Meet our Top Parabeam Installer

March 16, 2017

Our Newest Top Parabeam Installer!

Mike Johnson started OHC Limited more than 20 years ago to service the local need for IT and PC services.  Recently Mike branched into the security market and has developed what he describes as a near-perfect ‘Hybrid monitoring solution’ for home and commercial applications.

By combining Parabeam, IP camera, 3G and iPhone technologies into a stable system, Mike has almost made the traditional concept of the indoor ‘home alarm’ obsolete because his solution allows you to be notified in real-time whenever a visitor or intruder arrives on your property – the iPhone camera app then allows you to view your cameras live from your phone.

Is it an intruder or just the kids arriving home from school?  Mikes solution will give you peace of mind

Operation Tripwire to aid anti-poaching efforts

July 18, 2015

Operation Tripwire is a technology project for Wildlife Conservation.

Mike Vincent and a small design team are developing long range detection beams to help track the movements of Rhino horn poachers in South Africa.

This clip shows Mike Vincent assembling smaller optical assemblies for field testing on farms in New Zealand.  The final system will utilize multiple beams that work over a distance of 500m of flat ground to detect anyone crossing key borders, tracks and other areas of interest – alerting to their direction of travel by way of long range radio communication.  We are very excited about this project.

Please visit the Operation tripwire facebook page for more information. Like and share!

Overcoming Connectivity Issues On Hilly Farmland

May 17, 2012

The Problem…

In rural situations there can be obstacles or characteristics of the natural terrain that may create an unfriendly environment for propagating low-power radio signals from our beam communicator to the base receiver. Hills and outcrops of land being the number one issue, particularly if the hill is relatively close to either the gate communicator or the base receiver. Other things to contend with are sheds, dense bush and hedges.

A radio signal from one of our beam-sets can potentially travel several kilometres over say flat farmland in an almost line-of-sight (LOS) situation. However this may be reduced to less than two-hundred metres when impeded by any combination of the above factors. Wet bush after heavy rainfall will cause some signal to be absorbed as well.

At the receiving end, multiple walls and certain kinds of building materials will play their part in weakening the signal too, and on some properties there may be very little left of the signal by the time it reaches a receiving device located in your client’s house.

Radio authorities and solar panel size constraints both restrict the amount of power we can use to ‘blast’ the signal to its destination, and as a result we have developed smart solutions to overcome connectivity challenges of the kinds described.

Solution One: Two-way connectivity

Parabeam® is the first product of its kind to use two-way connectivity. This means signals are sent in both directions between a beam-set and a receiver. An almost instant return signal is a confirmation that everything worked OK. Should the beam-set fail to receive its confirmation it will try sending the signal again – up to three more times. Two-way connectivity is a built-in feature that is a first line of defence in borderline situations.

When a signal repeater is deployed it acts as a go-between, carrying both alert and confirmation signals backwards and forwards in bucket-brigade fashion.

Solution Two: Boost Antennas

It’s well known that an ‘outside aerial’ improves TV reception enormously, compared to a set-top antenna – this is due to a combination of elevation (being on the roof of a home) and the use of a correctly designed, tuned and directional antenna system.

Our design team have developed an outdoor antenna that makes a big difference to a ‘borderline’ signal, boosting connectivity by 5-7 times in many situations. It is common to achieve 2-3kms range using this antenna. Previously the antenna was only available for installation at the receiving end and in most cases that would mean mounting it on the roof of the client’s house.

Recently we have designed a special version of the antenna allowing it to be mounted at the beam-set end instead of the base receiver end – making installation far simpler.
The Diagrams A and B (next page) show how greatly the signal strength can be improved by installing a boost antenna on a site where a small but close outcrop of land impedes the signal from the nearby beam-set before greatly dropping away to a plateau where the house is situated.

