FreeWave unveils 2.4 GHz radio for utilities
FreeWave Technologies added the IMCP 2.4 GHz radio to its family of cathodic protection (CP) radios for automated pipeline monitoring. Cathodic protection is an engineering technique used to control corrosion of metal surfaces and is most commonly used to protect steel, water or fuel pipelines. The radio is designed to monitor pipelines, storage tanks, structures and other equipment or facilities subject to environmental corrosion, said company spokesperson Colin Lippincott.
In addition to monitoring the integrity of such pipelines, the spread spectrum, board-level radio also was built with specific inputs and outputs used for other monitoring purposes, such as pipe-to-soil test stations, rectifier stations and pipeline pressure stations. It offers data throughputs of 115.2 kb/s (standard speed) and 80 kb/s (low speed), and operates at temperatures up to 167 degrees.
Although tailored for the oil and gas industry, the radio also can be used to monitor massive water pipelines, Lippincott said. “Pipeline reliability is a public-safety concern, as they run throughout our community carrying gas or even water,” he said. “If something was to happen to that pipeline, it could lead to a major event, like last year on I-25 in Denver where a water pipeline broke and left a 40-foot hole in the middle of the highway.”
The company also announced it would offer a data logger for CP remote monitoring that comes pre-configured for that purpose. Lippincott said the software is free with the purchase of any FreeWave radio, and that there are no recurring monthly fees, annual licensing fees or maintenance fees for its use.