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No. 20/2020 (May 18, 2020)
Green energy for industry through artificial intelligence and cameras.
The American company Heliogen has engineered a method to utilise solar energy to generate and store heat for use in heavy industry as an alternative to fossil fuels. The company has built the first high-temperature solar power plant based on tower concentrators.
Heliogen power plant in Lancaster (California). The tower concentrator shown with an array of mirrors reflecting and focusing the rays of the sun.
The central component of the system is the tower with a heat exchanger on the top, filled with heat-absorbing working medium. Solar radiation is reflected from a system of mirrors arranged beside the tower. Proper focusing of the radiation reflected from the mirrors is of utmost importance. Their position has to be constantly monitored due to the varying solar incidence angle. Conventional positioning systems operate in an open feedback loop, i.e. they set the predetermined positions. The Heliogen approach is quite different. The position of each mirror and the manner the light is reflected are monitored by a camera and controlled by an artificial intelligence algorithm. In a traditional system, temperatures of up to 600°C are reached, while here 1,000°C is exceeded. What is more, the founder reported that he was on track to achieve temperatures of around 1,500°C, being high enough to separate carbon dioxide and water to obtain hydrogen or other non-fossil fuels.
Production of cement accounts for 8% of global carbon dioxide emissions. It requires generation of high temperatures, thus considerably draining the energy resources. Replacing fossil fuels with their "green" alternatives in the production of various products requiring high temperatures (such as cement or steel to name a few) can have a very positive environmental and financial effect. In general, solar energy is cheaper than that produced from fossil fuels.
Monitoring of an apartment building based on Hikvision EasyIP 2.0plus cameras.
The following figure shows a concept of a video monitoring system covering a building, based on a Hikvision NVR and IP cameras from the EasyIP 2.0plus series. The outside area around the building is monitored by eight DS-2CD2043G0-I K17635 compact cameras with 4 MP resolution and 2.8 mm lens with 98° viewing angle. Inside the building, there are four ceiling cameras DS-2CD2123G0-I K17321 with 2 MP resolution, equipped with 2.8 mm lenses with 114° viewing angle. Both models of the cameras have IR illuminators with a range up to 30 m in EXIR technology ensuring even lighting of the scene at night. The layout of the cameras allows for good identification of any potential vandals who might destroy the facade of the building. The cameras are powered and connected to the NVR via the N29986 16-port PoE switch. The cameras of the EasyIP 2.0plus series support H265+, H.265, H.264+, H.264 video compression. With the use of two 3 TB hard drives, e.g. M89285, H.265 video compression and continuous recording mode at 25 fps for each camera, the data retention time is 15 days.
Schematic diagram of IP CCTV system based on Hikvision devices in an apartment building
The video streams from the cameras are recorded by the 16-channel IP NVR DS-7616NI-K2 K22165. The images can be viewed locally and played back on the M3022 monitor which is a part of the system. Additionally, after connecting the NVR to the Internet via the N3259 router, the access to the system is possible via Wi-Fi (within the range of the wireless router) and through the Internet (after forwarding ports or using cloud solution). The entire cabling can be made of the E1408 cable.
Antenna connectors in LTE modems.
A user of a wireless network device such as access point, wireless adapter, modem etc., who wants to buy an external antenna should know the type of the antenna connector used in the device. A multitude of solutions and slight differences in appearance mean that less experienced users can have great difficulty in choosing the antenna with a matching connector.The type of the connector depends on the device manufacturer and may differ in the case of devices operating in different frequency bands. Mainly the connectors used for broadband data transmission in mobile networks (modems) is what makes a serious problem. The most common connector used in LTE routers is the SMA (shown below).
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View of SMA plug | SMA socket |
Most modems have been equipped with small-size antenna connectors. Having some obvious advantages, the connectors require the use of adapters - additional connectors/leads - for connecting external antennas. The reason is that the antenna cable is usually too large to allow direct termination with the matching connector. The most flexible solution is to use an adapter, a short cable terminated on one side with the matching connector, and with SMA plug on the other. Most antennas are equipped with cables terminated with SMA sockets.
How to set up the near focus limit in Hikvision PTZ cameras?
PTZ cameras can be used for monitoring both near and far zones. Thanks to high zooming factors, the imaging can have the appropriate quality (pixels per meter). However, to avoid focusing on objects which are closer than other of interest, it is necessary to set up a minimum focusing distance. This will eliminate the situation when the camera provides a sharp image of a close object, but the images of more distant objects (like a street light or a tree) are blurred.
