Information

The telecommunications industry is highly specialized, and as a result needs both specialized equipment and connectivity structures in order to provide the services that are required.  While the specialized equipment is susceptible to damage simply due to its electronic nature, this issue is amplified within the telecommunications industry due to the equipment being positioned in the field.  For a simplified understanding of the dangers that are faced, we must consider the necessary components and setups that bring cell service to users.  A coverage area is the amount of ground that is able to be serviced by a cell tower by having a signal be within range.  A person holding a cell phone within this area of coverage will receive and transmit signals between their device and the tower.  For a coverage area to be without dead areas, the amount of space that each tower can effectively cover must overlap between towers, creating a larger space that is without gaps.  The signals to the tower that is within range must be able to be unobstructed in order to be clear and strong, essentially guaranteeing that the cell towers that are providing the service to the customers in that area are the tallest structures within that area, and are sometimes located in relatively remote areas as well.  This makes the towers themselves a natural target for lightning strikes, which have the characteristic of taking the path of least resistance to earth.  This means that lightning is mostly going to strike the tower if it is within the vicinity of it.  While there are techniques and devices that attempt to draw the strike away from the tower itself so as to prevent direct strikes, it is nearly impossible to completely prevent a lightning strike to such a perfect target.  For this reason, lightning rods and overhead shields will only prevent a portion of strikes to cellular towers. (more…)

The solar power production industry represents not only billions of dollars in technological investment, but also a future world of cleaner environments and cheaper power.  The debate surrounding the solar industry in its goal to be recognized by global governments as a viable alternative to fossil fuel energy production is connected completely to money, and the protection of an antiquated fossil fuel industry and methodology that not only employs people but also generates profits in the billions of dollars every year.  The fossil fuel industry is well established, and as such has large amounts of money to spend on lobbying and misinformation campaigns designed to sway public opinion.  The alternative forms of power production represent a significant threat to their bottom line, and therefore alternative energies are being fought at every step.  If alternative forms of energy production such as  wind and solar were more readily recognized as superior to fossil fuels, there is a possibility that larger amounts of government research and funding would be granted to them, potentially solving two key issues that keep green energy production smaller than fossil fuels.  These two issues are cost of manufacturing and the ability to manufacture enough to support communities single handed, without the need for backup forms of production to satisfy demand.  What this means is that all arguments against the full embrace of wind and solar by governments globally boils down to community support, and people are lead to believe that these methods of production are more expensive and cannot produce enough to keep the lights on 24 hours a day.  Embracing these alternative forms of production could create funding streams that solve these issues, for instance finding vialble electrical storage systems for alternative energy sources, and creating an effective end to the strangle hold that fossil fuel power production has on the world.  These are the reasons that there is such an effort to stifle progress and technological development that could advance the industry, expanding production capacities and lowering costs. But eventually the tide will turn, it has to. (more…)

Benjamin Franklin flew his kite during a storm in an attempt to study the properties of lightning, and since this time lightning has been a major topic of study.  Franklin was seeking information on a way to potentially control lightning by conducting a strike to a specific place, and nearly all of the research and development since has followed the same idea.  Lightning is devastating, and has the ability to create huge amounts of damage in a completely unpredictable way.  There is nearly no way to prepare a specific area for a strike before one happens because we have no method of predicting where the strike will land.  We can assume that there will be lightning strikes, and we can make predictions based on research about lightning being attracted to specific properties like metals, height and isolation.  However we cannot predict exactly when the lightning strike will happen, if ever.  All we can do is put in place the best form of protection against the lightning strike, and hope that it never has to be tested.  Lightning is a force powerful enough to completely destroy nearly anything, and kill instantly.  We have no method of preventing it from happening, so all we can do is guard against it as best we can. (more…)