DIAGRAM A

DIAGRAM B

Antennas may of course be installed at both the beam-set end as well as at the receiving end to increase the range even more dramatically.
If an antenna located at the beam-set is preferred, a compatible ‘beam communicator’ must be ordered along with the antenna – the antenna can’t be added to a standard beam communicator later because the required connector is not fitted.

This version of the antenna comes with a 6 metre long RG58AU coaxial fly-lead fitted with UHF connectors at either end. The length is deemed ample for the majority of situations and allows the antenna to be installed well above ground level if needed. Any longer and cable losses would begin to subtract from the gain of the antenna.

Overall the resultant signal is 10dB stronger without including the significant advantages achieved from elevating the antenna.

These antennas may also be used in conjunction with signal repeaters (described next) for use on sites where standard equipment and even boost antennas would not have stood a chance.

Solution Three: Signal Repeaters

There are sites that are so challenging that boost antennas alone will not get the signal over a hill or large outcrop of land. Our design team again have developed a solution for this scenario; signal repeaters.

The site shown in the image below had a problem with a large outcrop of land (not easily discerned from the Google Earth image) as well as a large shed preventing much useable signal from reaching the house from the from gate. In this situation there was no need for boost antennas because a signal repeater was installed on a nearby ridge and there was good line of sight from the beam-set to the top of the ridge, and from the top of the hill across to the house.

Beam-sets can either talk to the base receiver using a repeater as a go-between or to the base receiver directly – or a combination of both.

For example; one beam-set may on the other side of a hill and require a repeater while another beam-set is close enough to talk to the receiver directly. This configuration can be set up before the system leaves our factory but may be changed relatively easily later.

DIAGRAM C

DIAGRAM D

DIAGRAM E

Solutions For Theft In The Forestry Industry

May 11, 2012

Battery powered beam-sets

Solar powering a Beam-set in a forestry or dense bush application is often impractical unless there is a reasonable sized clearing in the bush that will allow the solar panels to see enough sky to receive an adequate charge. If there is any doubt, battery powering the Beam-set is the answer.

Fully charge Li-Ion batteries having a capacity ranging between say 2200mAh – 10,000mAh allow operating durations of around 20-90 days respectively. This will vary slightly depending on the number of daily beam activations and the IR Emitter’s beam strength setting, which may be adjusted in three steps ranging from 10m to 40m maximum. Using the 2200mAh example, the physical size of the cell is only 75mm long by 19mm diameter, making it easy to locate near the base of the mounting post without being noticed.

In the case of a 10,000mAh battery pack, a much larger external waterproof housing is needed. (Approximately 80x80x55mm) Regardless of size, external battery packs are connected via a cable to the underside of each beam-unit with waterproof ‘twist-lock’ male and female connectors for easy swapping or removal.

A complete Beam-set kit comprises of a Beam Emitter, Beam Communicator, two or four battery packs and a charger, as well as all mounting hardware and cables.

To help avoid activations from wild animals it may be better to mount the Beam Units slightly higher than the usual recommended height of 800mm above ground. It may also be useful to consider steel poles to help deter possums from climbing them.

Alternatively, a stainless steel band could be fitted around a 100×100 wooden post to help prevent this. Although beam alignment is easy undertake and test, it will be far more important in this kind of remote setting.

Communication via GSM

Assuming there are one, two or several battery powered detection beams deployed, the next question is; how do we communicate beam activations to whoever will be monitoring the site?

If there is GSM coverage in the area there will be very little challenge. All Beam-sets communicate to standard Parabeam® Base Receivers which provide individually zoned trigger outputs to a GSM Communicator. The GSM Communicator then sends an SMS (text message) or makes a phone call to the monitoring personnel, informing them of any beam activation.

The type of GSM unit supplied will typically depend on the number of Beam-sets deployed and how the communications hardware will be powered.

Low Battery Warnings

Though our current GSM technology does not allow remote reporting of a low Beam-set battery, the Base Receiver indicates any low Beam Emitter or Beam Communicator status. Upon observing the battery status, you will have plenty of time to recharge the batteries before a beam-set stops working.

