Issue 3, 2009
Tweed Shire Replaces ADSL with
Trio Datacom Ethernet Data Radios and
RFI Antennas
Over the years Tweed Shire Council has become the highlight and showcase of local government Water Utilities with its use of innovative and intelligent systems.
When it comes to controlling water and waste water supply, the Tweed shire have a lot to cover. Their water supply system comprises of 24 water pumping stations, 8 treatment plants, 174 pumping stations and 641km of water mains piping. These systems currently serve a population of approximately 75,000 people which increases significantly during holiday
periods.
Over the years Tweed Shire Council has become the highlight and showcase of local government Water Utilities with its use of innovative and intelligent systems. In November 2008, they needed to modify the connectivity to the Bray Park treatment plant and integrate it into the SCADA WAN (Wide Area Network). This plant had no IP connectivity, having only been monitored via a simple wireless analogue data radio.
One option was to install ADSL land line service to the pump station, but the location was to far from the exchange, an all too common problem with ADSL technology in regional areas. Given the problem implementing a reliable solution, many options were considered and one of those options was the Trio Datacom J-Series Ethernet data radio. The concept was to extend the WAN coverage to the remote pump site by using the J-Series Ethernet data radio allowing the plant to be monitored as a part of the existing network.
Preliminary tests were conducted in the office to verify configuration and general operation when exchanging data. One radio was then moved outside the building approximately 500M away. The J-Series link picked up where it left off and continued to work flawlessly. Impressed with the response the radio was again moved a further 2km down the road where it immediately worked. The next step was to implement the link on site at the Bray Park water treatment plant. The link was installed and commissioned with success and as soon as the equipment was connected it worked without fault.
The reliability of the WAN was paramount to Tweed Shire Council so the choice in antenna supplier was obvious, RFI. Trio has maintained a long standing relationship with RFI, so when it came to the Tweed Shire application they were naturally our choice for antennas. RFI have a long standing heritage in radio frequency products and not only are they considered the best in class, their service and pricing are also class leading.
With the J-Series radios now installed and connected to the Network, the benefits of an integrated solution became clear. “The J-Series Ethernet radio immediately became part of the network, it thinks it is a part of the plant” said Dennis Brown (Tweed Shire Council’s Electronic Systems Supervisor) when describing the installation and commissioning process.
With such a successful implementation of the J-Series Ethernet radio, the Tweed Shire Council have decided to replace existing land line solutions between treatment plants and remote sites with the new Trio Datacom J-Series.
Over the next few years, Tweed Shire will be making upgrades and enhancements to their $80 million dollar water treatment plant at Bray Park as well as within their water supply and wastewater networks which will serve an ever growing population.
Dennis Brown has worked with the Tweed Shire Council for over 26 years. His response to the J-Series roll-out is, “Radio makes life easier”.
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