Product category:
Batteries, chargers and circuit protection
News Release from: Saft Batteries | Subject: Ultima.plus
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 12 November 2002
Batteries back up remote telecomms
repeater
Telecomms operator Northwestel has switched to Ultima.plus rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries to provide a reliable and resilient source of backup power for its Nahanni microwave repeater station.
Telecomms operator Northwestel has switched to Saft's Ultima.plus rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries to provide a reliable and resilient source of backup power for its Nahanni microwave repeater station, situated in one of the most remote areas of northern Canada Reliability and cost are the two key issues for all the equipment in the Nahanni microwave repeater station
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 22 Mar 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
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The site is 2000 miles north of Vancouver, located on a 8600ft mountain in the McKenzie mountain range of the Northwest Territories, subject to winter storms and temperatures of -40C and often inaccessible for weeks on end - highlighting the importance of minimising the risk of failure.
There can be few operational telecomms installations in the world that are more exposed or more remote.
The correct choice of batteries for system backup takes on greater significance here more than almost anywhere else.
The Nahanni repeater station is at the end of a string of such stations bringing sophisticated telecomms services to north west Canada including the Yukon.
The station is operated by Northwestel, the company which delivers fixed, mobile and data communications to a far-flung population of 110,000 people in an area of 3.9 million square kilometres.
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The company has around 1000km of microwave radio transmission, probably more than any other operator.
The fact that Northwestel is a relatively small operator in a remote region does not reduce users' expectations of a first class service.
They have access to all the fixed and mobile facilities with full Internet access, broadband included, that customers in the rest of north America take for granted.
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The company also provides cable television to a number of communities in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.
The Nahanni station is only accessible by helicopter and overlooks the small mining town of Tungsten, where there is a tungsten mine.
The high cost of engineer visits, especially in addition to the twice yearly maintenance schedule, is a major reason for the selection of Saft nickel-cadmium batteries.
Although they are around three times the price of the VRLA (valve regulated lead acid) batteries they have replaced, their performance, reliability, long service-life and low maintenance requirements make them the most cost-effective option.
The Nahanni repeater station was put into service in the 1960s.
At that time the power was provided by propane and Saft Air Depolarised Cells (these are single cell primary batteries, which are not rechargeable).
The site was upgraded in the 1980s, when solar cells were installed.
The Saft Ultima.plus (STL-200) nickel-cadmium batteries were installed in 2001 and according to Barry Sugden of Northwestel are performing as expected.
He says: "We have installed four parallel strings of 20 cells giving us about 800Ah of storage capacity.
The power for the site is supplied via a 1500W PV (photovoltaic) array, or a diesel genset which automatically cycles on, according to battery voltage, and switches off when the charge current drops to a preset level".
"The load at the site varies between 350-600W, depending on what equipment is on.
The largest single load is from a diesel-fuelled furnace which provides heat for the enclosure.
It is powered from an inverter and draws about 200W when burning and about 50W on standby".
Before the Saft nickel-cadmium batteries were installed the VRLA batteries used previously lasted for about four years.
"I am hoping for longer service from the Ultima.plus cells", says Sugden.
Matters are made more difficult by the fact that there are times when access is impossible for weeks on end.
"That is bad enough", continues Sugden, "but getting engineers in and then not being able to get them out is an even worse option".
Saft has a 20 year relationship with the British Columbia Ministry of Forests using nickel-cadmium batteries in remote mountaintop locations and according to John Shaw of Saft America: "Believe it or not the external conditions are even worse than this".
Northwestel prides itself on providing advanced telecomms service even in a remote area where no town has a population of over 20,000 people.
"Our service and performance standards are as high as any other operator in the world", says Barry Sugden, "and to meet our customers' expectations we need the best equipment and support we can find.
Saft is certainly helping us to meet these expectations".
In addition to the Nahanni repeater station, Northwestel is now using Saft nickel-cadmium batteries to start all its generators and is working towards an increased use of Ultima.plus in telecomms standby applications. Request a free brochure from Saft Batteries ...
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