Newsletter September 2011

Welcome to another Abbey Systems Newsletter with updates of new products, recent orders and projects.

NEW Topcat RTU

We're pleased to announce a stretched Topcat RTU is in development and will soon be available ex factory. It will comprise 3 Isolated I/O modules on the core CPU module. There will be 4 variants:

• TC3-0 no radio fitted; for use via Ethernet, IP radio or external serial data radio
• TC3-X for external higher powered radio
• TC3-U with internal 4 watt UHF radio
• TC3-V with internal 5 watt VHF radio

Topcat RTUs use opto-isolated inputs and relay outputs offering an increased level of electrical isolation and protection to the RTU.

The I/O is; 30 Digital In, 18 Relay Out, 12 Analog In, 4 Analog Out via an optional DIN mounted PCB module.

For more information please contact Steve Dorrington, Sales and Marketing Manager on +64 21 434782 or steve@abbey.co.nz

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Topcat name changes

With the discontinuation of the original Topcat and the introduction of the TC3 in future, what has been the Topcat 2 will become the Topcat, losing the '2' suffix. This is to make the names of the TC1 & TC3 variants less confusing. Literature will be updated at the next release to reflect this change.

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SCADA Gateway & Hot Standby Changeover

The single radio channel SCADA Gateway is now based on Topcat hardware (previously it was based on the Swampfox) and has been upgraded to allow it to act as the Primary SCADA Gateway in a Hot Standby changeover system. A new label has been created to go with this new SCADA Gateway, making it easy to see whether the Master or Backup is in control and how to revert control back to the Master.

The multi radio channel SCADA Gateway based on the Powercat hardware accommodates up to four radio channels and may be used as the Primary SCADA Gateway in a single Master system or as a Secondary SCADA Gateway in a Hot Standby system.

Both SCADA Gateway variations have inputs available for Mains Fail and Attended. The Topcat version has four alarm outputs available for connecting to external devices. These are not available on the Powercat version due to hardware differences. If alarm outputs are required for a single Master system using a Powercat SCADA Gateway, then a small IP remote can be installed to cover this functionality.

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Recently completed projects

Gisborne District Council

Gisborne District Council migrated their Water SCADA Masters to Aspex earlier this year, updating all their trend screens to Aspex Advanced Trends and updating the SCADA PC at the same time. GDC is amongst the first to run Aspex & Powerlink SCADA Master software on Windows 7 Operating System.

Waikeria Prison

A prison would seem a strange place for a SCADA System but at Waikeria the Department of Corrections has recently installed an Abbey Systems Aspex SCADA Master & Swampfox RTUs for the monitoring and control of the prison water supply. Waikeria is on a 1200ha site 16km south of Te Awamutu in the central North Island of NZ. It's not supplied by town water so maintains its own bore supply, treatment and reservoirs. Several years back we supplied a similar system for Tongariro- Rangipo prison, where it looks after both the water and wastewater pump stations as well as the heating system for one of the new remand wings. Both systems were installed by Eric Williams of Control Systems Ltd out of Hamilton.

Waikato District Council

Abbey Systems has also recently installed an Aspex SCADA Master for Waikato District Council. A product of the realigned Auckland Super City boundaries, Waikato DC has extended its territorial limits 60km further north to include 15 extra water pumping, treatment and wastewater services sites around Port Waikato, Tuakau and Pokeno. These sites communicate via three radio channels with an Abbey Systems IP SCADA Gateway located at Waikato DC's Tuakau Service Centre. From there a Wide Area Network allows the new SCADA Master located in Council offices back in Ngaruawahia to communicate with the remote sites.

Kawerau Falls, Queenstown

Earlier this year Abbey Systems undertook a project with Switchbuild Dunedin to install a pump control system for the new Kawarau Falls development in Queenstown. Switchbuild was the Electrical Contractor and Abbey Systems subcontracted to provide the hardware and SCADA engineering. The project involved the installation of two Swampfox RTUs at two new Kawerau Falls site pump stations located in the basement of a building and a third located at one of QLDC's existing sewage system pump stations. These RTUs interlock with QLDC's pump station RTU, so that the Kawerau Falls site sewage pumps can only run when the QLDC RTU site pumps are not running. Conversely, should a Kawerau Falls site pump be running and a QLDC site pump starts, then it will stop the Kawerau Falls site pumps.

This 3-way local site RTU messaging system used the Swampfox RTU "Peer-to-Peer" radio messaging between the site RTUs, which was rather unusual in that the Kawerau Falls RTUs were "stand-alone" and not in communication with the QLDC Powerlink SCADA Master. Although this "stand-alone" RTU arrangement is not the norm, in this case it provided a unique and cost effective solution to meet the customer's special requirements.

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Feeder Automation

Since Christmas a growing number of Feeder automation projects have been underway at Lines companies around New Zealand.

Topcat RTUs and Fox multiport fibre optic converters allow a number of devices to communicate with a Topcat via fibre optic cables.

Unison, Waipa Networks, Eastland Networks & WEL (DNP3 slave RTUs) are amongst recent customers for Topcat RTUs.

