New from Rails Co.: Switch heater wireless control

Written by William C. Vantuono, Editor-In-Chief, Railway Age
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Rails Co. released a new wireless 900 MHz radio control system.

 

The 900 MHz radio control system provides a wireless communication network that allows wireless control and monitoring of Rails HAB Hot Air Blower Switch Heaters, Tubular Electric Switch Heaters and Snow Detectors, as well as railway switch heating devices from other suppliers.

“The wireless control system eliminates the need for control wires buried in the ground for existing or new installations,” the company says. “Customers can start and stop switch heaters and monitor system running status from a local bungalow, a local control room or remote locations. When our HAB Hot Air Blower system is initiated, it performs a systems check to assure that the system is working properly. When our Tubular Electric Switch Heaters are turned on, the system monitors the heat indication circuit to assure that all heaters are turned on.”

For remote control and monitoring, this system can be integrated with a Controller and VPN secure router to provide secure remote control and monitoring via the Internet. The secure network can be connected and accessed with a personal computer, cellular phone or tablet.

The wireless communication network includes the following:

  • 900 MHz master radio with separate I/O module to read and write I/O signals from the master control radio to each slave radio in the network.
  • 900 MHz slave radios with separate I/O mode to read and write I/O signals to the master control radio.
  • Controller with built-in and expandable I/O that supports Modbus TCP/IP and PROFINET Ethernet based protocols.
  • Radio I/O modules that can be connected to the controller directly via integrated RS-232 or RS-485 interfaces over wireless communication using the Modbus protocol.
  • VPN gateway for IPsec-encrypted VPN tunnels. The VPN functions as a remote Control and monitoring infrastructure for the secure connection of machines.
  • NEMA Rated enclosures with IP20 rated Surge Protection Devices.
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