Highlights

  • RipEX, RipEX2
  • Power distribution
  • 160 MHz, 25 kHz, 16DEQAM
  • Base Driven Protocol
  • Reclosers, DNP3 protocol
  • Backup routes
  • LTE or 2x RS232 mPCIE modules
QUESTIONS ?

RACOM’s radio modems becomes more and more popular also in Central America. One of the largest and most important electricity distributor there uses several hundred RipEX and RipEX2 radio modems at various positions in its network.

Power distribution company used radio modems from different vendors with which it had more or less issues. A typical example is a network located on the Caribbean coast in difficult terrain conditions. Even though the application required common p-t-mp communications, there were many p-t-p lines in the network that added a lot of latency and instability into the communications. The end user has therefore had to invest heavily in repairs and ongoing maintenance of the network.

All problems were solved when RipEX radio modems were deployed. The network works in p-t-mp mode even though there are no direct line of sight between the sites. The redundant p-t-p links have been removed. Response time and reliability have been significantly improved, interventions in the fields are not needed. For maximum reliability backup routes, a unique feature offered by RipEX radio modems, are also configured in the network.

Another problematic p-t-p link was between the centre of the first network and the next city. Using existing radio modems, the 68 km distance and multipath propagation required many repeaters, yet the link was unstable. When using RipEX2 no repeaters were needed. The link showed high reliability and a significantly shorter response time. In addition, the customer is considering switching this link to full duplex mode to increase the throughput.

The central RipEX2 interconnects both networks. It is equipped with an LTE module through which all radio modems in both networks can be remotely controlled and monitored.

Based on this experience the customer decided to deploy RipEX2 and RipEX modems also in other places, mostly for communication with reclosers. Today (2024) about 300 modems of different types from RipEX to full RipEX2 with LTE module were delivered. Most of the networks are star type with BDP protocol on the radio channel.

Highlights

  • RipEX, 50 kHz/ 16DEQAM
  • RipEX2, 200 kHz/256QAM
  • Power distribution
  • Remote meter reading
  • Two levels backhaul
  • Base Driven Protocol
  • TCP/IP
QUESTIONS ?

Celesc, the largest power distributor in the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil with more than 3 million customers, is one of the leaders in innovation in the field of AMR (Automated Meter Reading) and AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure). The city of Araranguá has been selected for a pilot project to remotely collect data from power meters in order to automate metering. In total, approximately 35,400 meters were connected.

The tender was won by Wasion, a manufacturer of power distribution equipment such as electricity meters, WiSUN gateways, balance meters, etc.

Waison’s search for a reliable communication solution resulted in the choice of RipEX radio modems, which Celesc has been using in other applications for many years.

The AMI project in Araranguá consists of the following parts:

  • Smart meters
  • Smart set for measuring electrical values in transformers
  • FAN (Field Area Network) – a communication network to connect the end points to the concentrators. Realized by using RF Mesh WiSUN equipment in the free 900 MHz band.
  • Backbone Network – communication network for bidirectional secure data transmission between the FAN concentrators and the MDC system in the centre. Realized by using RipEX and RipEX2 radio modems in the 400 MHz licence band.
  • Network device management system
  • MDC (Meter Data Collector) – system responsible for receiving measurement data and processing events to ensure the security and integrity of field data.
  • MDM (Meter Data Management) – a system responsible for metering data management

Wasion engineers, together with RACOM technical support, designed a tree-structured communication solution. The end meters were divided into 120 areas. In each area there is one concentrator to which approximately 300 meters are connected via WiSUN.

The concentrators are grouped into 12 clusters, where in one cluster there are about 10 concentrators that communicate to the cluster center via RipEX radio modems. Since the data volumes transferred from the clusters are high, the clusters communicate to the center in the city of Araranguá via RipEX2 radio modems, which have a capacity of up to 1.7 Mbps. The network centre in Araranguá is connected to CELESC’s control system in Florianópolis via an IP network.

As it happens in real life, installation and commissioning was not problem-free. Before the installations, a study and theoretical network design was carried out. In practice, however, it turned out that in some places the theory did not correspond to practice (metal shelters near the antennas, new high-rise buildings, etc.) and the strength and quality of the signals were not sufficient. Fortunately, RipEX radio modems are very flexible and the endpoints can work as repeaters for others at the same time, which has been used in several cases, saving significant investments.

After storms, which are very frequent and strong in the Araranguá area, some radio modems were damaged. Our technical support engineer in Brazil, in collaboration with our local partner Utili, found on site that the source of the problems was insufficient grounding on the installed sites. After implementing our recommendations, the problems no longer occur and the network has a long-term availability of 99.9%.

