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FTTA PTTA Solutions For Telecom

Surge protection devices are not a luxury for today’s industry, but rather are a critical aspect of nearly any mission-critical industrial installation.  Equipment involved in most industries has grown in expense to the point of being inextricably tied to the survival of the business if it is damaged or destroyed before an expected life span. And, while modern business will take great steps to protect their bottom line through pricing that will compensate for unexpected damage to equipment in the field, the competitiveness of most business landscapes forces participants to protect their capital investments at all costs.  Damage related to electrical surge is a primary concern in industries that position equipment in the field. Many of these surges are caused by lightning strikes and others are caused grid-side, switching errors or transients.  The damage that is created in circuit-driven components can be immediate or prolonged, the immediate damage coming in the form of total overload and circuit destruction if not explosion and fire, and the prolonged damaged coming in the form of on-going degradation of circuits, causing performance errors and finally complete failure over time.  Either way, the damage that is produced as a result of surging electricity must be prevented or at least minimized if margins are to remain healthy, and profitability is to remain intact.  This not only includes but may very well be epitomized by the highly specialized telecommunications industry, where stiff competition for customers forces both the increased capacities of networks for better data transfer and lowered operational costs so as to offer lower monthly bills.  As the industry ages and consolidates, network operators look to find ways of both increasing network capacities and connectivity while also lowering customer plans prices, which is a difficult task.  Increases in costs as a result of unexpected damage to equipment can render damage to an operator within a short time frame, and customers will not accept increased charges without significant improvements to service, if at all.  This squeeze creates a situation where telco operators must figure out improved ways of getting the most out of their existing equipment in the field, and generally this will involve improving electrical protection and specifically surge protection devices. (more…)

Industrial grade surge protection is not a new concept.  Surge protection itself has been around in one form or another since we started utilizing computerized equipment to make our lives easier.  As soon as components that involved circuitry were connected to an electrical source and turned on, we realized that fluctuations in that power flow could have an adverse effect on both the operation  and the electronic components themselves.  Electrical transients have caused malfunctions, data loss and even damage to the circuitry involved.  Each moment that expensive equipment was connected to the power source was putting it in danger of damage from electrical surges.  The advent of surge protection came shortly after, with the development of methods to cut the power supply to equipment if power were to exceed a certain point that was deemed “safe.” Circuit breakers cut the flow if it exceeded a certain amount, and additional surge protection equipment was developed to provide a level of protection for components managing functions that couldn’t afford to be cut off from use for long periods of time. (more…)

Data Is Critical, Protect It 

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/data-surge-protection/  

Surge protection devices that are installed in industrial facilities in order to provide protection for the equipment involved in the process are not only tasked with the protection of the physical assets.  The information which the company has stored over the years, allowing for more streamlined operations both in the current time as well as in the future, must also be protected.  In many ways, the data that the company stores provides the functionality with which the company operates.  The most simple case could be that if the company stores your name as a customer and information on a server to route their products to you, if your information is lost the company can no longer provide you with these services.  This will go on until the data is restored, even if the mechanical aspects of the process are repaired.  This is why surge protection is so critical within industrial facilities.  The ongoing operations can be restored to functionality with the repair or replacement of equipment, but in the cases where critical data is lost as a result of that equipment damage, the process of full restoration to functionality becomes a nightmare.  (more…)

Data Surge Protection 

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/data-surge-protection/  

One of the industry terms that is utilized in the surge protection niche that many people in the public have never heard of is “data surge protection.” The easiest way to describe the definition of this phrase is that it is “the protection of data from power surges and the damage that can be produced by them.”  Power surge protection is a mystery to many people because they do not interact with it daily, and is generally a function that happens in the background of ongoing operations.  This means that it has almost no impact on people on any kind on a regular basis, until some sort of incident happens that brings it into light.  Modern power grids are very well designed and for the most part will see only little fluctuation during a typical day, and usually as a result of a weather event..  Surge protection systems are  designed to intervene during the unplanned event that happens outside of system operations.  It is designed to come into play when something goes wrong even though there has probably been no instance outside of normal technical operations for lengthy period of time.  It is also designed to intervene in an unexpected instance almost instantaneously, as anything less would provide damage to any equipment downstream that is left unprotected.  The problem with damage that occurs as a result of power surges is that it is generally not isolated to simply damaging the equipment in the origination area.  Many times, the equipment is not only tasked with performing an operation but also with the storage of information that is critical to the ongoing operations themselves.  If you have ever had a computer crash that results in a loss of data you understand the implications of this failure go far beyond simply having to replace the computer itself.  Data is one of the most valuable commodities that must be protected within almost every type of business.  (more…)

Lightning Protectors To Maintain Profitability 

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/what-are-lightning-protectors/ 

