telemetry solution that enables the complete integration of SCADA control and communications functionality in one rugged package. It leverages easy-to-use Web technologies and inexpensive public networks for decentralized monitoring and control systems. T-Box products offer up to 50 percent less total installed cost per point versus traditional SCADA / PLC systems and permit greater organizational access to data through automated reporting and browser software.

New realWORX WEB System Evaluates the Readiness Of Cable TV Infrastructure for DOCSIS 3.0
Sunrise Telecom, Inc. has unveiled the enhanced version of realWORX WEB, a 24/7 RF monitoring system for CATV and broadband communications services. realWORX WEB provides complete access to information on upstream ingress and downstream channel performance and alerts operators to impairments through any standard browser, including smart phones.  Sunrise Telecom’s “Anywhere, Anytime” access to network information gives service providers a new level of confidence in the reliability of their DOCSIS 2.0 and 3.0 systems without additional capital expenditures.

Industry experts are advising operators to continuously monitor the MER and BER performance of all DOCSIS channels in order to maintain a high quality of DOCSIS 3.0 service.  On downstream channels, reviewing historical MER and BER measurements with realWORX WEB makes it easy to determine if channel degradation or errors have occurred. Historical measurement graphs help the user gauge signal quality over time, and in-depth views allow for very detailed system inspection.

In the return path, realWORX WEB monitors ingress and helps isolate problem nodes. By monitoring the entire optical return band from 0.5 MHz up to 200 MHz, special monitoring profiles can identify and alert users of hard-to-find impairments like laser clipping and common path distortion (CPD). Laser clipping leads to degradation of data transmission and CPD results in a data loss that can cause significantly slower communication rates. Finding and fixing these impairments can lead to the improved performance of return nodes.

realWORX WEB is the only monitoring system to use a precision spectrum analyzer at its core, with -65 dBmV of sensitivity, making it possible to detect and capture extremely low level RF impairments, which are typically invisible to traditional monitoring systems.

New Viatran Networking System Enables Wireless Well and Pipeline Monitoring
Viatran has introduced the Viatran Networking System (VNS), which enables centralized wireless monitoring of sensors placed throughout a gas or oil field, or around any facility where measurement is critical. This versatile wireless design will transition also into many applications in the general industrial market, as well as the oil and gas industry.
 
The Viatran Networking System consists of the Viatran Remote Device (VRD) and the Viatran Hub (VHub). The VRD gathers information from the sensors in the field and relays the information wirelessly to the VHub. The VHub serves as the communication link for up to 10 VRDs. Each VHub sends the data to a flow computer, SCADA system or distributed control system.

VRDs can be either process or pole-mounted, and are typically powered by an internal non-rechargeable Lithium ion battery, which is capable of lasting for a minimum of one year, or by an external power supply. Each device will support three analog and two digital inputs and will wirelessly pass information to the VHub at a distance of up to one mile.

The VHub receives messages from all of the VRDs with which it is associated and maps the data received into the assigned Modbus registers. The information is then passed so that the data can be accessed by the user.

Solomon Technologies Introduces New Mobile Off-Grid Instant Solar
Solomon Technologies, Inc. has introduced of its new transportable, easy to assemble Mobile Off-Grid Instant Solar product that extends off-grid power output well beyond typical solar hours.

"The mobile, off-grid version of our Instant Solar product changes the whole value proposition for our customer," said Dan Connors, president, Technipower. "Power, particularly power from 100 percent renewable energy, has even more value off-grid. Off-grid applications are virtually limitless: construction sites, disaster relief and emergency power applications (FEMA), homeland security and military applications. We are very excited about the significantly increased market opportunities and applications that our new version of Instant Solar offers customers."

The Mobile Off-Grid Instant Solar product consists of an easy-to-assemble four-panel solar array coupled to a battery storage system with a suitable inverter and controls. The system can be mounted permanently or to a mobile trailer for transportable, renewable, off-grid power at virtually any location.

Industrial Video & Control Introduces Thermal Imaging to IP Camera
Industrial Video & Control Co. (IVC) has added a new camera to its IP product line. The unit is a high-resolution thermal imaging camera designed for low-light or no-light locations. The camera is housed in a pressurized outdoor enclosure making it suitable for use in harsh environments.

The thermal imager is housed in an enclosure that is rated NEMA 6P, IP68. The assembly is pressurized and has a wide operating temperature range making useful in almost any environment. When used with IVC’s camera management software, this camera provides both local and remote monitoring of facilities. The camera can detect human activity up to about 2,500 feet away.

Station software packages enable remote viewing and control of video as well as management of all aspects of your surveillance systems. IVC software also facilitates integration of video into 3rd party applications.

Silver Spring Networks Acquires Greenbox Technology, Inc.
Silver Spring Networks has entered into an agreement to acquire Greenbox Technology, a provider of web-based energy management software. The GreenboxT interactive energy management web portal, built by the creators of Flash, delivers on a key benefit of the Smart Grid - enabling users to track, understand and manage their energy usage more efficiently.

"We're thrilled to have the distinguished Greenbox Technology team join us," said Judy Lin, chief product officer, Silver Spring Networks. "We are working with utilities to build the platform for a smarter grid. This acquisition allows Silver Spring to provide another critical application, a smart and intuitive energy-management portal. The Greenbox technology also allows consumers to engage in time-of-use and other Smart Grid-enabled energy-saving programs."

Silver Spring's Smart Energy Network is an IP-based network technology that creates a secure, intelligent end-to-end communications platform for the Smart Grid. Both companies' use of IP-based, open web interfaces and standard data-access techniques simplifies the delivery of a consumer energy portal that easily integrates with the utility's back-office systems, making deployment faster and more cost effective.

