Lincoln Farmer with poor radio coverage
Lincoln Farmer
Recently we were contacted by a farmer, based just outside of the city of Lincoln, Lincolnshire.
He had had a system supplied and installed by another company a few years ago, however, the performance had decreased over time.
The first task was to carry out a through audit of the installed equipment. This included radio RF performance tests of the installed radios to verify that the correct power output was being achieved from each radio. We also checked on-air speech quality, and receive audio.
Once we were satisfied that the equipment was working properly (there is no point fitting a new aerial to a vehicle with a bust radio), we checked the aerial systems for forward and reflected power. This is done with an SWR (standing wave ratio) meter.
A number of the aerials fitted to the tractors and combine harvesters were in a poor state. Some whips were missing/damaged, while others were simply the wrong length.
The length of the aerial will vary depending on the frequency that the radio operates on.
The farmer had bought a replacement mag-mount aerial from a high street supplier, however, these come ‘un-trimmed’. Therefore some of the power was being reflected back into the radio, and not going out into the ether (as it should).
This is why choosing an experienced company like Yesway, is always a good idea, as part of business process improvement.
After trimming to the correct length, the output power increased. They also reduce the risk of radio equipment damage.
Benefits of LoraWAN for Farmers
A recent development that can benefit Lincoln farmers is LoraWAN and the Internet of Things.
Recently near Wainfleet in the Lincolnshire Wolds Farmers and householders experienced extensive flooding.
The Wainfleet floods were caused by heavy rains causing the river banks to be breached.
By using LoraWAN wireless connected sensors, river levels could be monitored, and the data put onto the Internet cloud via a device called a ‘LoraWAN Gateway’.
There are both public and private LoraWAN networks available, and we have even custom built our own experimental LoraWAN gateway ourselves.
If you are a Lincoln or Wainfleet Farmer who wishes to find out more about how LoraWAN wireless sensor technology could be used to monitor River levels, get in touch.
