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IoT remote monitoring

This page gives general information on remote monitoring with the use of industrial internet of things solutions

Information on communication protocols

LTE-M Cat1

to be added

2G

to be added

LoRa-WAN

to be added

NB-IoT

to be added

Antenna installation

In all cases, it is important the antenna is placed such that the device has strong reception. During installation, it is important to test this by the following steps:

  1. Place the antenna in a location that is not shielded by a metal case from the ether. Placement inside a substation or building is usually okay, but this has to be tested. Placement inside a steel pole is not advised.

  2. After installation, turn on the device. See this section for more information.

  3. Wait until reports have come in, to make sure there is connection. If reports do not come in, try moving the antenna and return to step 2.

  4. In some cases, it is possible to check the reports to determine signal strenght and signal quality. This depends on the device type.

Less or no reports coming in

When less or no reports are received by the platform, this can have several reasons. In general, this problem can be difficult to analyze, but it is best to check several options of why this is happening:

  1. Connection is lost due to network coverage deterioration. Many factors can impact the coverage in a certain area, like weather, network operator problems and congestion. Also, network coverage can deteriorate for a period of time for no apparant reason. Network coverage can improve at a later stage, so giving it some time might solve the problem.

  2. The battery of the device is empty. A drained battery can be gauged from the device data, if battery Voltage is indeed reported (this differs per device type). In case of a drained battery, the Voltage graph usually shows a steep decline just before the battery is empty and the device stops reporting. For many devices it is possible to replace the battery.

  3. The battery of the device is temporarily unable to supply the required Voltage. In (very) cold conditions, batteries have more difficulty supplying high voltage. This can occur more easily with batteries that are approacing end of life. This problem usually subsides when temperatures rise again.

  4. The device was switched off or has lost power. Sometimes workers need a power socket and take out the power supply of the IoT device and forget to put it back. In rare cases a device is switched off, by accident or on purpose. If this information is not known to the person monitoring the IoT devices, it seems they have stopped sending reports for no reason. Obviously, restoring power or switching the device on can solve the problem.

  5. The device has a problem. Perhaps high humidity for long periods are reaching critical parts of the device. Most devices are not specified to be able to function at 100% humidity conditions for long periods of time. Or, the software of the device has run into an error that it cannot get out of. Sometimes, resetting the device can solve the problem. This may even be possible via a command in the platform. Finally, if the device has broken, replacement is the final option. Depending on warranty the broken device may be sent back for repair or replacement.

Signal strenght

Devices may not always be able to connect to the platform, if the signal strenght of the cellular network is suboptimal. For some devices, the signal strength is recorded and passed on to the platform in the quantity RSSI (dBm). Here is a reference for the interpretation of the RSSI values:

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