Wireless Traffic Light Control

[rguimond]

I'm looking for a simple, cost-effective way to control traffic lights from a central location. The lights are actually mounted on signs next to directional arrows and language that show truck where to go next. Each sign post is equipped with a 12V solar system. I have a pair (none & gateway) of 900MHz Banner wirelsss input / output modules sitting in my office, but I'm hesitating to use them because the distance is short (<200 feet), there are many locations (I wan't to avoid underground or overhead wires), and I will never use more than three contacts on a single sign.

Amazon seems to have a virtually unlimitted number of wirelss switches. Some are 433 MHz, some are Wifi and some are Bluetooth, but almost all have key fobs. I'd like to have something towhich I can connect industrial pushbuttons.

I've used Schneider Harmony pushbuttons and receivers in the past and they've performed well, but I'm somewhat afraid that their performance would suffer if a transport truck were to be parked in the line of sight.

I'm also considering AD Click PLCs (One Master and several slaves), but they require 24VDC, which would require the use of a 12-24VDC converter, adding to the complexity.

Simple Wifi-enabled transmitter & receivers would be ideal. The site is well-served by external 2.4 GHz access points and I can easily *** a virtual SSID dedicated to this purpose. The transmitter would accept inputs from normally-opened pushbuttons and be paired to relay outputs on the various receivers.

Any suggestions?

 

[OkiePC]

We have some systems using NanoStations and Ethernet Clicks to monitor the wastewater lift stations in a small town. Once site required a RocketDish to overcome the terrain and distance. I am not sure if the Clicks will run into a connection limitation when communicating with more than a handful of other devices via Modbus TCP.

I am a fan of Phoenix Contact Radioline gear. The software is a little weird if you need to set them up to do anything advanced, but once you get used to it, it works well. For a straight "wire replacement" type of system, you can set them up with thumbwheels and a button on the modules.

We use them as wireless remote I/O where we have good line of site for distances up to several miles. They're industrial quality and high performance, so a little pricy compared to a Ubiquiti product or a made-in-china garage door opener.

Last fall, I installed one of those made-in-china remote relay devices for a customer with a system that aerates a sewer lagoon. They have a machine that sucks waste out of the pond and blows it through a big blower to evaporate it faster, but they have to stand right next to it to push the start button which is no fun if the wind is just right, because nobody like to be misted with human waste. The little $50 remote relay we installed lets him to it from the truck on the other side of the lagoon.

I needed a 12vdc PLC for a solar system to retrofit in place of a proprietary RTU board and settled on the BRX. It will run on 12vdc and I like the RS232 port being a plug in terminal block for my application since I was using serial radios that already had flying leads for the data lines.

You can do solar with 24vdc and two small SLA batteries wired in series to open up your options for hardware. Also, I found a 3rd party maker of a POE injector for Ubiquiti gear that is DIN rail mounted and powered with 24vdc which I used on a system where we use battery backups for the 24v control power and had a Nano bridge to an office a couple of blocks away.

 

[GaryS]

Check this out they should have something that will work for you
you may hafe to a radio receiver or something give them a call

https://www.vorne.com/index.html