Infra-Red

The Infra-Red Medium

Infra-Red as a transmission medium does not require any form of licensing in any country. Where command medium options exist, like with crane remote control system applications, the system signalling medium can be Infra-Red or Radio or even a combination, as found with COMMANDER™ products. In either format the method MUST be able to sustain continuous transmission in order to ensure the integrity of dual channel safety as in CAT 3 as periodic operation is and cannot be a compliant method to ensure such integrity.

Where command medium options exist, like with crane remote control system applications, the system signalling medium can be Infra-Red or Radio or even a combination, as found with COMMANDER™ products. In either format the method MUST be able to sustain continuous transmission in order to ensure the integrity of dual channel safety as in CAT 3 as periodic operation is and cannot be a compliant form to ensure such integrity.

COMMANDER™ use the Infra-Red Medium for Crane remote control applications and other communication applications such as collision avoidance and signalling, usually in horizontal mode but also in vertical detection applications.

COMMANDER™ Infra-Red remote control systems although line of sight are very powerful as can be seen in the video, the operator does NOT have to ‘point’ the Infra-Red controller to the on crane Infra-Red sensor network, believed by many whose experience may well be limited to the use of Infra-Red remote control for their home TV. Click the video link to view the performance.

For remote control applications, the actual medium used is usually based on the recommendation of the systems manufacturer, supplier or installer and is/should be based on the actual application conditions and environment. Some manufacturers only produce Radio based systems so Infra-Red will not be offered as an option. Many users are now more aware of the options available and safety aspect between Infra-Red and Radio. Both methods of transmission medium have advantages and disadvantages, Infra-Red advantages far outweigh considerably the use of Radio.

For remote control applications, both Buyer and User should seriously consider Infra-Red as the command medium as the first option, principally because Infra-Red has by the very nature of the technology inherent range control. The operator MUST see the operation he is carrying out, he must not be blind to it! Infra-Red transmission signals are 'line of sight' and as a result are inherently 'range controlled'. This means that operation is inherently safe with the operator being able to move freely throughout the determined operational footprint or corridor created beneath the crane. Operating performance of systems using Infra-Red as the transmission medium is easily determined and optimised by the number of receiving sensors strategically installed beneath the structure and in sight of the ground based operator. Too many receiving sensors will exceed the requirements and become in-effective (the law of diminishing return), too few will affect the operating performance. COMMANDER™ Infra-Red system installers have a formulae to calculate the number required.

For remote control applications, COMMANDER™ Infra-Red systems incorporate Automatic Gain Control (AGC) so wherever the operator is positioned within the operational corridor, consistent system performance is assured. Depending on the installed height of the applied to equipment, fine tuning of the range can be achieved during installation (or later) by the use of the in-built manual gain control feature.

Radio has the inherent capability of being operated through walls and over greater distances which means the machine operator cannot see the crane, the lifting machine, the winch or whatever the application. Radio system manufacturer’s (COMMANDER™ included) cannot guarantee a reliable range control for the Radio medium due to continuous atmospheric changes principally caused by the Sun’s radiation (sun spots and other RF (Radio) sources like inverters, high frequency induction furnaces). Some manufacturers unsuccessfully try to attenuate the Radio signal in order to comply with legal and safety requirements. COMMANDER™ Radio systems can be supplied using Infra-Red as a CloseStart™ feature, this does help prevent start up accidents. Current E3™, E5™ & C8™ Radio version systems have this feature already in built.