DENVER – William Lim, senior technical consultant, OSS BroadNet, gave Thursday’s attendees of SCTE’s 2009 Cable-Tec Expo insight on how to monitor cable UPS backup batteries in order to predict the length of stand-by time in real-time.
Operators use battery factory specs, string configurations, and cable plant AC load to determine an appropriate stand-by time during power outages. However, there are a number of factors that can significantly reduce that time such as battery capacity, temperature, age and condition. While periodic on-site testing may expose bad batteries, continuous monitoring of select characteristics minimizes customer impact.
There are two ways to use collected data to predict stand-by time: Historical data mathematical calculations and remote battery conductance measurement. If an MSO already collects the data necessary to complete the time predicting mathematical equation, then that is probably the most viable option to implement.
However, measuring the conductance of each battery in a string provides a more real-time measurement, especially during a power outage. Bad batteries tend to drop in voltage under load more rapidly, so a mechanism that can update the stand-by time during an outage is the most accurate. Rather than alarming dispatch to roll a truck when battery voltage drops to a threshold, trucks can be rolled when the remaining stand-by time and the MTTR correlate. This eliminates “surprise” outages due to unpredictable battery failures.
Monitoring cable UPS backup batteries should be a part every HFC network. For more monitoring solutions visit www.ossbroadnet.com.
One box fits all
Motorola’s new DCX700 all-digital, high-definition set-top delivers everything the consumer wants in a sleek, modern package. The wall-mounting option, combined with it’s depressed design, allows users to hide it and all connections behind their wall-mounted HDTVs. The DCX700 supports both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC services allowing users to select the products they want without replacing the set-top.
“Operators will now have devices that meet their lower capital expenditure needs at initial deployment, with the advantage of flexible feature sets that can be expanded without hardware replacement as consumer demand shifts toward more advanced services,” said Larry Robinson, vice-president and general manager, America’s Digital STB, Motorola home and networks mobility.
The DCX700 meets low capex needs without eliminating any connectivity options like HDMI or Dolby Digital Plus. It is also compatible with an optional MoCA home networking interface to access content from other compatible devices in the home. Look for it in the first quarter of 2010. For more information visit www.motorola.com
Dan Chelchowski is the winner of the 2009 Cartt.ca SCTE Ontario Chapter Cable-Tec Expo editorial internship and is covering the conference for Cartt.ca
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