When a fully charged 2200mAh Li-ion battery pack used on each Beam Unit, for example, you will have an estimated 20 days minimum use before a low battery indication is generated, after this you will have around seven days to recharge or swap the battery before the unit stops working. This allows plenty of leeway for maintaining a fully functioning installation.

Communication via Radio

If there is no GSM coverage, a suitable communication solution will need to be devised on a case by case basis. It may be that radio links involving boost antennas and signal repeaters are needed to send the alert signals to a location where there is GSM coverage.

It may also be the case that the site is so remote that communication is almost pointless because of travelling times involved in a site visit. Some kind of local visual and audible deterrent may be used instead of, or as well as communications to hopefully deter trespassers.

Portable cameras such as our high quality RECONYX™ range can also be deployed for a more complete approach.

This article is intended to be an introduction to the kinds of solutions available; however requirements for outdoor, remote situations always vary widely so please contact us directly for a solution to best suit your needs.

How To Ignore Kangaroos, While Detecting Vehicles

March 22, 2012

Kangaroos wander feely in many parts of urban and rural Australia and they can be a bothersome cause of unwanted activations for outdoor security sensors. We receive regular calls from Australia asking whether our Parabeam system is immune to kangaroos setting it off.

As it stands our system is immune to dogs and smaller animals because of the ability to precisely determine the height of the detection beam above ground – but unfortunately, if the animal is above waist height it will activate a Parabeam system when it crosses the beam – a large animal is indistinguishable from a person.

The Parabeam® design team have been kept on the hop with this issue and will be releasing a solution by mid June 2012 that allows vehicle detection while ignoring anything else above ground.

The new product makes use of a buried magnetic probe close to the driveway to detect a disturbance in the earth’s magnetic field as the vehicle passes. There will be three main components to the new kit: A magnetic probe, a ‘switch-link’ communicator and a solar panel.

The solar panel to supply power for the device will be larger than the standard 120x65mm panel used on our beam-sets because of increased energy requirements, but will still be relatively small.

When triggered by a passing vehicle, the base receiver will respond with an audible alert in the same way as a standard beam-set alert. You will also be able to mix and match sensor types. You could have a magnetic probe sensor on one zone and a standard beam-set on another.

If you are interested in this product please let our sales team know and we will contact you when it becomes available.

Canadian Film Company Choose Parabeam

March 17, 2012

Canadian documentary film company Q-Films contacted us late 2011 looking for a ‘trip-wire’ style invisible beam system they could deploy in the field to help capture footage for a feature film on local wildlife.  Two invisible beams would be used in an ‘X’ formation to trigger professional cameras whenever the animals wandered into the detection zone.  The beams were to be set up on tripods and battery powered, they also had to work in sub-zero temperatures reliably.

Thankfully we had just finished the first production run of our new 700-FSK model which was perfect for the job because of its low power consumption and small, robust construction.  The detection beam of the new model can also be pushed out to 50m; exactly the distance the ‘X’ formation was required to span.  Initially a single beam-set was dispatched to be trialed in snowfall and after a few weeks of testing and a few minor adaptations, a report came back that everything was working as hoped for.  A second beam-set was dispatched to complete the configuration and the film is now well on the way to completion.

Some acclaimed wildlife projects Q-Films that have previously released may be viewed here:

• The Nature Of Things S53e19 Making Wild Canada Cldd »
• The Nature Of Things S53e10 The Great Butterfly Hunt Cldd »

Detecting Vehicles On Your Tanker Track While Ignoring A Milk Tanker

March 15, 2012

“We do not want to know when the milk tanker arrives – just any other vehicle…”

A dairy farmer in Taranaki put this challenge to us recently and we were able to provide a solution within two weeks. This question has come up several times before so our design team decided it was time to provide a solution.

We decided the best way to tackle this was to set up a special configuration of two detection beams, one mounted the standard way directly across the tanker track and at the recommended height of 800mm above ground – this would detect cars and vans.

