| CALTRANS WILLOW SPRINGS REMOTE CONTROL AND MONTORING SYSTEM | |
The complexity and critical importance of the Caltrans Willow Springs Power System coupled with the remote geographical location requires on-line access for monitoring and control. In spite of the current state of technology, many of the components of this power system have proved to not be as reliable as advertised or desired. Some examples-- the Outback Mate3 system, the router and the heart of the system, a Control-By-Web X-600M-- lock up regularly. The solution has been to provide a level of monitoring, automated corrective actions and redundancy to help ensure reliable operation. |
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| Above is a thumbnail for the flow-diagram for the remote control and monitoring system. Click any thumbnail to enlarge | |
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| Above is the exterior of the control cabinet. Note the reset button: If the system locks up without recourse off-site, I can have an equipment operator press the reset button and power-cycle the CBW system. | Above is the interior of the control cabinet. |
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| Close up of the Control-By-Web X600 equipment. | Close-up of the relay modules. |
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| Interface embedded in the power distribution equipment. | Screen-shot of the main dashboard. |
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| Screen shot of the ping-log. Notice the repeated failure of the Mate3 to respond to a ping requested initiated a power cycle at 10:55. | The system includes an E-Gauge E3000 unit. Above is a screen-shot of the display offered by this excellent product. |
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| This is the physical E-gauge unit. | This garden-variety timer is a back-up to the Control-By Web system. When the CBW locks up. as it does, this timer ensures the generators run on schedule, as needed. The timer is set to start the generator 2 minutes after the CBW is supposed to and stop the generator 2 minutes before it is scheduled. The problem with this is this timer cannot apply logic to ensure adequate battery charging like the CBW does, when it is working. |
| Summary: The advent of better remote control and monitoring equipment is a mixed blessing: We can see and control more aspects of remote sites, but the equipment is not adequately reliable. We need to build systems on top of systems to rescue the systems when they lock up. | |