Maintaining a profit within a challenging industry is difficult.  As more players enter the market and are all vying for the same customers, a shrinking customer base must be offset by reduced costs if profitability is to be maintained.  This means that if each company is working with fewer customers, the costs associated with the product that is supplied to each customer must be reduced if profit margins are to be maintained.  This is accomplished in several ways, one of the most common in industrial spaces being the utilization of cheaper components or the extension of the lifespan of the equipment used in the process.  Within the cellular industry we can see this process playing out on both fronts.  Cellular towers must be able to maintain an unobstructed signal to the users on the ground.  This placement makes them highly endangered with regards to lightning strikes, as lightning is attracted to the tallest structures within range. Lightning takes the path of least resistance to the ground, ultimately meaning that it will strike the tallest structure which is connected to the ground in an attempt to flow through that structure to its final destination.  For this reason, lightning will generally strike the top of a cellular tower, and through the use of cheaper components to create the structure of the tower, companies are able to reduce the repair and maintenance costs as a result of the strike.  At the same time, companies utilize highly advanced lightning protectors in order to mitigate the damage that happens as a result of the power surge which follows the strike.  This power surge traveling through the structure will impact equipment located near the top, and travel along data transfer lines and power cables quite efficiently.  This means that power flows from components located near the top to components located in the center or at the bottom of the tower.  This creates additional damage that is farther away from the strike point.  (more…)

Data Is A Critical Component In Industrial Businesses 

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/data-surge-protection/  

When people think about industrial facilities, the impression in our heads is of large machines which are belching steam and smoke.  Our impression of industrial businesses was probably formulated from visuals that were created in the early 20th century when industry was far more crude then it is today.  Today’s industrial facilities are highly technical and are generally computer driven operations that rely upon data transfer in order to maintain their functionality.  Gone are the days with giant machines and men shoveling coal into furnaces, all having been replaced by racks of computers and data processors which served to provide the functionality of all aspects of these businesses.  In many instances the equipment that is  exposed at the end of the process are directly joined to these sensitive components which drive them.  Even though the electronic components are protected from exposure to the elements, this direct connection to the exposed equipment creates a vulnerability that can have a significant impact on operations.  Lightning strikes to exposed components are commonplace and are impossible to predict.  This means that companies must provide protection mitigation long before any incident ever happens in order to fully avoid the implications that can happen to the operation as a result.  The lightning strike to an exposed piece of equipment can have a ripple effect creating damage caused by the subsequent power surge that moves along data processing and power lines until it reaches the more sensitive equipment upstream.  This can cause damage not only at the strike point but also destroys circuitry which ultimately results in the loss of data which is critical to the process.  (more…)

EVP and Surge Protection 

There is no doubt that the future of transportation is the electric vehicle.  The progress of this type of transportation has been hindered over the years through a slow technological development of the components involved in the process.  The batteries that are involved had limitations that would reduce the amount of driving that could be done in between charges.  These batteries were also limited in their ability to produce adequate power to the car’s wheels, meaning that electric vehicles were underpowered and slow.  They’ve always been embraced by those who are ecologically motivated, but in many cases have been rejected by those who are more concerned with the costs of operation or performance.  Over the course of the last few years there has been dramatic shift in the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, mostly, and as a result of the advances that car makers, including Tesla is making.  While there are many electric cars available from other manufacturers, Tesla has captured the imagination of the wider portion of the population through its improvements to performance and styling.  While there are still limitations to the amount of distance that can be traveled in between charges, other encumbrances have made great strides towards improvement.  Tesla has created a line of stylish sports cars that are not only adequately powered, but in many cases provide far more power than a standard gas-powered vehicle.  While there have been improvements to battery capacities, one of the obvious limitations has always been finding a place outside of your own home where you can charge your electric vehicle.  These stations were difficult to come by until a more widespread adoption of electric vehicles caused gas stations and other areas to begin looking at providing charging as a way to earn money.  Tesla developed a system of charging stations that were compatible with Tesla vehicles and rolled out a significant amount of the stations across America.  Tesla vehicles are also able to utilize the standard charging stations with an adapter, although the charge in process takes significantly longer due to that power being delivered at a lower rate.  While Tesla’s technological advances are causing more people to consider electric vehicles, we are now beginning to also see the issues that come along with more widespread use of electric power charging stations.  In order to reduce the amount of time spent at the stations waiting for your vehicle to be charged, the pressure to increase the loads which can be delivered are being felt.  The introduction of higher capacity charging technology increases the risk associated with power surges within these kinds of systems.  In addition to the potential damage to equipment we also must deal with the potential injury or death that can arise as a result of power surges while people remain in their vehicles during the charging time.  The development of electric vehicle surge protection devices and systems is one of the most significant technological advancements of the last hundred years, and could potentially assist a more widespread adoption of electric vehicles worldwide.  Making the vehicles more sporty increases interest, and making the vehicles more safe increases sales.  (more…)