The development of SCADA control and remote access for the Indlebe Radio Telescope

Abstract

The proposed supervisory control and data acquisition solution is intended to gather data from all sub-systems and provide control commands related to the Indlebe Radio Telescope. Currently the control commands are executed from the command line prompt of the Skypipe software. These control commands are used to change the elevation angle of the antenna. The supervisory control and data acquisition system will be interfaced to sub-systems namely; a programmable logic controller, a weather station, an uninterruptible power supply and a camera. It will be used to manually or automatically control the elevation angle of the antenna, includes a menu structure that allows for easy navigation to the sub-systems and allows for trending, alarming, logging and monitoring of all system parameters. The proposed system will mitigate the lack of information on the existing system. A global system for mobile communication unit has also been installed to monitor the temperature within the Indlebe control room, detect a power failure and communicate this information to supervisors, using its short message service option. Implementing a solution of this nature means that all data from the various sub-systems are brought together, giving a single platform to monitor data and provide manual and automatic control functionality. Problem solving, understanding and maintenance of the system will also become easier.