Radio telemetry systems

Jill Kerr <jill.kerr [at] nmni__com> writes

>Does anyone have a recent experience of Hanwell or Eltek radio
>telemetry systems?

At National Museums Liverpool we are using Radio telemetry systems
from both Hanwell and Eltek, (we've been using Hanwell since 1998
and added an Eltek system in 2005).

Of the Hanwell systems, we currently have three sites running on the
older Env. Mon software, all of which are downloaded remotely, (and
manually), to an Environmental Monitoring computer at the National
Conservation Centre via a modem at each site, to which the main
Architect controller is connected. These three systems have 66 Radio
T and RH% / Lux UV loggers between them and at one site we use use
five of these loggers to control environmental conditions via either
a dehumidifier, (for an archaeological dry room), or via an MS 1000
linked to the heating to control the conditions in four other rooms.

We then have three other sites that are monitored using the more
recent Hanwell Radiolog software:

At the National Conservation Centre we have 23 Radio T and RH% / Lux
UV loggers monitoring conditions in the Conservation Studios, Front
of House exhibition areas and the Quarantine freezer. The main
Architect controller for these loggers is linked to our
Environmental Monitoring computer and downloads automatically as
soon as the programme is opened. (This Environmental Monitoring
computer at the NCC is then automatically backed up every night to
the main NML main servers.)

Prior to using this Radiolog system at NCC we did have it running
elsewhere within the organisation but found we were having problems
getting the Radiolog software to download via a modem, but since
linking the main controller directly to a computer, (and therefore
cutting out the modem), we've had no problems at all with
downloading the data. We have also never had any problems
downloading the older Env.Mon software remotely via a modem.

At World Museum Liverpool and Merseyside Maritime
Museum/International Slavery Museum we are running 86 Hanwell T and
RH% / Lux UV loggers on a networked OCEAN system which consists of
an SR1 or SR2 controller that's plugged into a network data point
and then downloads automatically to a server in our IT department to
which our computers at National Conservation have been mapped by our
IT department. Of the 86 loggers we have on these two systems, 30 of
them at WML are hardwired into cabling that was laid during a full
gallery refurbishment project.

We then have an Eltek Darca system (with 37 loggers) running at the
Walker Art Gallery and County Sessions House. This is also a
networked system where the main Squirrel Datalogger is plugged into
the network and downloads automatically every 30 minutes to a
server. Again our computers are mapped to the server by IT and as
with the OCEAN system, additional User/Client software is then
installed on the computers of those Users who need to see the data.
On this Eltek system we also have a GSM modem linked to the Squirrel
Datalogger that's programmed to send text messages to our HVAC
engineers when certain galleries containing particularly sensitive
collections go into alarm.

At the moment because our networked systems are relatively new, only
a limited number people within the organisation are able to see the
Environmental data from these systems, however it's our hope that,
budgets and time permitting, we will eventually be able to network
all our sites / environmental monitoring systems, which would then
enable us to roll the Client side of the software out to
Conservators, Curators and our Estates Department so that they could
directly access the environmental data they wish to see.

Sonia Jones
Environmental Officer
Conservation Science Section
National Museums Liverpool


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:43
                Distributed: Saturday, January 31, 2009
                       Message Id: cdl-22-43-002
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