The Creation Of A Better Surge Protection Device

To understand the evolution over time of surge protection technology, lightning protection and surge protective devices, we must first understand the history from which they were derived.  The earliest forms of lightning protection were not necessarily concerned with electrical surges, and were more concerned with lightning strikes themselves and the damage that is caused at the strike point.  Previous to the harnessing of electricity in order to power devices, the dangers of lightning strikes came in the form of explosions and fires if lightning was to strike a home or building.  As structures grew in height, they became more natural attractants for lightning strikes, as lightning will generally take the path of least resistance to the ground.  This means that it will strike at the top portions of any structure that is both connected to the ground and closest to the origination point.  Lightning is attempting to go to earth and is thus attracted to connecting with the points that are higher in the sky than all surrounding points.  In modern times we think of huge towers and skyscrapers, but we must realize that the issue will remain consistent no matter how tall or short the buildings or structures of an area are.  Even if all of the structures within an area are only a few feet high, lightning will be attracted to the tallest of them.  Even in times before electricity powered our homes, lightning striking a dwelling posed a serious threat, and as a result the “lightning rod” was developed as the first type of device designed to prevent damage as a result of a strike.  The lightning rod simply became the highest point and was made from materials known to attract lightning. It was positioned in such a way that drew the strike away from structures to avoid having damage occur to the structure.  The lightning rod later became a useful tool for telegraph lines and electrical grids, once they evolved.  The telegraph system was the first to develop what was more of a surge protective device in the mid-1800s, when the term “arrestor” was applied to simple gaps in telegraph lines.  The gap could be operated remotely by a telegraph worker in order to protect telegraph lines during predictable weather that could produce lightning.  Because the surge produced by the lightning strike could travel along telegraph lines, operators realized the need for a method of stopping the flow, and the first crude “arrestors” were born from this need.  The idea was to simply interrupt the flow along a path, then potentially allow the surge to die at that point or to divert it elsewhere.  Interestingly enough, this idea still remains at the core of all surge protection technology. (more…)

Protection From Lightning Is The “X-Factor” Of Green Energy

The “green” energy production market is one that has been evolving on several important fronts for many years.  The basic premise behind it is not new, but as it is expanded and improved upon the potential for more widespread adoption for use in industries becomes more valid.  There are a few crucial elements that have been holding back wider spread rollouts of green technologies as a method of electricity generation for greater numbers of people connected to the existing electrical grid systems, but slowly and surely these factors have been overcome through technological advancement.  As the common conventional sources of power generation have little to no ability to technologically improve in order to solve existing issues, it must be assumed that once a critical level of technological advancement in the green energy market has been achieved, the new methods will replace conventional fossil fuel methods of production. So what are the issues and what is being done to solve them? (more…)

Although there are few people in the modern time who would argue against green energy production techniques like wind and solar systems being viable as a way to generate power, these industries still face opposition from an economic standpoint.  It is an unfortunate aspect of society that something must not only be more effective but also less expensive than an opposing thing in order to be considered “better”.  Even though there is no argument that wind and solar methods of energy production are cleaner and more economical from a fuel standpoint (wind and sun are free while fossil fuels have extraction costs associated) the total costs for production tip in favor of fossil fuels currently.  This is due to the infrastructure in place already to support the production of energy from fossil fuels, the incredible lobbying power of the fossil fuel industry, and the expense associated with the equipment involved in the higher tech collection processes’ related to solar and wind energy production. Additionally, the ongoing repair and replacement of wind and solar energy “manufacturing and collection” equipment in the field drives these energy production methods up.  Energy production using fossil fuels is crude and simplistic, using the burning of a fuel source like coal or oil to turn turbines and generate electricity. Aside from the costs of the fuel and the fixed costs of storage and transport of the power, there are few technical advances happening that would require new equipment. Energy production using these methods is understood by the public to be damaging to a certain level to the environment and people’s overall health, but because it is less costly than a cleaner alternative, it continues to be accepted.  Unfortunately, people are willing to put a price on their own health and well-being, and that of their descendants,  because of their desire to pay the lowest amount monthly for their power bills. As a result, the acceptance of new research funding that would further the technology involved in green processes and bring down the costs over time, gets cut from budgets.  Consumers want to pay the lowest amount right now, and will generally support the dirtier methods as a result. The argument of the superior methods being better fall on deaf ears as consumers recognize that “better”  most times costs more.  (more…)

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…)