Telemetry - The Davicom MAC

Next Generation Davicom MAC defies obsolescence and future proofs your site monitoring and control.

Reliable and comprehensive remote monitoring and control technology is essential for stations with remote transmitter sites. Although having a city centre studio and a mountaintop transmitter can help improve both the coverage and public profile of a station, these benefits come at a price. When a problem occurs at the transmitter site, personnel must often travel there without knowing the nature of the problem or for example, which spare parts to bring. A comprehensive remote monitoring system can tell them exactly what has happened and save valuable time.

Davicom MAC (Monitoring, Alarm & Control) systems are optimized to solve the problems encountered in the broadcasting and wireless telecommunications industries. MAC units have been designed and tested to withstand harsh RF environments. They interface easily with virtually any type of remote site equipment/sensors, and this ensures maximum flexibility and expandability. Immediate access to real-time site information, like transmitter status, antenna VSWR, audio/video levels and presence, mains and auxiliary power levels, temperature, tower lighting, fire alarm and building security status can be just a mouse click away.

Since 1994, Davicom MAC systems have been sold worldwide to prestigious clients like the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Bell Mobility, stations of the US Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

In order to ensure transmission sites are continuously up-and-running, Davicom MAC systems provide automation with decision-making features and commands that go well beyond conventional telemetry systems. They can automatically perform AM antenna day/night pattern changes, program chain switching, transmitter changes, generator exercising, battery testing, etc. Upon an RF failure, they can place the standby transmitter on-air to restore the signal, and alert on-call personnel. Engineering staff can then diagnose the problem from the event history log and, using remote measurements, decide on the appropriate course of action.

Multilevel alarms can be sent by the MAC to the Network Operations Centre (NOC) and other resources by e-mail, SMS, pager, SNMP traps, fax, VT-100 terminal, or to the MacNet multi-site alarm management software. The MAC's voice response system can also talk to personnel over the phone or voice pager. Multiple alarm-call lists allow the MAC to contact different groups depending on the event, or the day and time. Individual signal and status conditions can be qualified by time delays and hysteresis to prevent annoyance alarms.

MAC units can be interrogated by PC using the MacComm software (over landline, cell phone, RF link, satellite or IP network), or by DTMF (over landline or cell phone). You can check signals and status, monitor live audio feeds and execute commands. It is also possible to use the MAC's reach-through serial ports to control other on-site ancillary equipment under normal and fault conditions (RDS generators, audio processors, satellite receivers, backup transmitters, alternative source feeds, standby generators, HVAC systems, etc.).

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The MAC is already in use in many countries around the world including Canada, USA, UK, Australia, Taiwan, Thailand, Kenya, Germany, Seychelles, Malaysia, Ivory Coast, Kuwait and many more.

Clients include high profile customers such as Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, NTL, BBC World Service, VT Communications, Arquiva, Broadcast Australia, United Nations to name a few!!