Telemetry unit for water monitoring

Data Acquisition & Telemetry

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April 2005 Data Acquisition & Telemetry Transport (Industry) Products & Solutions

Most radio telemetry models need a power supply, which is sometimes not possible due to the remoteness of the pump station and the cost of laying power lines. Additionally, there are often significant overhead costs involved such as solar and weatherproof panels, which are frequently stolen. Installation and commissioning is a complex process that usually requires the presence of a specialist.

Elpro, a leader in data communications, has introduced an unobtrusive radio telemetry unit that offers an easy and cost effective solution. Its weatherproof housing (IP65), low energy consumption, internal battery and straight-forward set-up procedure make it suitable for transmitting data from reservoirs and remote pump stations to the control centre.

The Elpro 505U transmits the value of the input signal whenever the signal changes or at pre-configured intervals. This unit can also be configured to repeat the transmission several times to ensure that the transmission is received correctly. Additionally, this instrument has a low power consumption as it conserves energy by reverting to 'sleep' mode between transmissions.

On mechanical flowmeters the Elpro 505U offers internal integration of pulses, which transmits the flow rate as a 4-20 mA signal while transmitting the accumulated pulses of the water consumption. This feature allows the use of simplified water flowmeters and does not require power at the measuring site. This unit can be powered from an external 12 V d.c. supply or it may be fitted with internal AA batteries. As no external power supply is needed, construction of enclosures and solar panels are unnecessary. Thus, the overall capital cost per station is very low.

Easy to install, it comes with Windows-based configuration software that enables the user/engineer to set up or make changes as needed. It has two digital inputs as well as an analogue input that can transmit 0 to 20 mA signals. An analog setpoint can be configured which will transmit to a register at another location once the setpoint has been exceeded (useful for pump switching or alarm conditions).

This unit has a range of up to 10 km and can be integrated into any existing Elpro system. The Elpro 505U can talk directly to the Elpro WIB (wireless instrumentation backbone) which can interface directly to a wide range of systems such as PLCs, scada and DCS as these instruments come in a wide range of different protocols (Profibus, Modbus master, Modbus slave, Modbus plus, DeviceNet and Ethernet).

For more information contact Willem Krige, UniTemp, 021 762 8995.

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Data Acquisition & Telemetry

Telemetry unit for water monitoring

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