The Webinar “Latest Radio and Cellular Routers in SCADA” we delivered on December 5, 2023 was really successful. We finally had almost 300 registrants from 50 countries.
If you were not able to join the live webcast or want to return to it, the full recording is available here.
You can learn there about the latest models of our radio modems and cellular routers RipEX2e and M!DGE3 and how they complement the other members of their product lines.
You will also learn what the current trends in SCADA communication are and what the focus is on. The webinar also covers hybrid networks that combine communication over a private radio channel and a cellular network.
In case you are interested in the questions that were raised during the webinar and the answers to them, you can find them here.
We thank all participants for their participation and questions and look forward to seeing you at our next webinars.
Latest Radio and Cellular Routers in SCADA
RAy3 for 80 GHz has achieved a strong market presence, even though it has only been on sale for 6 months. In November, we hosted a webinar “Get to Know RAy3-80 GHz, RACOM’s new 10 Gb/s link”, which was very well attended with more than 200 registered participants from 39 countries.
The webinar covered the following main topics:
If you were unable to attend the webinar online or would like to return, the full recording is available on the RACOM YouTube channel here.
The questions raised during the webinar and our responses to them can be found here.
If you have any questions, either technical or commercial, please do not hesitate to contact us here or at racom@racom.eu. The competent member of our team will get back to you promptly.
Thank you to all participants for attending and we look forward to seeing you at our next webinars.
Get to Know RAy3-80 GHz, RACOM’s new 10 Gb/s link
October 9 – 12, 2023 | LAS VEGAS, USA
Ukraine’s energy companies are doing their best to keep their distribution networks up and running and to provide electricity supplies even as the unprecedented war continues after Russia attacked Ukraine.
We are glad that RACOM can contribute with its products to keep the power distribution networks working and the Ukrainian industry and population have access to electricity as much as possible without interruptions.
RipEX radio modems and M!DGE cellular routers are used in dozens of countries to provide communication for distribution networks control systems. They are used to control reclosers, transfer data from industrial control computers in the field, etc. You can learn more about examples from Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Vietnam, New Zealand, Brazil and other countries in the references on our website.
We have been supplying our radio modems to Ukraine since 2005, mainly to power distribution companies. We have a long-term cooperation with the Ukrainian company ALCOMA LLC, which managed to get a contract for another control system for power distribution company even in war conditions. This time the SCADA system will be deployed in the central part of Ukraine and will include four networks with total of 66 pcs of RipEX radio modems.
We believe that the installation of the equipment will go smoothly and our partner, with the help of our technical support, will put the equipment into operation as soon as possible despite the difficult situation in Ukraine.
Power distribution network in Egypt is being upgraded extensively, including the installation of smart meters. The project, with a total value of approximately EUR 150 million, is being financed by JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) and is being implemented in three state-owned distribution companies serving more than 10 million connection points:
AEDC – Alexandria Electricity Distribution Company
NCEDC – North Cairo Electricity Distribution Company
NDEDC – North Delta Electricity Distribution Company
Due to the scale of the project, which involves connecting hundreds of thousands of smart meters to the system and upgrading the management of the entire distribution network, the selection of individual devices took almost two years. After a lot of studies and testing, RACOM’s RipEX2 radio modems were selected for data communication on private radio networks.
Together with the general contractors for each area, Siemens and Elsewedy, we designed the radio networks to connect the individual locations and together proposed the communication method of the connected devices and its setup.
Everything had to be tested and approved by representatives of the investor and the end users before sending the equipment to Egypt. We are happy to inform that both FATs (Factory Acceptance Test) with Elsewedy and Siemens were successful.
We were able to conduct the FAT with Elsewedy remotely in February 2023, with representatives from Elsewedy, JICA and NCEDC joining and monitoring everything online.
The second FAT with Siemens took place in August 2023 at RACOM’s headquarters, with representatives from Siemens Egypt, JICA, AEDC and Xceltra, our partner in Egypt, providing on-site installation and servicing. The whole FAT was really comprehensive and took three days. Everything went well and the final report was signed without any comments.
The first 200 pcs of radio modems, some of them in hot-standby version, can therefore be shipped to Egypt during August and September, including antennas and other accessories.
We delivered the first radio modems to Egypt in 2005. We are pleased that our hard work in this market has now paid off and our radio modems are part of such a large and important project.
RACOM always carefully tests all its new products before they are launched. RAy for 80 GHz was no exception, on the contrary, it passed tougher tests than usual. The first RAy3-80 link for field testing was installed in May 2022, i.e. a year before the official launch.
