Advantages of Using RTU for Airports Authority Lighting System
1. Ease of Installation – as opposed to running fiber optics or a 36 pair cable from the FEC to the new tower, an RTU can be installed at the FEC and another at the tower. Both RTUs would have a simple antenna installation and the RTU at the FEC would be connected to an interposing relay panel which connects the relays to the existing patch panel. To run either of the above mentioned cables would require considerable amounts of labour to achieve the installation overhead from the FEP to the tower. Also, where there are no poles, new ones will have to be erected. Finally, when the cables get to the tower, they will have to be run inside and all the way up to the top.
2. Cost – the cost to install two RTUs is considerably cheaper that to use fiber optics or a 36 pair cable. The average distance is in excess of 1200m between the FEP and new tower, which would cost a large amount to run cabling between the two locations. In the case of fiber optics there would also be a cost involved with controllers (PLC) on both ends as well.
3. Robustness/Ruggedness – the RTUs proposed are the ACE3600 RTUs from Motorola, which are designed for use in harsh environments, and are able to run extended periods of time without any sort of maintenance. Therefore, it has a great advantage over the use of any form of cable which can be susceptible to the environment, such as harsh weather, sun, falling objects, etc.
4. Reusability – the RTU system installed can be moved and reused for any other application that may be required. As opposed to fiber optics, for example, this can be damaged when being removed to be reused for any other application.
5. Expandability – the RTU system can be expanded to facilitate more inputs at the FEP without much further equipment or installation. As opposed to a multi-core cable, for example, depending on how much spare pairs are available there would be a need to add a next...