Multi-system high-speed PTZ camera Hikvision DS-2AE4225TI-D M75931
In Hikvision PTZ cameras, the near focus limit is set by the "FOCUS LIMIT" parameter. The available settings are 1 cm, 30 cm, 1 m, 3 m, 5 m and AUTO.
Optical receiver in TV & SAT antenna systems.
Optical receivers (nodes) convert optical signals into an electrical form. The electrical signals are provided to the subscriber's devices (forward path), and in the case of using return path (usually for broadband Internet), other signals are transmitted in the opposite direction. The choice of the appropriate optical receiver depends on the required parameters such as:- sensitivity of the optical input – the higher the easier design and implementation of the network; with the same output power of the transmitter the links can be longer or the splitting ratio can be higher,
- maximum output level of the RF (electrical) output – directly determines the size of the copper distribution system that does not require the use of additional TV amplifiers; devices with a level higher than 80 dBμV allow splitting the RF signal into at least ten signal lines.
DIPOL has introduced the FTTH OD-004A TERRA R81717 optical node. The optical receiver features high sensitivity -15...-0 dBm, thus it can be used at the end of comparatively long optical links The maximum RF output level of 80 dBµV is suitable for distribution of the channels via passive splitters/taps to up to 10 or so outlets without a need for an additional amplifier.
Refer to the table below for TERRA optical receivers available from DIPOL:
Full information on the installation – reflectometry measurements.
Reflectometry measurements provide the most universal method of testing fiber optic systems. The GRANDWAY FHO3000-D26 L5828 reflectometer offers functionality similar to that of much more expensive devices of this category. The dynamic range of 26 dB is suitable for measurements in both, buildings and very long single-mode optical links (e.g. one hundred kilometers).The use of a reflectometer by the installer is associated with a number of advantages and opportunities not available in the case of the transmission method (light source and power meter):
- testing of optical fibers on reels before costly and time-consuming installation - to verify the continuity, attenuation, bends etc.,
- exact location of problems in optical paths (bad splices, excessive bends or loops, defective connectors),
- verifying the quality of connectors used in the installation (reflectance, attenuation),
- measuring of the parameters of a selected section of a link (using markers on the screen) with the attenuation and reflectance values of individual "events" - the installer gets exact information on excessive attenuation in the link caused e.g. by a concrete splice/connector, which is not available in the case of using a light source and optical power meter,
- macrobend detection and location - the installer knows where the optical cable has been laid improperly.
Time-domain optical reflectometry measurements are usually performed in long fiber optic links. However, such measurements are also useful in building installations in order to verify if the total attenuation of any link does not exceed the maximum allowed value (e.g. 1.2 dB in Poland).
An example of visualization of a splice in the OTDR Viewer. The splice is located in the 3015 meter of the optical path. The reflectometer gives the attenuation of the event (in the case of the low quality splice the attenuation is 0.47 dB), as well as provides the attenuation of the section between the 2775 m and 3285 m (0.6 dB).
 | The TWL 001 downconverter (LNB) A9888 receives satellite signals in 10.7 ... 11.7 GHz and 11.7 ... 12.75 GHz bands. It amplifies them and converts them into 950 MHz ... 5.45 GHz IF band. The output signal (via N connector and RF cable) is fed to the SAT Input of the ODU32 unit of the TOU 232 KIT A9880 set. | |
 | The Multi-section Stabilized Power Supply PSDCSEP04124 (12V/4A/4x1A/TOPIC) M18276 is designed to supply CCTV devices requiring stabilized 12 VDC power. It has four independently adjustable channels enabling the voltages to be set in the range of 12-15 VDC/4x 1 A, thus ensuring compensation of voltage drops in extensive CCTV systems. Its outputs are galvanically separated and protected by fuses. | |
 | The GFM-48, 48F metal distribution box L54148 has been designed for use in various conditions. The electrostatically powder-coated installation box is resistant to corrosion as well as to low and high temperatures in outdoor environment. The inside of the box is equipped with 48 ports for SC simplex or LC duplex fiber optic adapters and 2 bolted fiber optic trays for 24 splices altogether. | |
Worth reading
Calibration of optical power meters – certificates. The optical power meter, like most measuring devices, performs measurements with certain uncertainty. Its value is usually given in the meter data sheet and confirmed with the attached certificate...>>>more
A basic calibration certificate issued by an optical power meter producer
People counting camera