To ensure that the product meets all the expectations, we subsequently invited several of our experienced customers to test the link in real operation in their networks. So we can be sure that we have done our best to test RAy3-80 before its launch, and even the very first customers are getting a product that has been proven in practice.
RACOM
RACOM tested the RAy3-80 in the field in two phases. First, we verified the basic HW design on a 1.3 km link, modified casing for sufficient cooling, and in June 2022 we measured 10 Gb/s for the first time in the field.
In September 2022, we installed the link over a distance of 6.8 km with 60 cm antennas. During the entire testing period (9 months), the link did not disconnect even once. It operated at speeds above 4 Gb/s for >99.90% of the time (>99.95% above 1 Gb/s) and only dropped below 1 Gb/s for <0.05% of the time. We dare to say that our ACMB and ATPC are working perfectly.
ZNET Telekom
ZNET Telekom is the biggest ISP in Hungary and uses dozens of RAy links in the 24 GHz band in its network.
RAy3-80 was tested over a distance of 3.4 km with 40 cm Jirous antennas placed 40 and 50 m above the ground. The link was in live operation for 4 weeks, during which several intense rain showers occurred. During these, the modulation was reduced from 128QAM to only 64QAM. All other fluctuations were resolved by ATPC and the link never disconnected.
ZNET compared the RAy3-80 with the SIAE links it has been using in its network to date. The comparison was clearly in favor of RAy3-80, especially in terms of higher RF power (+20 dBm) and ATPC and ACMB functionality.
PilsFree
PilsFree operates probably the largest community network in the Czech Republic. The community has over 38,000 members connected in Pilsen and the surrounding area. There are about 800 microwave links deployed in the network, of which more than 300 are in the 80 GHz band.
In PilsFree, RAy3-80 was tested from January to April 2023 on a shorter link of 0.5 km with 60 cm Jirous antennas. The aim was both to debug the firmware and to test the operation of the new link from the rooftop, where there are a total of eight TDD and FDD links in the 80 GHz band. There were no active or passive interference problems, but problems were found in the operation of ATPC and ACMB, which RACOM gradually fixed in subsequent firmware versions during the testing.
Subsequently, a longer link of 1.3 km was built, where a group of administrators and active members tried to compare RAy3-80 with similar devices from other manufacturers (Ericsson, Siklu, Ceragon) with 10 Gb/s capacity on the same link and the same antennas. The real values from the link were compared with the data given in the manufacturers’ documentation. Here no discrepancies were found between reality and the datasheets.
The tests in Pilsen also focused on comparing the sensitivity and RF power performance of the individual links. The declared worse sensitivity of RAy3-80 is sufficiently compensated by higher output power and in the overall comparison with most of the links of other manufacturers RAy3-80 does not lag behind and performs similarly – with the same size of antennas it is possible to build the same long route with the same availability.
We are pleased to announce that we have completed the development and launch the next member of the RAy p-t-p microwave links family, this time for the free 80 GHz band.
The launch took place at the KKDS conference, which was attended by more than 500 representatives of most Czech ISPs.
RAy microwave links are used by ISPs and global telecom operators for backbone networks and high-speed last-mile links.
RAy3 for 80 GHz has all the latest features including 10 Gb/s FDD speed and RF power of +20 dBm. Due to its cost and ease of installation, it can replace fiber optic cables even in challenging environments where high speed and availability are required, such as for base station connections for 4G and 5G networks.
RAy3-80 is based on the third-generation RAy concept for 10, 17, 18 and 24 GHz, which is designed for high-performance links with maximum reliability, exceptional gain and interference immunity. All the latest features have been carefully implemented in the final solution without compromise. RAy3 has been on the market since 2019, proven in thousands of installations in dozens of countries from the poles to the equator.
RAy3-80 has a significantly higher speed compared to other frequency bands, 10 Gb/s instead of 1 Gb/s FDD. Its RF power output of +20 dBm is among the highest on the market. Power consumption, which starts at 35 W, minimizes operating costs and enables solar panel power. The full outdoor concept uses the same aluminum die casting as on other frequencies. The minimum weight of 2.8 kg guarantees easy installation.
Intuitive management with Wifi connectivity, a mobile app for antenna alignment and other proven features of the RAy3 will be appreciated by existing and new users.
Similar to the RAy3 for other frequencies, the RAy3-80 provides one metallic Ethernet interface (1 Gb) and one SFP+ (10 Gb).
We believe that the RAy3-80 will be as successful in the market as its ‘siblings’ for other bands and will quickly spread to all corners of the world thanks to the worldwide unlicensed 80 GHz band.
MARCH 29-30, 2023 | LAS VEGAS, CA, USA
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