Instruction Manual

16
Further Information
Troubleshooting (Connectivity)
Example Solution
1. Warehouse
area with
large, closely
stocked
produce
containers.
Radio frequencies can easily be absorbed by buildings and stock, so it is
worth considering this when installing the system. In particular, large, densely
stored containers of produce (especially fine product such as grain or nuts)
can reduce signals very quickly if you try to go through them.
Finally be aware of empty racking when installing the system. What is empty
today might not be tomorrow! This is where the technician’s knowledge of
the site can be very useful.
Metal reflects radio signals, so often helps bounce the radio waves around.
However, radio doesn’t like going through metal, especially if the metal is
continuous.
A chilled storage area on one site showed much lower signal levels, because
the foil coated insulation reduced the signal significantly, compared to those
even just outside the room. The solution here was to move the control
panel nearer to the eected area. In an extremely bad situation it may be
necessary to add an additional control panel. Fixing PestConnect units to
metalwork, electrical conduit or cable tray can reduce eectiveness of the
system, so should be avoided if possible; ideally units should be at least
20cm clear of such objects.
Multiple Pestconnect systems will work perfectly well next to each other,
and it is possible for many systems to be present on a single site. In many
instances it can lead to a more robust system.
It is important to remember that radio waves do not respect building
boundaries. Just because a system is all set up in one building won’t mean
that it will connect that way. An example of this can be where the end
sensors of two systems in separate buildings end up very close to one
another. This can then provide a link between the units in both building.
Equally the units don’t have to be physically close. A sensor installed at the
edge on a warehouse could quite likely find a better signal strength from a
control panel in a building 200m away across an open courtyard or car park
than it can get from the control panel in the same building 50m away the
other side of several rows of fully stocked racking.
Fortunately this doesn’t matter, because each sensor is uniquely identifiable
and registered to its location, so its data will correctly appear in the server, no
matter which route or Control Panel it used to do this.
Problems with connection to the Control Panel from Sensors are very rare. Connection
issues are typically only related to low signal strength caused by obstructions in the
Radio path. It is useful for the installer to understand the type of obstructions that can
cause issues, although radio waves are very complex and sometimes work contrary to
initial expectations, so the best method is to try it out.
2. Metalwork.
3. Adjacent
Systems.