When packaging goes wrong (or actually the supplier)

We have a new build underway. The subcontract company (a good quality outfit) email me to let me know that our GSM modules have arrived.

That ought to mean that a customer build can proceed; but not yet.

For the second time in recent builds the parts have arrived not in a vacuum sealed dry bag protecting the moisture sensitive parts, but in open waffle trays wrapped in bubble wrap.

Unfortunately this is not how our parts were packed
(picture from http://www.ebnonline.com/author.asp?section_id=2480&doc_id=269960)

This ought never to happen. It's easy for any distributor to get handling advice about moisture sensitive components. However it's also easy to neglect when customers order part trays or tubes. No doubt it's difficult and time consuming to re-bake or re-bag items but the potential field failure cost of using the product is far greater in both monetary and reputation terms.

Another supplier who has failed to make the grade. Very sad.

We can't use the components without at least an extended bake or replacement parts. Now the explanation to the end customer about why the build has been delayed...

GSM and wireless technology for railways and the leisure industry - consultancy

We have been busy and we have rather neglected the blog, sorry.

So what have we been busy on and why might it be interesting for you?

Over the last 12 months we have been involved in two major programmes featuring custom designs for our customers. Both these programmes are nearing the final delivery phase and will complete before the end of the year.

One has been the development of a tracking system for leisure equipment. This started simply enough as the integration of GSM, accelerometer and GPS technology into an anti-theft system. Over a 9 month development the product features were enhanced and wireless key fob capabilities, to arm and disarm the system, added.

As is often the case, as the customer understands the possibilities that our consultancy and design service offers, they seek to enhance the product. The final production units should be in the shops in December this year and we'll provide all the product details after the launch.

Track-side testing at feasibility study stage

The other big programme has been in the rail industry. It has featured a carefully graduated feasibility programme that is leading to a production ready system. The design provides telemetry information from the track-side to a remote server that can monitor the track condition.

This program will save the customer money by putting in place, preventative maintenance actions, before damaging rail and wheel wear occur. It has brought together data acquisition in an electrically noisy environment, GSM telemetry, expert systems and web based delivery of information.

We have also expanded our own range of capabilities over the last year so that now we have a wider range of engineering building blocks solutions that we can assemble to meet customer requirements. Is there a problem in your organisation that we could help you find the answer to?

Get in touch with us and talk it through, perhaps we already have most of the answers you are looking for. www.emmtek.co.uk

How can you use EMM-Tek products? Here are some ideas.

I recently spoke with a security installation company and the conversation turned to how the EMM-Tek products could be used in more creative ways.

So I recently updated the application ideas page on the EMM-Tek web site and here are some of those ideas.

Know when your car/boat/tractor has been started by linking battery voltage to the ALARM function at 11V. (Battery voltage dips when the starter is used) 
 
Use the digital input on the RMC301 to monitor a float switch in the boat bilge to warn of rising water levels.  
 
Use the RMC301 digital inputs to monitor a float switch to know when oil/water or slurry tanks are running low or about to become over full.  

You do not want this spilling out into local watercourses (Slurry tank pictures from Wikipedia)

With a temperature sensor connected to the RMC301.

Use NAP & ONWAKE functions to send an hourly log of temperature. (ideal for cold storage log files)
   
Exhibiting at a show? Protect that storage cupboard you built on the stand with your stock in it with the RMC320 or RMC302. Reuse at the next exhibition.  

With a GPS receiver connected to the RMC301

A Twitter message is simply an SMS message sent to Twitter, so why not Tweet system status updates? Then anyone can look at the latest information. Tweet the location of your delivery van, mobile shop, mobile fish & chip van. You can set how often a Tweet is sent. Tweet any variable being measured by your system to a wide audience. 

You can see many more usage ideas on the web page http://www.emmtek.co.uk/ideas.html 

Is 2% margin on the power grid enough? What will happen to you if the lights go out?

