NRP-102K
Transmitter with link supervision at the tank, 12 V DC: channel 1 — tank-full alarm from the float switch, channel 2 — pump switch-on confirmation. It also sends link and power supervision signals.
Quantity: 1 per pumping station
Completed projectWater and municipalitiesMunicipality
Sewage pumping stations: alarm, pump start and confirmation over 1.5 km
A wireless installation with link supervision between the control room and the pumping stations, about 1.5 km through an urban area: a level alarm from the tank, a pump start command and a confirmation that the pump has been switched on.
- 1.5 kmthrough an urban area
- 2states per site: level and pump
- 0signal cables across the town
01 / Investment context
What problem had to be solved?
The municipality operates sewage pumping stations within the town. The control room responsible for them is about 1.5 km from the tanks, with urban buildings in between.
The dispatcher needs to know when the sewage in a tank reaches the permitted level, and then be able to switch the pump on remotely. An overflowing tank means sewage spilling out — damage to the surroundings and the cost of cleaning up.
The basic requirement was a wireless installation able to cover this distance. And sending a command is not enough: the dispatcher must get a confirmation from the pumping station that the pump has been switched on, not just know that a signal has left the control room.
The investor’s goal: To monitor the sewage level in the tanks and switch the pumps on and off remotely — by radio, over a distance of about 1.5 km through an urban area.
What was designed?
A float switch monitors the sewage level in the tank. A transmitter with link supervision (NRP-102K) works at the tank: channel 1 carries the tank-full alarm from the float switch, channel 2 the confirmation that the pump has been switched on. The transmitter also sends link and power supervision signals, so the receiver in the control room (RP10-2K) knows when the link is broken — the absence of a signal is information too.
After a tank-full alarm, the dispatcher triggers the transmitter installed in the control room (NRP-102), which sends its command when supply voltage is applied to it. The command is received by a high-sensitivity receiver at the pump (OPC-K01), and its relay in the control circuit switches the pump on. The motor is fed through a contactor with the pump’s protection devices, not by the receiver itself.
Channel 2 of the transmitter at the tank confirms to the control room that the pump has been switched on. The dispatcher therefore does not have to assume that the command worked — the signal comes from the pumping station. Directional antennas made the link work over about 1.5 km through the urban area; in today’s range this is the AYK-437 Yagi antenna.
02 / Operating principle
From signal to action.
The dispatcher receives a level alarm from the tank by radio, switches the pump on remotely and gets a confirmation from the pumping station.
Level alarm
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01 / Signal source
NRP-102K Transmitter at the tankChannel 1 carries the tank-full alarm from the float switch, channel 2 the pump switch-on.
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02 / Reception
RP10-2K Receiver in the control roomReceives both states and monitors the link and the transmitter’s power.
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03 / Notification
Dispatcher Municipal control roomSees the tank-full alarm, and then the confirmation that the pump has been switched on.
The dispatcher also learns of a broken link. The transmitter sends link and power supervision signals, so the absence of a signal is information too.
Pump start
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01 / Signal source
NRP-102 Transmitter in the control roomThe dispatcher applies power to it, and it sends the command.
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02 / Reception
OPC-K01 Receiver at the pumpReceives the command, and its relay in the control circuit switches the pump on.
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03 / Action
Pump At the pumping stationThe motor is fed through a contactor with its protection devices, not by the receiver.
The confirmation comes from the pumping station. The dispatcher does not have to assume the command worked — channel 2 of the transmitter at the tank reports that the pump has been switched on.
A simplified functional diagram.
03 / Installation components
Devices used in the project
The devices named in the description of the installation.
RP10-2K
Receiver with link supervision in the control room: from each site it receives both states and monitors the link and the transmitter’s power, reporting a broken link like an alarm.
Quantity: 1
NRP-102
The dispatcher’s transmitter in the control room: it sends the pump switch-on command when the dispatcher applies supply voltage to it.
Quantity: 1 per pumping station
OPC-K01
High-sensitivity receiver (H2 module) at the pump: on the command from the control room, its relay in the control circuit switches the pump on.
Quantity: 1 per pumping station
AYK-437
11.5 dBi Yagi directional antenna — today’s equivalent of the directional antennas that provided the range through the urban area.
Quantity: per radio route
Catalogue figures describe a device under stated conditions, usually in open terrain, and are not a guaranteed range in every installation. Device quantities in the examples are indicative.
04 / Value for the investor
What does this solution give you?
Confirmation from the station
The dispatcher does not stop at sending the command: the second channel of the transmitter at the tank reports that the pump has been switched on.
Silence does not pass for calm
Supervision of the link and the transmitter’s power means that a broken link is reported like an alarm instead of looking like a quiet night.
No cable across the town
The municipality’s own radio link connects the control room and the pumping stations — no cable laid through the built-up area and no subscription for the transmission.
05 / Before installation
What needs to be settled for a similar investment?
Before devices are chosen, what matters is the site’s conditions and how the system ties into the final installation.
Requirements to verify
- 12 V DC power at each tank and in the control room, preferably with battery backup, so that the link also works during a mains failure.
- A radio route test and the choice of directional antennas — the 1000 m range applies to open ground, and urban buildings shorten it.
- How the pump is to be switched off — by its control system once the tank is empty, or by a separate “off” command from the control room, which needs a radio channel of its own.
- Where to take the pump switch-on confirmation from — a contactor contact, current monitoring or the control system — because that decides what exactly it confirms.
- The duty procedure for a level alarm and for a loss of link — who responds and how quickly.
Source: an archived GORKE description of the installation. For a new investment we choose current models.
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Example configuration
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