Wireless extender expands Profibus DP LANs reach

From Control Engineering magazine:

Brisbane, Australia—Elpro Technologies has introduced a new wireless solution that extends the reach of Profibus DP’s local area networks (LANs). The company’s 905U-G-PR provides wireless extension of Profibus DP LANs, including secure Firewall isolation and security data encryption. These products can alleviate the cost of installing Profibus data wiring for factory automation applications, and for process plants and municipal SCADA systems.

905U-G-PR Wireless Profibus extenders are available with Profibus’ master and/or slave functions, and will connect to a Profibus DP LAN at full bus speed of 12 Mbps. Featuring an internal 900MHz license-free radio using Elpro’s proven industrial-strength wireless technology, these Wireless Profibus units can transmit more than 20 miles at line-of-sight, or up to one mile in a congested plant or factory environment.

Equipped with an advanced event reporting peer-to-peer wireless protocol, Wireless Profibus extenders maintain fast data transfer with networking flexibility. 905U-G-PR can also:

Because 905U-G-PR units form part of Elpro’s Wireless Information Backbone (WIB), these Wireless Profibus units can also communicate directly to other data buses. Consequently, a Profibus DP LAN can now connect to a DeviceNet LAN, or a Modbus Plus LAN, or an Ethernet LAN, or all at the same time. Different automation lines in factories can be transparently linked, without installing wires, reliably, and securely. Up to 95 wireless gateway units, each with its own independent data bus interface, can communicate securely in an efficient peer-to-peer network.

Elpro is a 20-year-old global supplier of wireless products for the industrial and scientific markets that operates in more than 50 countries. Elpro adds that it’s one of the few industrial radio suppliers with radio approvals for all major world markets.