There have been several articles recently about how the national grid is under increasing strain. (For example here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23093581)

High voltage pylons but will they carry electricity in 2015?

Historically, the National Grid maintained an excess of reserve generation capacity to deal with cold weather, equipment failure or transmission faults. That safety margin in the past was much higher (at least 10% and some sources indicate 15%).

Why the strain? Old Magnox reactors will be out of service by 2015, coal fired plants are becoming too expensive to run as a result of climate change levies and new nuclear reactors have not been installed.

National Grid does have an extensive range of top up generation capacity, from warm start gas turbines to widely distributed diesel generators but the safety margin is wafer thin  especially if we have more cold winters.

By 2015, some industrial users will be paid not to turn on their machinery so that the grid does not collapse.

This comes at a time when more than ever we rely on a constant supply of electricity to power trains, computers and all manner of control systems. No grid = no control.

Since individually we are unlikely to influence new power generation it seems more sensible to concentrate on dealing with the almost inevitable power cuts that will happen as the grid's reserve diminishes.

If you have equipment that must keep running (fridges for food stores or similar) it would be good to know when there is a power failure so that back-up plans can be actioned.

The EMM-Tek RMC301 has a power fail function that warns you if the primary power supply has failed. It does this by storing energy in Super Capacitors which provide enough reserve power to send up to three 'Power Fail' text messages to nominated users. When power is restored those same users get a follow up message confirming that power is back on.

Whilst this won't stop the grid failures at least an early warning will allow you to take actions to reduce or avoid loss and spoilage.

This feature also seems to have been popular with the leisure boating community as a warning when harbour side electrical connections get unplugged.

Take a look at the RMC301RC here. http://www.emmtek.co.uk/System-level-GSM-GPS-products.html

Protecting your boat

Most leisure sailors invest a considerable amount of time and money into their past time.

As well as the original purchase price of the boat, the tweaks and gadgets, the modifications and regular repairs all add up in both time and monetary value.

That investment is worth protecting. From theft, from loss of ecternal power or from mechanical failure.

EMM-Tek products can be used in a variety of ways to help you protect your boat.
The photo below is from http://www.flickr.com/people/8043800@N05/

Perhaps you want to measure the temperature too?

Location

It's reassuring to know where your boat is and a GPS reporting system is ideal for this purpose. Our own MarineGuard product is an extension of our RMC301 that adds a GPS system. This uses the GPS satellite technology used by TomTom and Garmin to get a position fix on the boat when you arm the MarineGuard.

If the boat should move from this position, an alarm is raised, and you can be alerted by a text message. The internal relay can also be activated to power a siren or similar warning device.

But why a text message? Isn't email better?

Probably not. Modern mobile phones are amazing allowing you to send and receive data almost anywhere; it's the almost that is important.

In a city centre you'll probably get a strong 4G or 3G signal for any mobile device but that's not where you sail. In the harbours of Cornwall or the more remote areas of coastline the strength of the data element (GPRS, EDGE, 3G or 4G) drops away quickly. Eventually it can be a struggle to make a voice call. But, even in these conditions an SMS message will often still get through.

When you really want a message to get through send it by text and that is exactly what our products do.

Power

If your boat uses a mains power connection to keep electrical and electronic equipment going whilst you're away, what happens if that power is interrupted? Pumps stop, refrigerators get warm, alarms become useless. So you need a warning system.

Our RMC301RC has internal Supercap reserve energy technology that means it can send messages when power is interrupted. It can monitor its own DC power feed or even monitor the mains with an adaptor and optional I/O board. (Ask us about this for your application).

Result? You know within seconds if there is a power failure, wherever you happen to be.

Theft

It's a sad fact of life that there will always be a thief willing to take the risk of stealing from your boat. However add a PIR sensor or magnetic reed switch to your boat; hook it up to the MarineGuard or RMC301RC and you'll have an alarm system that will notify you by text and scare of the would be thief if you have it linked to a siren.