The AMI project in Araranguá is an example that even when problems occur in practice, RACOM and its partners resolve them quickly.

Highlights

  • RipEX2, 400 MHz
  • Power distribution
  • Full duplex p-t-p links
  • 1.6 Mbps
  • 99,9% availibility
  • 19‘ rack installation
  • Rio de Janeiro
QUESTIONS ?

RACOM has been active in the Brazilian market for many years and has hundreds of RipEX radio modems installed there.

In 2022, in cooperation with our local partner Utili, we were able to win a contract to supply p-t-p lines in the 400 MHz band for a utility company that supplies electricity in the state of Rio de Janeiro and is Brazil’s fourth largest power distribution company in terms of customers, with approximately 10 million.

Similar to other utility companies, the distribution network needs to be monitored and managed. Radio modems are also used for this purpose.

The volumes of data transferred from the most important substations are so high that these substations need to be connected by separate p-t-p links with maximum reliability and availability.

Aprisa XE equipment was used for these purposes. However, the customer was not satisfied with the performance and reliability of these links in the long term, so they decided to replace them with RipEX2 radio modems.

In the first phase, three full duplex links were installed. On two of them the maximum possible modulation 256 QAM is set in the 250 kHz channel, i.e. a speed of 1.6 Mbps in both directions simultaneously. The distances are 9 and 10 kilometers and both links achieve 99,9 % availability over the long term. The third link is very complicated from a radio propagation point of view as it has very strong multipath propagation and reflections in a distance of 9 Km. For this reason, a more robust 16DEQAM modulation had to be used to achieve 98% availability at 1.1 Mbps.

The RipEX2 units are installed in 19’ rack cabinet using the RipEX2-RS chassis and an external duplexer.

The design, installation and commissioning of the links was carried out with the participation of our engineer Lorena, who is based in Brazil and in charge of technical support in Latin America.

We are pleased that the end customer was impressed with the performance and reliability of the full duplex links with RipEX2 radio modems and we believe that more will links be added to the first three soon.

Highlights

  • RipEX2, RipEX2-HS
  • Power and Water Distribution
  • Base driven protocol
  • DNP3
  • Ongoing migration
  • DPSK to 256 QAM
  • 25 kHz bandwidth

Fez, known globally for curing quality leather using traditional techniques, is the second largest city in Morocco with a population of 1.7 million people. RADEEF has the responsibility of ensuring efficient distribution of water and electricity to all inhabitants over the entire territory of the prefecture of Fez.

RADEEF uses several hundred radio modems to manage the distribution of water and electricity. The existing modems are old, using serial connections and are not compliant with new security requirements that are now mandatory in Morocco for such applications. The need to upgrade provided RADEEF with an ideal opportunity to migrate to a modern IP solution. But it was also important to ensure any new solution would be both state-of-the-art and future proofed.

After exhaustive research, RADEEF selected RipEX2 as the optimal solution. Not only does it easily meet the new government security requirements but network throughput prospects are beyond what RADEEF had thought possible. Other features of RipEX2 that RADEEF benefits from include the RipEX2-HS hot standby Master station, interference tolerance, scalability of the radios and RACOM’s Migration solution which allows one by one legacy replacements with no outage during migration and no additional expensive HW required.

Phase one of the migration is built around a star topology and consists of two sub-networks of twenty five RipEX2 units, each with a RipEX2-HS at the centre. Two more RipEX2-HS stations are used to connect the sub-networks to the control centre. During deployment, SOHIME, the integrator, assigned two engineers to the project to join a RACOM engineer sent from HQ and RADEEF engineers. Excellent cooperation and teamwork between the three parties involved, ensured maximum success with most connections being highly modulated between 64 and 256 QAM.

Having successfully commissioned the first phase, another 180 sites will be migrated in 2020. And discussions have already started to improve the solution even further. The SCADA centre is at the other side of the city from the networks but as there is LOS between the two, there is the possibility of using a RACOM RAy microwave link instead of narrow radio channel to speed up data transmissions on this link.

Highlights

  • RipEX, RipEX-HS, 400 MHz
  • Power distribution
  • Extreme reliability requirements
  • IEC 104 – Base driven protocol
  • Bespoke cabinets made by RACOM
  • Siemens Ruggedcom switches
  • ABB RTU’s

Founded in 1997, the Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) assumes responsibility for planning, installation, operation and maintenance of electricity distribution systems over more than half of the Kingdom of Jordan.