The second beam was to be much higher – tanker height – and draped diagonally across the track, symmetrically intersecting the lower beam and stretched out to 30 metres. Regardless of whether the tanker was arriving or leaving, the upper beam would always be triggered first, telling the receiver to not respond to the triggering of the lower beam a moment later and remain silent.

Should a car or van enter the configuration, only the lower beam is activated and an alert is generated.
The system was sent to the customer for real-life testing and two-weeks later was reported to be ‘working a treat’ at which point we thanked him for his business and charged his credit card.

This version of the product is not a stock item quite yet but can be supplied within two weeks of ordering.

Detecting Trespassers On Remote Tracks

February 15, 2012

Whatever their purpose – Illegal cannabis growers, hunters, poachers and any other trespassers may be detected remotely using Parabeam systems. There are several ways of approaching this problem and it mostly depends on the means of communication that will be required to be used to receive an alert.

If the track is significantly remote as to require an effort to send personnel to investigate, it may be a good idea to set up a two beam arrangement, with the second beam-set a further 30m or so along the track.

This will give additional verification that a vehicle or person is indeed travelling along the track because a second alert will be generated a short time after the first, making a trip to investigate more likely to be fruitful than if a single alert had been generated by a wandering deer or kangaroo say.

The two beam arrangement will also be able to tell the direction the vehicle is travelling by the order of the alerts received.

If the alert signal is required to be carried over a long distance and there is mobile phone coverage, then this is the obvious choice of communication. If there is no mobile phone coverage the only option is by radio link. If the signal needs to contend with dense bush or hills, then elevation, boost antennas and a signal repeater will be needed.

There are other options such as low frequency link. Low frequencies such as 27 MHz will travel through trees and obstacles very well but will require a long transmitting antenna in an elevated location.

Whatever radio link configuration is needed it will be solar powered and require a solar panel of between 4-20 watts depending on the hardware, as well as a sealed lead-acid storage battery in a polycarbonate outdoor housing.

Because requirements will vary on a case by case basis it is best to speak with one of our technicians who will be able to Google-Map the intended site and make recommendations based on this information.

How To Tell If A Gate Has Been Left Open 2km Away

January 26, 2012

A Parabeam® Beam-set is excellent for generating a reliable alert signal whenever a vehicle or person has passed through its precise detection beam – the base receiver will also tell you visually and audibly that whatever interrupted the beam is still there. For example a car may have stopped mid-way through the beam, blocking it and preventing it from restoring.

But what if you want to know whether a gate on your property is open or closed right now? A beam-set is not really appropriate for a few reasons.
Stock may need to wander nearby and would continuously activate it, and even though you could in principle use an open gate to block the detection beam, the beam could never tell you that the gate is fully closed against the gate post. It would need to be so close to the gate as to be vulnerable to being set off on a windy day.

A better solution is a magnetic reed switch attached to the gate and gate post to sense whenever the gate is opened and left open. Our new switch-link communicator has been designed to handle this very application, and any other application requiring real-time monitoring of any binary state: open-closed / on-off.

When a gate is open the zone LED at the base receiver changes from Green (closed) to Amber (open) – an output also switches on for as long as the gate remains open. You can use this to switch on some kind of audible or visual alert that continues until the gate is closed. This could be something like a strobe light or buzzer.

You can also reverse the polarity of the sensor with a simple jumper (link) inside the ‘switch-link’ unit, so that now the output at the receiver is active when the gate is closed and vice-versa.

The connectivity range of the switch-link communicator is the same as a standard beam-set: 800m maximum, but may be extended dramatically with boost antennas or signal repeaters. Many kilometres connectivity range could be achieved using a combination of repeaters and boost antennas if needed allowing you to tell whether a gate is open or closed right now.

The current model base receiver will monitor two gates, and a switch-link communicator can be enrolled to say zone 1 while a standard beam-set is enrolled on zone 2.