For reliable monitoring at sites without reliable power or transport, you need the NetDog 82 BW. With wireless (GPRS or CDMA), integrated UPS battery backup power, and a solar power option, this NetDog delivers monitoring when you need it most...

NetDog 82 BW Review

Hi, this is Carina. And I'm joined by Andrew who's going to tell us all about the NetDog 82 BW, a new RTU from DPS Telecom. So Andrew, tell us why this new NetDog is so special.

Hi, Carina. The new technologies we've got wrapped up in this new NetDog are pretty exciting. First of all, this NetDog is equipped with backup battery power, around 10 hours worth. If you've ever had equipment fail because of an outage, you know how important it is to have a backup power source. The NetDog 82 BW also has a wireless option that you can use to your advantage in a couple ways. If you don't have LAN at all your sites, the NetDog can report alarms over your wireless network using GPRS or CDMA. And even if you do have LAN, wireless makes a great alternate reporting path, in case LAN ever fails. The last bit of R & D we've tied into the NetDog is solar power to charge the internal batteries. And when you combine all 3 of these technologies into one, durable SNMP RTU - we're talking about a remote that can handle just about anything.

Wow - so you're saying the NetDog BW can keep running and reporting alarms during LAN and power failures. What kind of alarm capacity are we talking here?

This RTU has everything you'd expect from a NetDog, plus a few others. [hold up the unit] It's got 8 discrete alarm inputs, which you'll wire up here on the front with these screw-lug terminals. It also has 2 to 4 analog inputs for monitoring temperature. If you go with the 4-analog option, 2 of those analogs will monitor internal and external temperature, and the other two are general purpose to use however you like. And of course, it's got the 32 ping alarms, which you can setup to notify you if any of your equipment goes offline. The NetDog will ping those 32 devices repeatedly at the interval you select to make sure they are still responding.

How does the NetDog BW monitor temperature?

Well, as I mentioned, this NetDog comes equipped to monitor internal temperature, and you have the option of an external temperature probe to measure the temperature of a specific device. So having analog temperature sensing means that you'll get an accurate reading of critical environmental levels at your site. If your analog readings come back too hot or too cold, you know there's a problem. [Show the front panel] And here on the front is where you'll plug in an external temperature probe, just like this one. You just plug in the sensor to the NetDog, then place the sensor next a critical piece of equipment you want to monitor. Monitoring temperature is very important, because it can make all the difference in preventing an outage, fire, or other huge expense.

Can you give us some more details on the NetDog's battery power? How long does it take for the internal batteries to be fully charged?

Well, I brought a few slides that illustrate the battery run time and charge time. [show PPT slide] You can order your NetDog with either one or two 2 ½ amp batteries. If you go with the two battery option, you can get approximately 10 hours of battery backup power with just a 4 hour charge. The batteries are also really easy to connect and replace. Here, let me show you. [take off metal cover and show batteries]

You said the NetDog 82 BW is also equipped with solar power capabilities. Is this how the batteries get charged?

Yeah, that's one option. You can mount solar panels on the roof of a building, and the lead from the panels will feed into the NetDog, charging the batteries. [insert bit with ASE on the roof.] You can also charge the batteries by plugging the unit into regular power.

Ok, so now we know all about the battery backup power. How does the wireless alarm reporting work on the NetDog 82 BW?

I've got another slide here to help me with that. [PPT] This topology drawing shows how the NetDog BW uses your wireless network and service provider to access the Internet. From there, the alarms are sent to your SNMP manager, possibly T/Mon NOC. The NetDog can even forward alarms to multiple SNMP managers simultaneously.

So Andrew, you've told us all about the battery backup power, the wireless option, and the solar power. What if I only need the battery power, for example? Can I order the NetDog BW however I like?

Certainly. DPS is all about perfect-fit customization. So if you want just the battery and solar power, or any other combination of technologies, we can definitely make it work. The NetDog started out without either battery or wireless, and that original model is also available if you don't need those extra technologies and want to keep your costs down. It's a smaller unit, as well, because it doesn't have to house any batteries. This customizability is true for pretty much all DPS products. Your networks and remote sites are all unique, and because we handle everything in-house at DPS, we have the unique ability to deliver customized products in small batches. So if I want to customize my NetDog or other product, that means I should expect to wait at least a few months for my finished product, right?

No, not at all. You know, that's probably true with most other vendors, but not DPS. Our engineers are customization experts. They frequently finish projects in a matter of weeks. Another popular myth is that you have to buy hundreds of units in order for us to build you a custom product. With a typical minimum order of just 11 units, you don't have to buy huge quantities to get the product you want.

Ok, one last question Andrew - How do you know which technologies you can add to a custom project?

I'm glad you asked that. There's a new area of the DPS website where you can see the new technologies we're working with - and tell us what you'd like to see next. To see what's in our Engineering Team's toolbox, go to DPS Labs at www.DpsTele.com/labs. We just launched DPS Labs last week, and I think you'll be excited by what you'll find there. We made it easy for you to send a message to the DPS Engineers. You can ask a question or make a request. Just by visiting DPS Labs and sharing your thoughts, you can affect the next products to come out of the Engineering Department.

Thank you for joining me Andrew. [turn to camera] And there you have it - If you're looking for an independent RTU that can withstand just about any network or power failure, check out the NetDog 82 BW. For more information on this product, call the experts at DPS at 1-800-693-0351. And don't forget to check out DPS Labs to for a peek at DPS Telecom R&D.