In 2015 EDCO went out to tender for a major project to connect selected substations to a new SCADA/DMS/AMR control center in Amman. The system should be responsible for monitoring, control and technical management of the existing and future generation distribution networks, covering EDCO’s entire field of operations.

EDCO put maximum stress on reliability and redundancy and initially hoped to use Fibre Optics for communication. Due to the topography and other physical restrictions, Fibre Optics was only possible over a very limited area. After extensive research with their consultants, they established that a UHF data network could also provide a good solution when optimal equipment would be used.

After lengthy research and testing, they decided to use RipEX and its 1+1 hot-standby redundant version RipEX-HS. These devices fully met current need as well as the specification requirements for future monitoring and control requests, a specific consideration from EDCO within the tender process.

Other key considerations for the project included, specific routing functionality, high levels of reliability, dual power supply option for RipEX-HS units (both AC & DC supply in every single unit) and a requirement at specific locations for 10 W RF power.

In total, the initial network comprises 12 RipEX-HS and 25 RipEX modems, all enclosed within indoor type wall mount cabinets, pre-assembled/wired with all ancillaries and built and tested to the customer’s exact specification by RACOM.

Support mechanisms provided by the RACOM technical support team also proved crucial at all stages of the project, keeping development on track and helping the contractor meet specific deadlines set by the customer. This involved remote support and also site visits to provide hands-on support in the field.

Both the end customer and contractor were extremely happy with the levels of professional assistance they received from RACOM staff, including sales, management and technical support. RACOM were praised for the quality of our products, high levels of service and full commitment to the project on a number of occasions throughout the life of the project. Discussions are already underway to discuss possibilities for RACOM to further support EDCO in the future for their network expansion.

Highlights

  • RipEX 400 MHz
  • Power Distribution
  • Bridge mode
  • Recloser Management
  • 25 km average link length
  • Easy setup & management
  • Remote rural area

Empresa Distribuidora de Electricidad de Salta S.A. (Edesa) generates and distributes electricity in Argentina’s Salta Province in the North West corner of the country. Since commencing operations in this region, the Company has been fully committed to provide the community with quality service levels and high safety standards. This involves ensuring electricity distribution is managed using the necessary tools so that the productive sector can anticipate and respond to the demands of the market.

Due to the geography of the Province, there are still scattered rural areas to which EDESA’s energy systems do not have access. Edesa is also fully committed to ensuring electricity provision as a new service, exclusively, to all inhabitants of Salta who request it.

One such new network, providing electricity to a rural area within the Province, uses RipEX radio modems to connect the SCADA network to reclosers. Set up to operate in Bridge mode, the RipEX units are installed in cabinets and mounted on poles in both the city and mountainous regions; the average length of link is between 20 and 30 km.

A Best-In-Class radio, RipEX is renowned for providing 24/7 reliable service for mission-critical SCADA applications for power networks and meeting all security requirements. With a high resistance to multipath propagation and interference and built from heavy duty industrial components, all mounted in a rugged die-cast aluminum case, RipEX is an obvious choice of modem to function reliably in these demanding semi-arid conditions.

We look forward to also helping Edesa meet their commitments of quality and safety to other communities they serve in the future.

Highlights

  • M!DGE
  • Power Distribution
  • Ethernet and Serial Interface
  • Cisco, Vigor… in the centre
  • Sub-tropical climate
  • IEC101 and IEC104
  • Over 1000 remotes
QUESTIONS ?

Vietnam Electricity (EVN) is the largest state-owned power company in Vietnam, providing electricity generation, transmission and distribution throughout Vietnam.

After researching various technologies that could be used for data transfer in their SCADA telemetry network connecting mainly reclosers, it was decided that cellular routers were the most appropriate and would provide the optimal solution whilst allowing costs to remain within the budgetary constraints of the project.

The RACOM M!DGE was tested against other products and showed itself to provide the most robust solution for the network, hosting unique features such as IPsec, VPN tunneling and an ability to maintain high link integrity with end to end functionality in a stable environment.

The network is made up of VPN concentrators such as Cisco, Vigor, Juniper,… in the control centre with M!DGE units connected using IPsec tunnel or NAPT. The network uses two types of communication. Some of the remotes communicate using RS232 serial communications and IEC 101 protocol whilst the others use IEC 104 over Ethernet and TCP/IP.

M!DGE routers of all generations, including the latest M!DGE3, are continuously deployed in the EVN network since 2017. Installation and configuration of the routers is running smoothly and with minimal support from RACOM.