Temperature

Winter is here and it's possible that you are more concerned about the interior of the boat getting too cold whilst unattended. Our SENS2 temperature sensor can be connected directly to the RMC301RC or MarineGuard units to provide a warning if the temperature gets either too hot or too cold. It's a simple way avoid frost damage.

EMM-Tek products are designed to used in a wide variety of flexible ways. A little thought or a phone call/email to us can often be the basis of a very workable protection system for your boaty investment.

Can you have a solar only installation?

Can you have a completely solar based installation of a GSM controller or alarm?

The EMM-Tek RMC301RC is very small and very adaptable which means that it is often pressed into service where installation of other systems might be a challenge.

Let's think about protecting an outbuilding; perhaps it's a stable or storehouse.

We'll assume that there is no main electricity available to make this an easy task.

We'll also assume that the stable is in the London area (latitude, that is distance from the equator changes the amount of daylight we get).

What we need is a calculator to help us with all the tricky details of working out the solar data; fortunately there is an on-line one here http://www.solarelectricityhandbook.com/solarcalculator.aspx.

We'll use this for our calculations. It's a free service and the results are delivered to you by email.

Once we have named our project it asks us to list all the power consuming items in our 'off-grid'; in this case it's just the RMC301RC. From the data sheet we know that the average current draw is about 35mA (0.035amps) so at 12V that 0.42watts. Let's assume we have a 0.5watt load.

Then it prompts us to enter our cable lengths, shorter is always better to avoid losses.

Then it asks for a location and what direction the panel will face. The further south you are the better the light will be and a south facing panel will be better than a north facing one. However life is rarely that easy, walls tend not to be movable!

But we'll assume that we can use a south facing wall.

Will you use the system every month of the year? Do you need the system battery backed in case the panel gets covered with snow and produces no usable electricity?

Let's assume we want round the year use and a 3 day power reserve.

So that's all the basic details in, just request the report.

The first thing the report does is to recommend the best angle from vertical to mount your panel. If it is to be fixed at one angle then the winter setting is the one to go for, in this case 22 degrees from vertical.

22 degrees from vertical

We then note that it recommends a 20-Watt panel  with a 4Ah (Amp hours) battery. Not too bad then.

A quick check on the web shows that http://www.grantsolarpanels.co.uk/ can provide us with a 20 Watt panel and charge regulator for £95 (ex VAT)

A small 12V gel style lead acid battery will be perfect as our back up supply. A quick look on the Maplin web site shows that we can get a this for £31.99 (inc. VAT) from here http://www.maplin.co.uk/sealed-lead-acid-batteries-19363

So for around £146 (excluding any brackets needed) plus the RMC301RC we can have a very practical solar only installation to protect your 'off grid' building.

Is a solar installation possible? Yes it is.

We're under cyber attack!

Britain's infrastructure is being cyber attacked every day by foreign, hostile states according to the UK Government. http://www.bcs.org/content/conWebDoc/49106

These attacks are attempts to disrupt networks that control our energy infrastructure and seem likely to continue as the UK energy grids become increasingly web based and IP enabled.

The result for end customers is likely to be unpredictable power cuts or brown-outs where the power grid 'dip's and causes problems.

So much of what we do today needs continuous electrical power and whilst for small installations like a computer file server a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is ideal short term protection, this is impractical for larger installations such as chiller units.

Of course it's not just cyber attacks that take down the mains grid, recent high winds and floods have caused millions of pounds worth of damage through power being interrupted.

Whilst EMM-Tek does not have a line in portable power generation, our equipment can warn you of a rise in temperature of a chiller unit and warn you if the power is disconnected for any reason.

How?
In our RMC301RC controller system there is a power reserve provided by Super Capacitor technology. These capacitors (used in hybrid cars to store energy) provide a power reserve, so that even when the main supply goes off, up to three warning text messages can be sent. Unlike a rechargeable battery these capacitors last for the life of the product.

