Posts Tagged ISA100 wireless
Industrial Wireless 101: Free access to webinar recordings
Posted by danstips in Communications, Cost Issues, Ethernet, Honeywell, ISA 100, ISA100, Measurement, Wireless, Wireless, Wireless Transmitters, WirelessHART, WirelessHART on April 27, 2012
In the past month, I’ve focused several articles on industrial wireless technology. If you’re interested in learning more, here are several webinar recordings you can watch on your own time that will give you more insight into how wireless works, and how companies are using it to extend that measurement base and get process information where they need it to go, even on a limited budget.
Hurry up and wait: My OneWireless incremental firmware update story
Posted by danweise in Communications, Configuration, Honeywell, ISA 100, Pressure Transmitters, Temperature Transmitters, Transmitters, Troubleshooting, Wireless, Wireless, Wireless Transmitters on April 2, 2012
We keep a Honeywell XYR6000 field transmitter network setup at the Lesman offices for training, customer demonstrations, and site surveys. And part of my job is to keep the system in working order.
Honeywell releases incremental firmware updates when they need to fix a bug or add functionality to the systems. I’d downloaded both the 201.1 and 202.1 update files from the Honeywell website, but had procrastinated in doing the installation. (Never happens to you, right?)
When I got around to doing the updates today, I pulled out the wireless device manager (WDM) manual [1.8MB PDF]. and turned to section 6.2, page 131. It has about 10 pages of step-by-step instructions on the update/upgrade process.
But then, I found myself wishing for another of those “missing pages from the manual”. While it has all the steps, here’s what’s missing: A map that tells me how long the steps take.
Two different approaches to industrial networking
Posted by danstips in Communications, Ethernet, Honeywell, ISA 100, Measurement, Pressure Transmitters, Temperature Transmitters, Transmitters, Wireless, Wireless, Wireless Transmitters on March 27, 2012
This morning, I came across two articles I thought were worth sharing. They’re both about industrial networks, but from two entirely different angles.
The first article is written by a network engineer at a manufacturing plant. The gist of it is something we at Lesman talk about often with our customers: Buy what you need. In this case, he’s talking about Ethernet switches for light manufacturing and assembly operations, where a field-hardened industrial ethernet switch may be overkill (and out of your budget).
Industrial Wireless 101: Why do we need three frequency bands?
Posted by danstips in Bluetooth, Cellular, Communications, Cost Issues, Ethernet, Installation, ISA 100, ISA100, Process terminology, Wireless, Wireless, Wireless Transmitters, wireless transmitters, WirelessHART, WirelessHART on March 15, 2012
Regardless of what information you need to send, or where you need to send it, if your data is going “over the air”, you’ll need to choose a frequency in one of three ranges that do not compete with the FCC licensed bands for radio transmissions.
These three ISM (industrial, scientific, medical) bands are 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, and 5 GHz. They’ve often been described as the industrial equivalent to Citizens’ Band radios, specified so they don’t interfere with broadcast radio signals.
History with technology would lead you to believe that the more Hertz you have, the better your radios will perform. But what you need to understand is that there’s a tradeoff. Each band has its strengths and weaknesses, and there’s a best use for each.
Lesman Tech Tips 