A Quick Intro to SCADA for New Business Owners

SCADA is an abbreviation for supervisory control and data acquisition. This is essentially a system encompassing computers, graphical user interfaces, and networked data communications. The SCADA systems of today use wireless technology including cellular, Wi-Fi and microwave.

SCADA systems transmit information between office computers and remote stations. There are numerous factors to consider prior to choosing the optimal wireless technology for any business system. This includes the local terrain, cost, required polling speed and bandwidth, the distance between stations and rural vs urban locations.

Once you’ve chosen the best wireless technology, a generation of the computerized model is created and the software predicts the performance of each path. Thanks to the power of modern computing, it can evaluate numerous studies rather quickly.

The studies are then compared for the determination of the best method for acquiring a reliable radio link. The system can also be used for the confirmation of the required antenna size, type, and height, as well as for determining feed line requirements including power.

Note that the computer model will not factor in all of the trees and buildings in the radio path or any local RF interference. This means field testing must be conducted for every potential radio path. Testing validates the computer model prediction while accounting for the impact of the real-world.

Even if the computer model determines a path is satisfactory, it may not be so in the real-world. Field testing is necessary to make certain the system installed will perform according to the expectations of the business.

Field testing your SCADA system

In order to explain how field testing a SCADA system works, we’re going to use a SCADA and automation company called Telstar Instruments as an example. Specifically, we’ll talk about how they utilize their proprietary Telstar Antenna Mast Trailer to do so.

The Telstar Antenna Mast Trailer enables field testing through the temporary installation of a radio at either a repeater or master site. Connectivity is then tested from the repeater or master site to the remote site in the area covered by the repeater or master radio.

Telstar measures the signal strength, data, RF noise, signal to noise ratio, takes measurements from numerous different antenna heights and examines the installation environment to determine if any physical concerns are present.

When all of the remote sites have been connected to the repeater, the testing has been completed. If at least one path does not provide satisfactory connectivity, the required connectivity paths can be secured by identifying the alternative configurations. At this point, the client will be provided with a survey report, along with a recommendation for a detailed installation.

Testing for a maximum antenna height of 65 inches above ground level is simple and easy. Precise instrumentation is used for measuring antenna heights to eliminate all guesswork. There is no longer any need for a man-lift mounted mast or a hand-held mast, as Telstar created and built the system to ensure rapid deployment.

Once arriving on the site, only a few minutes are necessary for conducting a path test. Clients save money because the rapid deployment makes it possible to survey more sites in just one day than with any of the other methods currently available. Accurate testing for complex networks can be performed quickly.

Safety systems and automated controls are included with the Telstar Antenna Mast Trailer to enable just one engineer to complete the radio path testing. This saves the company labor costs. The system is also effective for testing RF signals in all RF bands including UHF, VHF, cellular, microwave, five GHz, 2.4 GHz and 900 MHZ.

A birds-eye view is provided by the onboard video camera of both the surrounding area and the radio path. The purpose-built trailer is unique and completely self-contained.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of EconoTimes