Any successful telemetry installation depends greatly on the incorporation of the right telemetry outstation, which is also referred to as a Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) and is the data collection advice that gathers information from all of the sensors located at its given remote site, on a 24 hours a day basis. Certainly, having been operating for more than 25 years now, Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) is more than seasoned at advising firms on their remote monitoring requirements and the role that the right outstation can play in meeting them.

Visitors to the Oriel Systems website who are in need of remote tank monitoring systems that fulfil their requirements are advised to familiarise themselves with the various types of telemetry outstation that may be relevant to their industry. Oriel Systems serves organisations overseeing small and large projects in the water, oil and gas, chemical and printing industries, and knows how to implement a solution that is high-performing, dependable, scalable and cost-effective from the beginning of the client relationship.

One of the telemetry solutions with these qualities that Oriel Systems has developed is a video outstation that can transmit as much as 8 live feeds – with optimal audio – simultaneously from a remote site, using the Internet to transmit over long distances. Video can be transmitted by the video streaming unit at various resolutions, from systems with low network bandwidth to high bandwidth applications that make possible the transmission of video of television quality. Oriel Systems Awax telemetry software means that clients can remotely monitor and control cameras at the same time as they monitor and control other onsite functions.

Of course, another solution that Oriel Systems offers is the Intelligent Telemetry Outstation (ITO). One can programme this Unit for the monitoring and control of plant equipment at a remote site, with the option of having it attached to various types of IO module or even PLCs or other intelligent devices. This allows for the system to be fully configured for a given site. Even the client that already has specialist hardware of its own can take advantage of the ITO. That’s because Oriel Systems has the in-house expertise to modify the unit so that it can be connected to the aforementioned hardware.

When the ITO is connected back to the client’s master station, they are able to choose from various options for communication transmission, including PSTN (land-line), Low Power radio (licensed as well as unlicensed), Internet, satellite or GSM/GPRS mobile. The telemetry outstations of various other manufacturers can be communicated with, while the unit is able to report a live feed of on-site events. This simply leaves the low power outstation, which has been designed with small solar panel and/or mini-windmill power in mind. It generates its own 24 volt power supply, courtesy of an internal charge pump.

Organisations are encouraged to contact Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) now for more in-depth information about how their technical requirements for remote data acquisition can be met.

Editor’s Note: Oriel

Oriel systems has recently completed a remote tank monitoring system for a thin film, foils and foil laminate manufacturer in based in South Wales whose products are widely used throughout the world in the graphics, packaging and labelling industries.

The customer has a tank farm containing Hexane, Xylene, Acetone, Toluene and other hazardous chemicals some 1Km distant at the rear of the manufacturing plant and there was no other way to obtain the levels of the tank contents other than to manually dip the tanks.  In many cases once the dipstick was withdrawn, the level would no longer be visible due to volatility of the chemical, this added to the fact that the chemicals stored on site are highly flammable made the operation a hazardous one.

The customer wanted a safe and reliable method of obtaining current stock levels of the chemicals used in their manufacturing process, without the need to physically dip the tanks and cause a potential hazard to their staff.  As the manufacturing operates 24hours a day they also wanted to monitor use-age of each chemical and predict potential stock-out situations before they occur.

Oriel proposed using guided microwave sensors as they are virtually unaffected by changes to product or process like temperature, pressure, density, conductivity, vapours or dust.  They are also extremely reliable with no moving parts, no re-calibration no floats to stick.   Accurate to 2mm and ATEX approved.  The sensors work by transmitting microwave radar pulses, which are ‘guided’ along a cable suspended from top to bottom of a vessel. These pulses travel along the length of the cable and are reflected back when they reach the surface of the liquid.  The sensors were fitted into the removable man-way cover at the top of the tank and then cabled back to a galvanic separator and then into one of Oriels’ Intelligent Telemetry Outstations or ITO’s.

The outstation collects current values from each sensor every 15seconds and stores the data in it’s internal memory.  Oriels’ ITO has an inbuilt Ethernet connection and all current tank level information is then passed along the ITW internal communications network for viewing on any PC.  Alternatively we could host the information on our Web Server and make it available on a password protected web page for viewing from any internet connected PC, tablet or smartphone.