Highlights

  • M!DGE
  • Leased services network
  • Mission critical applications
  • Ethernet and serial interface
  • Mountainous arctic environment
  • Extreme temperatures up to -30 oC
  • Over 500 units deployed

LMC (Last Mile Communication) has delivered enterprise-critical communication solutions with high focus on quality and reliability to customers since 1999. During that time LMC has become aware of a large demand for remote management, monitoring, tracking, alert, and remote access at customer installations with emphasis on security, that did not have a solution available on the market.

IOG, an LMC company, was formed with the commitment to meet that demand and provide solutions and expertise, making it possible to use cellular networks for these critical industrial installations. IOG makes it easy to establish and operate robust M2M solutions. The IOG network operates as a leased service for virtual private networks with typically 2-70 sites.

With the remoteness of many locations requiring these services, in Northern latitudes and rugged mountainous landscape, it has been important to develop robust solutions and use only the highest quality hardware. Adding to the challenge is the fact that many applications are mission critical, including pumping and power stations.

The IOG business model provides leased services and a commitment to provide high SLA provision to their customers; it has been essential for IOG to ensure that every part of the infrastructure meets the stringent demands placed on it.

Years of experience has proven that the RACOM M!DGE is the best choice in such an environment, providing excellent levels of stability. IOG customers also appreciate the serial SCADA protocol implementation.

As of 2017, IOG has over 500 M!DGE units in service and is delighted with the reliability offered by the device, helping IOG develop and maintain a justifiable reputation for quality in the Scandinavian market and beyond.

Dag Nielsen, Technical Director, states “LMC cooperation with RACOM dates back to 2001. During this time LMC has used different RACOM products and has always been happy and satisfied with levels of performance and reliability. RACOM technical support has also been excellent. It is why M!DGE is our product of choice.”

Highlights

  • M!DGE
  • Power distribution
  • Fault indicators
  • Reclosers
  • Tropical environment
  • Serial & Ethernet
  • Over 100 units by 2017

Palembang is the capital of Indonesia’s South Sumatra province and a port city on the Musi River. This extremely low lying district has a population of over 1.5 million.

Electricity supply is provided by PLN, the nationally owned company in Indonesia that has been managing electricity distribution throughout the country for over 50 years. The current network was materialised by PT Surya Total Pertiwi, RACOM’s partner in Indonesia.

Due to the demanding tropical conditions it was important that the routers used in the network were extremely reliable and able to perform to the highest standard. With previous experience of RACOM’s M!DGE cellular router, PT Surya knew they could rely on this unit and chose it above all competition; it has been specially designed for SCADA and telemetry applications, maintaining reliable and secure connections from an unlimited number of remote locations to a central server.

The serial network in Palembang has over 100 remotes by 2017 and growing. M!DGE is used for communication with fault indicators and also for reclosers.

It is envisaged that in the future, the existing legacy radio network could be replaced or expanded with RipEX using RACOM’s tried and tested Migration solution. When this work is complete, PT Surya will have provided a RACOM hybrid network with RipEX and M!DGE working seamlessly together; a tried and tested solution already proving to be so effective in different applications around the world.

Highlights

  • RipEX 400 MHz
  • Power distribution
  • Pole top circuit breakers
  • DNP3 for SCADA
  • COM1 and COM2 concurrently
  • High speed / 16DEQAM
  • 50 remotes under one base station

Mainpower NZ Ltd is a community owned company and has been distributing electricity to the communities of North Canterbury and Kaikoura in New Zealand for nearly 100 years. It is a not for profit company with customers receiving a share of profits and the company sponsoring community initiatives.

RipEX network is used there for SCADA communication with pole top circuit breakers which are part of the power lines company’s network and also for remote maintenance of these RTU’s.

Key requirements of the new network are concurrent serial communications over multiple serial ports while keeping max. throughput over long distances. The terrain within which the network operates is a mixture of rural and urban environments that includes multi-path propagation. RipEX ticked all the boxes and provides the robust solution the end user was looking for.

The main RF network is around one hilltop base station that services approx. 50 remote sites.  The network operates at max. data speed (16DEQAM) in UHF band using frequency split (different Rx and Tx channel).  Com 1 services the SCADA communications utilising DNP3.  Com2 provides transparent serial coms for several proprietary RTU maintenance and programming protocols.  A broadband RipEX RF link carries the two serial connections from HQ SCADA to the hilltop base station.

A fifteen years old network had been used that offered low speed serial communications. It was becoming obvious that this network needed to be migrated to a modern efficient solution. The new RipEX network delivers such a solution and more than surpasses all the customer’s expectations.

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