Communication system

Application

Scanmatic offers flexible communication solutions used to connect stations in the field with a data acquisition system and/or a SCADA system. The communication system is used to transfer measurements, messages/alarms and commands, and it can also be used for configuration of stations and for upgrading of firmware and software in the station.

Technology

Some of the communication technologies we offer are listed below:

• Fiber network:
  • Ethernet and RS232, RS485 and RS422.
• Mobile network:
  • GSM, SMS, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, 4G and ICE.
• Radio network:
  • VHF/UHF radio in licensed or unlicensed frequency bands.
  • Radio link.
• Professional mobile radio network:
  • TETRA and DMR.
• Satellite network:
  • Iridium and Inmarsat BGAN.
• Copper network:
  • Legacy dial-up modem and RS232, RS485 and RS422.
  • Ethernet
  • SDSL and VDSL
• Acoustic underwater communication

Emerging technology will be supported when it becomes available and some examples are 5G, NB-IoT, LoRaWan and Iridium NEXT. Some stations need high availability, and that is usually supported with redundant communication. A main communication link is used in normal operation and a backup communication link is used when the main link is lost. The two redundant communication links are often based on different communication technology and communication media. Some examples of redundant communication solutions are listed below:

• Fiber + mobile
• Fiber + radio link
• Mobile + Iridium
• VHF radio + mobile

Fiber links use both single-mode and multi-mode fiber and they can provide a system reach of one km for multi-mode fiber to 100+ km for single-mode fiber. CWDM/DWDM technology can be used to transport more than one communication service on a fiber. Several typical communication protocols are listed below:

• TCP/IP, PPP, NTP, DHCP, DNS, FTP, HTTP, …
• IEC-60870-5-101 and IEC-60870-5-104
• Modbus ASCII, Modbus RTU and Modbus TCP
• SDI-12
• Proprietary ASCII-based protocols
• NMEA-0183

Scanmatic delivers network solutions for infrastructure indoor or outdoor. Rugged industrial switches for DIN or rack mounting are used. The switches are powered from +12 V, +24 V or +48 V DC and may support integrated PoE for powering of e.g. cameras and telephones. Installation services for fiber, radio and copper networks are provided by Scanmatic, through its subsidiary, Scanmatic Elektro AS.