Hardware is often blamed when noisy supply lines are the real cause of networking problems.

Jan 2000 Fieldbus & Industrial Networking

One should not automatically suspect the system hardware when experiencing intermittent network problems. Many network faults are caused by irregularities in the mains power supply, like transients, sags, outages and frequency variations. Even with a UPS, these irregularities often pass through unfiltered to the system, where they can cause troublesome server failures, resets and system crashes.

Before checking the system hardware, it is worth taking a look at the mains power supply. Fluke's new VR101S voltage event recorder provides an effective means to do just that. It plugs into a mains outlet and monitors the supply over time. It can detect, log and time-stamp up to 4000 voltage variations that fall outside pre-set limits.

Using the supplied EventView reporting software and optical interface cable, the user can download a complete history of voltage events that occurred while the recorder was plugged into the mains supply. This gives an overview of mains quality during that period, enabling the pinpointing of potentially troublesome events. Armed with that information, decisions on the right course of action can be made to protect the network from future problems. The voltage event recorder is compact and easy to use at any point where a power supply problem is suspected. It only has to be plugged into the suspected mains outlet. A flashing LED indicates the occurrence of out-of-limits events which have occurred, giving the option of down-loading the data to a PC.

The network is one of an organisation's most valuable resources. Power quality should not be left to chance.

Spescom MeasureGraph

(011) 266 1500

Further reading:

Comprehensive solutions for the food and beverage sector
RS South Africa Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
RS South Africa is reinforcing its commitment to the country’s dynamic food and beverage sector, backed by a comprehensive portfolio of over 800 000 products, extensive technical expertise and end-to-end service capabilities.

Read more...

---

Case History 198: Cascade control overcomes valve problems
Michael Brown Control Engineering Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
A large petrochemical refinery asked me to perform an audit on several critical base layer control loops. This article deals with a problem found on a valve controlling the flow of fuel to a heat exchanger.

Read more...

---

Improved networking technology for fire and gas detection
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Critical alarm and event management technology supplier, Omniflex has worked with the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation to upgrade equipment providing digital and analogue signals for its safety critical fire and gas alarm systems.

Read more...

---

PC-based control for fertiliser
Beckhoff Automation Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
On a farm in the USA, valuable ammonia is extracted from slurry and processed into ammonium sulphate. NSI Byosis has transformed this complex process into a flexible modular system. This modular approach requires an automation solution with flexible scalability in both hardware and software, which this Dutch company has found in PC-based control from Beckhoff.

Read more...

---

Loop signature 28: Things to consider when tuning.
Michael Brown Control Engineering Editor's Choice Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
I was giving a course at a remote mine in the middle of the Namibian desert. We were discussing tuning responses, and as I always do on my courses, I mentioned that in my opinion ¼ amplitude damped tuning is not desirable, and is in fact not good.

Read more...

---

How industrial network design impacts ESG commitments
Omniflex Remote Monitoring Specialists Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
In safety-critical industries like nuclear, petrochemical and oil and gas, installing a new industrial cable network is an extremely complicated task. Gary Bradshaw, a director of industrial network specialist, Omniflex explains why this is often unnecessary as plants are likely to have existing cabling capable of being used to create new industrial networks.

Read more...

---

Minelert industrial solutions
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Profitek provides cutting-edge industrial networking, automation and IoT solutions for harsh environments.

Read more...

---

The ultimate industrial LoRaWAN gateway
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The GW-101-LORA-4AO is the ultimate industrial LoRaWAN gateway, combining advanced IoT connectivity with expandable I/O.

Read more...

---

Industrial Power-over-Ethernet DC injector
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
The ML-NET-INJECT series sets the standard for industrial PoE, featuring IP68-rated RJ45 connectors and military-grade components for extreme reliability.

Read more...

---

Industrial networking IO-Link
Fieldbus & Industrial Networking
Balluff IO-Link Network Modules enable seamless, intelligent communication between sensors, actuators and control systems. Designed for Industry 4.0, they provide real-time data exchange, simplify wiring, and enhance diagnostics.

Read more...

---