It may be that a temperature controlled system has failed for some other reason, our optional temperature sensor can provide you with an immediate warning, potentially saving you an expensive bill for spoiled goods.

For less than £200, with an RMC301RC you can monitor and control your systems to insure against these threats.

Commercial property now the squatters prime target

Earlier this year, changes were made to the squatting laws that made squatting in a residential home a criminal (rather than a civil) offence. This has the effect of involving the police is such situation where before they typically did not want to be involved.

However what many people have missed is that the change does not apply to commercial properties. So while warehouses and office blocks may not be a squatters first choice, empty pubs, hostels and hotels are ideal for a new squat.

Empty pub in Witham - picture from the Braintree & Witham Times

There are reports of a 100% increase in calls to commercial property lawyers on this topic alone (http://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2012/november/changes-to-squatting-laws-should-be-extended-to-commercial-property-expert-says/)

It may be that a commercial building is only briefly empty between tenants, but that window of opportunity is enough for a squatting group to take over the building and cause the owners trouble and potentially additional costs.

A rapid deployment alarm system like the EMM-Tek RMC320 can provide the first warning of trouble by alerting the building owners or site manager that an intrusion has taken place. It does not require mains electricity or a phone line to work and can be placed by any person (no wiring or special skills needed, just set it down in the area to be protected). The building is protected within two minutes and the long life battery can power the RMC320 for up to a year. The alarm user receives SMS text messages if the alarm is triggered. An early intervention at this stage can nip the squatting process in the bud. Often an entrance way is breached by person unknown and the squatting group will 'discover' an open building some time later. A fast response is vital in this situation to avoid the squatters getting in and changing the locks.

The price for this peace of mind the RMC320 can bring? £299 delivered to any mainland UK address.

Marine Guard features in Motor Boats Monthly magazine

There's no getting away from the fact that if a thief can take what's your without being detected, he'll probably try to do so.

Theft from all kinds of recreational vehicles (including boats) is a persistent threat.

This month Motor Boats Monthly Magazine ran a feature on low cost security devices and included our own MarineGuard product.

And here is the article in the magazine (apologies for the rather snap happy picture)

The MarineGuard is a feature rich version of our RMC301 product that includes a Geo-Fencing function allowing you to set an alarm based on how far the boat has moved from its original position. You can set this area as being very tight (3 metres or so) or as loose as a 100 metres or more to allow for movement in a harbour area.

When the alarm is tripped the unit will text you straight to your mobile phone. You can also use the control features to turn on heaters or pumps via the onbaord relays. (Low voltage only, use an external contactor if you need to switch mains voltages).

See more about the product here http://www.emmtek.co.uk/boat-security.html

Cost? just £223 pounds plus £6.50 delivery to a UK address. A worthwhile insurance we think you'll agree.

Interesting web site for GPS news

I found this web site recently and I though our users might find it of interest.

http://www.gpsworld.com/

They seem to cover all things GPS from the launch of new satellite systems to discrete tracking products and services. Well worth a look if GPS is interesting for you.

Protecting the tiny house and mobile home

There is quite a movement growing especially in the USA to downsize your home and get back to living in smaller, cheaper and more manageable spaces.

These small dwellings (often less than 500 square feet) can in some cases be mounted on a trailer chassis and moved around caravan style.(This blog site by Lloyd Kahn is great jumping off point for more information http://lloydkahn-ongoing.blogspot.co.uk/)

Protecting that potentially mobile home calls for a different approach to the usual domestic alarm system.

The EMM-Tek RMC301RC is a versatile GSM based controller that can act as an alarm system and can also be integrated with a GPS receiver. It can be powered by battery in conjunction with a solar panel to provide an 'off-grid' protection system you can rely on.

The RMC301 can protect your home or garage or garden office

Link the RMC301RC to a PIR sensor and/or magnetic door switch and it can tell you (by SMS text message) that you have an unwelcome visitor immediately. In these times of reduced policing, it's likely you'll get to your home before police do to scare off the intruder.

