Waterproof Connector Enables Water Monitoring RF Telemetry System

A UK manufacturer of remote water monitoring and control systems for irrigation, drainage systems, and data loggers has been provided with SMA Interface waterproof adaptors by Intelliconnect. They are required for an RF telemetry system to provide feedback of the status and situation of their monitoring equipment.

System sensors and controls are frequently installed in boreholes and often subject to immersion under flood conditions and needed to operate reliably under these extreme conditions.

The Intelliconnect SMA Interface waterproof adaptors were supplied to connect to a GPS antenna with a second SMA Interface required for an RF transmission antenna providing information on location and system status.

Internal connections were made via an MCX cable link allowing for ease of equipment installation and assembly and the possibility to upgrade or replace internal components when necessary. The external connector was required to be sealed to IP68 and additional unused connectors fitted with blanking caps were installed in the system to allow for future upgrades including activation of GPS.

“The end equipment can be installed in boreholes which are prone to flooding and silting up,” commented Roy Philips, Managing Director for Intelliconnect. “We were asked to provide a competitively priced connector featuring ease of assembly, offering provision for possible future upgrades and which had to work reliably in aggressive environmental conditions including a very wide temperature range and the presence of contaminants.”

Working closely with the customer to ensure all of the performance requirements could be met Intelliconnect supplied a standard SMA/MCX waterproof adaptor with a custom cable assembly and a disposable dust cap that offered environmental protection of any unused connections whilst installed in situ.

Using a standard SMA/MCX waterproof adaptor allowed the customer’s prototype designs to be quickly evaluated using samples held in stock. Prototypes and qualification samples were provided over a two year development program for the monitoring system which is now in full production.