Environmental Monitoring: Antennas for Data Collection
Posted by Kevin Laudenbach on
Antennas are useful in many environmental applications, and can be crucial to monitoring the state of the environment in which they are placed.
We recently spoke with the USGS (The US Geological Survey) about their current data monitoring setup and potentially helping to upgrade their systems.
One of the primary duties of the USGS is to use data loggers to monitor areas with water (i.e. rivers. lakes, dams, etc.). They check on things like the water level, the temperature, and water discharge, among other things. Below you can see one of the boxes where they collect this data:
Inside of these boxes, the USGS has been using Sierra Wireless modems (RV50, RV50X, RV55) because of the low power usage (many solar sites) and the RS232 port. These modems provide data for the data logging systems. The antenna they are currently using with these modems is compatible with 5G/Band 71. However, the antenna is a single 5G antenna, meaning it cannot connect to dual 5G lines that these modems contain (1 cellular, 1 DIV).
Considering the application, it's extremely important that their systems are equipped with the proper technology. If they were to lose connection or the ability to monitor these areas, they could become blind to critical situations such as water overflowing, flooding, freezing, and more emergency scenarios that could cause serious damage.
We recommended the RFMAX RBMM-55-SS-12 "Brick" antenna to them as an alternative to their current antenna. This antenna is a Dual MIMO 5G antenna, meaning they can use the Cellular and Diversity lines on their modems to ensure better connectivity.
Additionally, it has a 12 foot cable and is equipped with a magnetic mount, so it can easily be mounted on any metal box/enclosure. Below you can see some examples of the boxes this antenna has been mounted on:
Click Here to view the entire "Brick" Antenna Collection
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