The unit is easily powered by a small solar panel and lead acid battery combination; ideal where there is no mains power available. The unit is small (122mm long), weatherproof and is easily fixed almost anywhere. If you add the optional GPS module it can text you a warning that your home, caravan or trailer is being moved and then tell you where it is!

If you are going to downsize then it makes even more sense to protect what you value the most and the RMC301RC does just that.

Cold weather and empty buildings = trouble

We have now added a new temperature reading capability to our portable wireless alarm system, the RMC320.

Why?

As I write this blog entry the temperature outside is -1 degree centigrade and there is a sharp frost on the cars too. Frost damage in an unheated building can be a major risk and very costly too.

An example of just how damaging a burst pipe can be

We have a temperature sensor built in to the RMC320 so that it can text you a warning when the temperatures drop (you can set the temperature at which it does this). Actually the capability is built in to all our current products but only as an option, on the RMC320 it is fitted as standard.

This unit will help to avoid those costly frozen pipes that split and then burst causing thousands of pounds of damage. You can take preemptive action to add portable heating units as required during the cold weather periods.

The new RMC320 front panel

Not the best picture of the front panel but It shows how it looks until we get the latest product shots done.


Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

I have neglected the blog...

But now I'm back blogging!

We have been busy over the course of the spring and summer. We have been building on our tracking technology with some new services that we'll announce later this year.

We have also been working on the the Vacant Building Wireless Alarm System, the RMC320.

The prototype RMC320. The production one has a larger label on the front

It's a completely self contained building protection system. No mains needed, no phone line needed. Just put it in place with the PIR sensors facing the main thoroughfare of the building and turn it on. Easy.

It's a great way for Letting Agents to protect their clients (and earn some extra cash too). The RMC320 makes it easy to protect a building between lets.

It'll send a text message if either the front or rear PIR is triggered so that you can investigate immediately and secure the building.

It will also send you a daily status update so that you know the system is working correctly.

It's battery powered and the battery will last up to a year .

Take a look here for the specifications.

Back to work for the New Year

It's back to work on Tuesday 3rd (although we have been trying out some new electronic designs over the Christmas break).

We have several interesting programs on the go at present so the next few months should prove to be exciting. One of the areas we will be looking at is our sales channel; we'll be actively recruiting new dealers for EMM-Tek products. Please get in touch if you like to be involved.

Happy New Year!

What about a GSM phone that makes calls?

Barely a day goes by without a new mobile being announced by the major vendors.

Almost without exception though the talk is of the software features of the platform rather than the ability to make a call; that bit seems to be assumed.

But should it be? Our own work with the GSM network is more usually based on sending an SMS text message or a packet of data rather than voice. How ever signal quality is vital for many of our applications where the GSM controller (like our RMC301 for example) may be in a remote location on the edge of cell's coverage area.

In these circumstances selecting the right antenna is vital and yesterday I had a long discussion with one antenna provider that proved to be very useful indeed. Suffice to say that the incorporation of an antenna into a fully embedded device presents more challenges that an external antenna that can be changed if more gain is needed.

GPSIII satellites to be built by Lockheed Martin

It seems that the next generation of GPS will offer 4 times the accuracy of the current system and be harder to jam.

Lockheed Martin have a contract from the US Airforce to provde a prototype and two production satellites with an option for up to 10 more. Eventually it is expected that 32 of the GPSIII systems will be in orbit.

Read the full story here:
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19542433

New proposal for customer

For the next few days we'll be refining a proposal based around our GPS and GSM building blocks to create a customised product for a new end customer.

Small size and low power drain are key elements in this design. As usual, time scales are short and the budget is 'constrained'. We love a challenge!

Our first blog entry

Welcome to the new EMM-Tek blog.

It's the place where we can keep you up to date with new products and features from EMM-Tek and anything else we find interesting.

Expect to see blog entries about GSM communications, GPS positioning, tracking, machine to machine communications and more besides.

We hope you'll find it useful and just occasionally fun!