Telemetry is typically the gathering of real-time analog and digital information from a remote measuring source, through radio, telephone or another communication medium, back to a common point, where it is presented to the user in an easy to use, easy easy to interpret tabular, graphic or animated form.
The data acquisition unit on site is called the Telemetry RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) and is used to accumulate and control the site information. The RTU is often hundreds & hundreds of km's away from the Master Station where the information is accumulated, collated, stored and presented for analysis. A single Telemetry Master Station is capable of servicing multiple RTUs.
ADVANTAGES OF TELEMETRY IN THE BULK TRANSPORT INDUSTRY (AND OTHER)
Aucamp Electronics provides long-term solutions, which due to their power, versatility, expandability, configurable and the low cost, are extremely successful.
The Telemetry Station comprises of various components including the RTU, enclosure, power supply, lightning protection, field instrumentation, cabling etc, which is manufactured, installed and maintained by Aucamp Electronics, hereby ensuring that Safety and Quality Standards are maintained. To transfer the data between sites, various communications mediums are used such as land line telephone, cellular GSM, satellite, fibre optics, copper, radio, Ethernet, etc. are used. The RTU performs the logical, mathematical & arithmetic functions at the Telemetry Station according to the set-up parameters (I/O descriptors), which are set-up at the master station and downloaded to the outstation, thus enabling remote configuration. The set-up parameters define the operating procedures & conditions required at the outstation.
Aucamp Electronics is a accredited Adroit Systems Integrator since 1999. This enables us to provide cutting edge solutions on all applications, as we have direct access to Adroit's extensive technical support center and expertiese in the Scada and Telemetry field.
How does it work...
A typical Telemetry system, provided by Aucamp Electronics consists of the following:
Master Station
The Master Station is the heart of the system. It monitors all the incoming data, converts it into a graphical format for the user to view, and performs all the interactions and control function the user requests. It can be situated at any convenient central point, as well as integrated into the user's existing Local Area Network (LAN). Optional Remote Clients can be linked to the master, who in turn mirrors the displayed graphics to the Remote Client providing the same view and control functions to the remote operator, independent from the master station. Typical data that the user can view consists of historical trends and tank levels, real-time consumption values, temperatures, pressures and any other specific data that the user may require.
Outstations
The outstations can be stand-alone or part of a greater system with multiple master stations. The outstation,(located at the remote site, for example a storage silo), translates field signals into digital data and transfers it back to the master station. The communication mediums are very diverse, ranging from radio, telephone, GSM Cellular, satellite, serial, fibber optic and even Ethernet. The outstation has the capacity to monitor and control multiple digital and analogue signals and due to its modular construction, can easily be expanded. It is offered in a mains powered (230V 50Hz AC) or Solar option. Both units contain a Backup Battery module for limited support during power outages.