However big or small your project, our technical team would be pleased to discuss your application.  Please call us on  01249 705070 or e-mail us for further information

In a world in which the competition between industries has reached its greatest intensity to date, all amid ever-encroaching budgetary pressures, the need has arisen for companies that can provide the most cost-effective and reliable telemetry systems to organisations across a wide range of industries. Over more than a quarter-century of operation, Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) has been instrumental in meeting these needs with the best equipment and services.

Telemetry is, in the simplest terms, apparatus that records the readings of an instrument before transmitting this data by radio. Readings are transmitted to a distant receiving set or station. Many firms in the early 21^st century do not have the manpower to place staff in a particular location on a constant basis, which makes any means of remote site monitoring especially invaluable. Beyond this, however, there are many more specialised requirements that a client may have for a telemetry installation, largely dependent on whether they are operating in the water, chemical, oil and gas or printing industries.

Oriel Systems has made the most of its many years in business to develop a real and intricate understanding of these most specialised of remote tank monitoring needs. The company has realised the importance of providing the full breadth of relevant telemetry products and services, encompassing the likes of video, intelligent and low power outstations and Awax VMI and SCADA software, as well as access to the most experienced and capable software consultants. On the subject of consultants, Oriel Systems has also invested considerably in its people, ensuring that clients feel able to contact the technical team with any of a wide range of queries.

As the company develops its own software, those clients getting in touch with customer support can soon be speaking directly to the best possible people to assist with even the most obscure technical requirement. The company has a manufacturing, research and development facility in southwest England, with installation engineers working out of two further sites in Manchester and north of London. Such professionals are therefore well-placed to swiftly resolve any issues that customers may have with their remote monitoring systems, and in any case, customer systems are often controlled remotely if required.

Oriel Systems has built a strong track record over the years as it has evolved into a truly dynamic provider of high technology industrial services. Its software consultants have been developing Windows software since shortly after Windows began, while it has also continually refined its sensors and telemetry outstations over time to cater to ever-changing client requirements. Its success, expertise and experience have been further developed by strategic alliances across Europe and the Far East.

Such entrenched knowhow and a continually extended and enhanced track record only further affirms the high stature of Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) among all manner of clients of its telemetry solutions – in the past, present and future.

In a working world that is becoming characterised by more flexible and remote ways of working, it makes complete sense that organisations in the likes of the oil and gas, chemicals and printing industries are demanding ever-greater flexibility from their arrangements for remote tank monitoring. Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) is at the forefront of the development of telemetry systems with these 21^st century requirements in mind.

As the developer of its own software, Oriel Systems has long created the right impression from the very beginning of its relationship with a client. Those organisations that work with Oriel Systems quickly find that even when their needs aren’t catered for by the remote control of their systems, they can call at any point during the working day and soon be speaking to the engineers who are based placed to provide advice on their telemetry systems.

The flexibility of Oriel Systems’ telemetry solutions across a broad range of industries can be attributed to certain basic, universally applicable strengths that provide the strongest possible foundation for much more specialised needs. With more than 25 years of industry experience, the company has built a considerable installed user base across the world, which has allowed it to continually refine its systems for reliability.

Oriel Systems’ experts are used to being contacted by a wide range of potential clients with a large or small project to implement. The technical team is always willing to talk, whether they are contacted by phone, email or the website’s online contact form. They cater for projects of ever-changing sizes by creating telemetry systems that are highly scalable, with the option for further additions as requirements change. Whether clients require a telemetry installation of a modest scale, or instead a plant-wide system, they can avoid a single penny of unnecessary expenditure.

Connections to a wide range of remote plant and equipment are possible, including existing telemetry equipment and that of other suppliers. This reduces the amount of investment required by new clients that are anxious to be resourceful with what they have. Also welcome is the ease and speed with which Oriel Systems’ remote monitoring systems can be installed, which reduces both start-up and operational costs for organisations that have little room to budge as far as budget is concerned.

Telemetry was conceived in the first place to allow equipment at remote sites to be monitored by an ever-smaller number of people, from just one main PC. Oriel Systems (http://www.orielsystems.com) is more committed than any other firm to maximising the inherent flexibility of telemetry software and equipment, with the option even there for hosting that reduces the need for a company to continually check on the functioning of a given system. Oriel Systems also has its own remote diagnostic facilities to further reduce client costs.