First Standard in Industrial Wireless Series Gets ISA Stamp of Approval
The ISA Standards & Practices Board (S&P) has voted to approve the ISA-100.11a wireless standard “Wireless Systems for Industrial Automation: Process Control and Related Applications,” thereby making it an official ISA Standard. The approval of this major new industry standard by the ISA S&P Board certifies that ISA’s accredited procedures have been followed in the development of the standard.

The ISA-100.11a standard has already received final approval by the ISA100 committee with 81 percent of the voting members approving, before being passed along to the ISA S&P Board. With the ISA S&P Board approval, the ISA-100.11a standard will now be submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for approval as an ANSI standard, and will be submitted to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for consideration as an IEC standard.

The ISA100 committee was established by ISA to address wireless manufacturing and control systems in areas includingthe environment in which the wireless technology is deployed, technology and life cycle for wireless equipment and systems and the application of wireless technology

The ISA-100.11a standard is intended to provide reliable and secure wireless operation for non-critical monitoring, alerting, supervisory control, open loop control and closed loop control applications. The standard defines the protocol suite, system management, gateway, and security specifications for low-data-rate wireless connectivity with fixed, portable and moving devices supporting very limited power consumption requirements. The application focus addresses the performance needs of applications such as monitoring and process control where latencies on the order of 100 ms can be tolerated, with optional behavior for shorter latency.

GainSpan Receives Strategic Investment from In-Q-Tel
GainSpan Corp. has reached a strategic investment and technology development agreement with In-Q-Tel, the independent strategic investment firm that identifies innovative technology solutions to support the mission of the broader US intelligence community. GainSpan provides a low power consuming Wi-Fi single chip solution for wireless sensor networks and other embedded applications, enabling devices to run for up to ten years on a single AA battery.

“GainSpan’s technology helps address critical technology needs of the US intelligence community,” said Troy Pearsall, executive vice president of Architecture and Engineering, In-Q-Tel.  “The power requirements of Wi-Fi have traditionally limited its application in sensor networks, but GainSpan’s low power Wi-Fi devices enable new classes of solutions that will provide key technology capabilities to both the government and commercial markets.”

GainSpan’s low power technology applied to ubiquitous Wi-Fi allows its customers to leverage the very large installed base of Wi-Fi access points and devices, as well as existing tools and knowledge investments, to create many new products for security and access control, temperature and occupancy monitoring, and asset and people tracking.

ESCO Acquires Minority Interest in Provider of Wireless, Mesh-Based Wide Area Network Provider
ESCO Technologies, Inc. has acquired a minority interest in Firetide, Inc., a provider of wireless infrastructure mesh networks, and through its Aclara RF Systems, Inc. subsidiary, which has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Firetide.

The Aclara Smart Communications Network provides a interface between utility and IT resources and back-office applications for SCADA control and monitoring systems, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems, home-area networks and mobile workforce applications.

Purchase the Remote 2009 Proceedings CD Today!

If you were unable to attend the Remote 2009 Conference and Expo, now you can have the next best thing, the Remote 2009 post-conference proceedings CD. Without incurring any travel expense, you can view 14 different videos and 11 audio recordings from various presentations at the world’s only conference dedicated advancements in remote and automated management of mission critical infrastructure and networked systems.

Along with the 25 session recordings, you’ll also be able to view PDFs of all of the presenter's PowerPoints. Additional content includes contact, company and product information for the show’s exhibitors. At $290, this is an extreme value can’t afford to miss out on.

Click Here to Get Yours Today!

November 2009
16-20, Interop New York, New York, NY, Contact www.interop.com

17-19, Grid-Interop, Denver, Colo. Contact www.grid-interop.com

December 2009
1-4, SDR Forum, Washington DC. Contact www.sdrforum.org/SDR09/

16-18, 48th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, Shanghai, China Contact www.ieeecss.org

NATE 2010 Conference & Exposition
February 15-18, 2010
Orlando, Florida

The NATE 2010 Conference & Exposition will be held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida on February 15-18, 2010. For more information www.natehome.com or tel: 888-882-5865 (U.S.) or 605-882-5865

World Meter Design Congress
March 7-9, 2010
San Diego, CA

The challenges facing meter and systems design engineers in the current environment of change and development are many. Besides ensuring the meter can collect data securely, the quality and functionality of the meter needs to conform to standards and utility and customer requirements, while minimizing costs and maximizing return on investment. Because of evolving market requirements, smart meters also need to be upgradeable as well as interoperable with multiple communication technologies and home area networks.The World Meter Design Congress provides the only forum for the world’s meter design engineers, system architects, research engineers and production professionals to gain insights from over 20 industry-elite speakers into the new requirements and opportunities shaping the design and development of next generation smart metering and grid systems. To download a preliminary program visit www.metering.com/wmdc

Metering, Billing/MDM America 2010
March 7-10, 2010
San Diego, CA

Metering, Billing/MDM America 2010 conference and exhibition is North America’s premium forum where technology meets the customer.  Cutting through the hype of where the industry currently lies, Metering, Billing/MDM America 2010 will focus on the new customer paradigm. With 100 speakers covering four dedicated tracks, a clutch of senior level panel discussions, a choice selection of challenging workshops and interactive networking breakfast sessions, you and your team cannot afford to miss out on Metering, Billing/MDM America 2010. Anne Shen Smith, senior vice president of customer services with San Diego Gas & Electric will be delivering the keynote address. Her presentation will look at the utility perspective of where technology meets the customer, and what immediate impact smart meters will have on the road to full smart grid capabilities. This is a not to be missed event, register today at www.meteringamerica.com

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