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Upgrades

Several Councils are also selectively updating their systems with Swampfox RTUs. Ongoing replacement programs are in place with Porirua City, Dunedin City and Capacity's Wellington Network where Swampfox RTUs are replacing older RTU equipment of both Abbey Systems and other SCADA manufacturers.

Capacity has also recently adopted our "Swampfox Pump Control Suite" for several new pump station sites being commissioned. This program suite is in use at several customer systems around New Zealand; it makes a separate pump station controller redundant, saving customers significant costs at each site they are used. The suite can be adapted for a customer's operational requirements, standardising sites in their system.

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Recent Orders

MDC Homebush WWTP

Masterton District Council has confirmed orders for the construction of Homebush Sewage Treatment Plant. Abbey Systems is delighted to have received an order for an Aspex SCADA Master, Hot Standby Master Backup, a number of RTUs at the plant and Aspex View access from the Council's offices via Securelink.

Porirua City Council has confirmed several upgrades to its SCADA Master for the financial year to June 2012. These include:

• a new Hot Standby SCADA Master Backup PC
• upgrading the legacy Modulink System Controller
and Master Communicators to our new IP SCADA Gateway product, including replacement of the old radios
• a new 3rd radio channel at Pikarere Reservoir to cover the Western side of the city and Wastewater Treatment plant

This is part of Porirua’s ongoing program of infrastructure improvements which are part of the Long Term Plan.

One particular outstanding benefit during the program has been that Porirua still uses a single SCADA system for its Alarms and Data retrieval. Even though the new equipment has better performance, it can happily coexist with the old hardware until that too is upgraded. This minimises disruption and enables the capital cost of the project to be spread out.

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Powerlink software V3.7.3

We recently sent letters to most current customers outlining changes to Powerlink software, effective V3.7.3 dated 13 April 2011. Powerlink SCADA Master software builds from that date have changes removing Powerlink’s ability to set the SCADA PC system time. All future time setting should be made by the WinXPP or Win7 Operating Systems.

This change should be completed before the next Daylight Savings transition on 25 September 2011.

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Telecom CDMA network

Telecom has announced the CDMA network will be turned OFF on 31 July 2012.

A number of our customers use Telecom's CDMA network to send out SMS Alarms. This leaves just 12 months for these customers to migrate to a new service provider / plan and new modem(s). We can offer two options for the modem hardware:

• Vodafone GSM modems at NZ$550 ea
• Telecom XT modems at NZ$675 ea

Prices exclude the chosen Network SIMs, freight & GST. Delivery of XT modems is subject to confirmation at the time of order. We recommend customers order replacement modems and services as soon as possible to be sure of their first choice of hardware and consequently mobile supplier. We recommend this well before Telecom switch off the CDMA network.

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Integrator's annual support licences

We're creating a new Integrator leased licence for remote support purposes. The new licence allows Powerlink connection via Dial In (as it presently does) and also via Securelink (new). This lets Integrators see the same screens as those seen by an Aspex Operator sitting at the SCADA Master.

To purchase a licence with these features outright would be over $7,000. We're calling it Abbey Dial+ with an annual lease price is $950 per year, added to the end-use customer's annual support contract. The original Leased Dial Node will continue to be available but with an increase to $550 per year for all new Support contract renewals from 1 January 2012. The Leased Dial Node is for use over PSTN phone systems and doesn't allow connection via Securelink or Aspex connection to the customer's Powerlink Master.

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USA business

Earlier this year Abbey Systems was pleased to secure an order for delivery of 15 Swampfox RTUs for Umpqua Basin Water Association, Roseburg, Oregon. UBWA first installed its system in 2007, replacing a number of obsolete Motorola RTUs at the time. Delivery of these new Swampfox RTUs will allow the remaining obsolete Moscad RTUs to be retired.

Steve Dorrington & Walt Tevis (US Manager) were in the town of Seaside for the annual Oregon Assn of Water Users conference and trade show 23-25th August. The following week they went to the Evergreen Rural Water of Washington conference and trade show in Vancouver, Washington. Our US office is based in Eugene, Oregon and these two shows are important to get our message to potential customers.

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Bangladesh FAT

A group of engineers from Bangladesh Power Development Board were here in Wellington at the end of August for Factory Acceptance Testing.

This is the largest Export project that Abbey Systems has ever done. The complex testing went well, and they signed off on all tests.

The setup was certainly impressive, with a video wall showing the entire network live as well as subsidiary screens showing Communications status, System summary and Alarm Queue. On the desks there were two multi-screened operator terminals and an engineering terminal.

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Nov 2009 Training Courses

Our 2011 training course dates are:

Hardware & Tech		Wed, Thu 26, 27 Oct		$1,200
General Operations		Mon, Tue 31 Oct, 1 Nov		$1000
Programming		Wed 2 Nov		$600
Reporting		Thur 3 Nov		$600
Aspex		Fri 4 Nov		$700

Please contact cathy@abbey.co.nz for more information on training courses. For further information on any of the items in this newsletter, please contact steve@abbey.co.nz

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