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MERLIN STEALTH MASTER
Considerations in a Networked Energizer System.
The energizers and controller need to be physically connected. The medium of choice is
fiber-optics, particularly in areas of high lightning incidence. The alternative is a wire based
solution using RS485. It is possible to use a combination of both fiber and copper.
The Physical Layout of the Network:
The fundamental questions to be asked are:
1. Does my budget allow for fiber-optics throughout the network?
2. What is the maximum distance between any two network components? What number
of network components are involved?
3. Is the loss of the communication network between any two network components
allowed to influence the operation of any of the other components? This question is
both security and budget related.
In relation to these questions consider the following:
1. Fiber-optics is the medium of choice from a lightning perspective. It is also ideal for
data communication such as video signals. The cost of increasing the number of fibers
in a cable is not prohibitive. Have a holistic view of access control, CCTV, electric
fencing etc.
2. RS485 has a limit of 1200m before repeaters are required. RS485 has a physical
limitation of 32 devices before some buffering is required. Unlike RS485, fiber-optics is
always configured point to point with only two devices being connected. The standard
Nemtek fiber-optic components have a range of 3km. (It is possible to extend this to
20km.)
3. In order to reduce costs, it is possible to use a single copper cable or optical fiber
cable to connect all the network components. The disadvantage of such a system is
that if the cabling is damaged communication is lost with all devices in the network. It
is also possible to configure the network as a hub with network components
individually cabled to some central location. It is possible to use a combination of the
different options (see network examples).
Considerations
5
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