Wireless data networks for wind farms
28 January 2004
Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Information from Satel
Stark against the horizon like giant palms reaching for the sky, their beauty and contribution to the environment are a matter of some discussion. But love them or hate them, wind-driven generators are here to stay and are almost certainly going to become even more pervasive. In fact a great deal of investment in wind farms for the production of electrical power is happening in several European countries as well as in the USA. And every wind farm represents a classic market opportunity for an integrated data network, turnkey project.
By definition, these farms are located in scarcely-populated windy areas such as hills, narrow valleys or cliffs open to the sea; all places where there is little, if any, coverage from the public communication networks.
On the other hand, the nature of the energy produced requires that it cannot be stored but must be used immediately at the very same moment it is generated. Consequently, wind farms are almost always connected to the national grid; normally via a substation. Here the outputs of all the turbines are combined and the voltage is transformed up, the power is metered for accounting purposes and transferred to the grid. Often there are several vendors (the producers of wind power), each with its own substation next to that of the grid. These substations are usually located in remote areas and - for environmentally-aesthetic reasons - are in hidden areas.
As with any advanced technology, each and every turbine needs to be carefully controlled and monitored. Further, there are maintenance teams who have to communicate with each other whilst in the field: typically between the ground and the top of the towers and from each tower to the control room, etc. In some instances it is also necessary to transmit video signals.
In situations where the area of operation is relatively small and the number of towers is limited, a dedicated network with high speed narrow band radio modems such as the Satelline-3AS models from Satel are more than adequate. Where the installation is spread over areas covering many hundreds of kilometres then the delay time introduced by the repetition of the UHF signals is no longer acceptable and more sophisticated networks are required, eg, a long distance microwave network transmitting in realtime with an adequate number of broadcasting points from which utilities up to 20 to 30 km are served.
For more information contact Satel SA, 011 887 2898.
Further reading:
36 – 43,5 GHz medium-power amplifier
23 October 2019, RFiber Solutions
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The CHA3398-98F from United Monolithic Semiconductors is a 4-stage monolithic medium-power amplifier, which produces 24 dB gain for 20 dBm output power. It is well suited for a wide range of applications,
...
Read more...
PA for wireless infrastructure
23 October 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The QPA9903 from Qorvo is a linearisable power amplifier (PA) that operates from 1805 to 1880 MHz, targeting Band 3 small-cell wireless infrastructure systems. The PA delivers an output power of 28 dBm
...
Read more...
DC-22 GHz MMIC amplifier
25 November 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The CMD284P4 from Custom MMIC is a wideband GaAs MMIC distributed amplifier housed in a leadless 4x4 mm plastic surface mount package. Suitable for S, C, X, Ku and K-band operation, the amplifier operates
...
Read more...
Automotive Bluetooth and Wi-Fi modules
25 November 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The JODY-W2 series from u-blox are automotive-grade RF modules supporting dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac and dual-mode Bluetooth 5 (Bluetooth BR/EDR and Low Energy). These compact modules are based
...
Read more...
PCIe packet switches meet automotive demands
25 November 2019, Altron Arrow
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Diodes Incorporated announced the PI7C9X2G304EVQ and PI7C9X2G404EVQ PCIe 2.0 packet switches, offering 3-ports/4-lanes and 4-ports/4-lanes, respectively. The packet switches are automotive-compliant for
...
Read more...
Integrated switch and LNA module for 1-6 GHz
25 November 2019, RFiber Solutions
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The MAMF-011119, made by Macom Technology Solutions, is a compact surface-mount, high-power SPDT (single-pole double-throw) switch and 2-stage low noise amplifier (LNA) module. It includes an antenna
...
Read more...
Dual-processor wireless SoC for demanding IoT applications
25 November 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Nordic Semiconductor’s new nRF5340 high-end multiprotocol system-on-chip (SoC) is the first member of its next generation of nRF5 Series SoCs. The nRF5340 builds on Nordic’s proven and globally adopted
...
Read more...
Waterproof 5G/4G antenna
25 November 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The Taoglas GSA.8835 is a fully IP67 rated waterproof 5G/4G external adhesive-mount antenna designed for use with all cellular modules worldwide, including new 5G bands. With extended wideband cellular
...
Read more...
Bluetooth LE Audio evaluation platform
25 November 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
Nordic Semiconductor has launched an LE Audio evaluation platform in partnership with Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) stack developer, Packetcraft. The solution demonstrates the benefits of LE
...
Read more...
Covert 3-in-1 antenna
25 November 2019, RF Design
, Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT
The MA2330 Headliner adhesive antenna is a 3-in-1, embedded solution for vehicles, made with robust ABS+PC housing. The antenna is approved for use on heavy-duty trucks and meets the strictest OEM heavy-duty
...
Read more...
printer friendly version