Today "Wireless Sensor Networks" has become a major buzzword. They are supposed to be the solution for the future. Right - but the future has already begun! For over 15 years now Adcon Telemetry has favored networked solutions over single stations. We want our stations to talk to each other, we want them to relay other stations' data back to base. And rather than blasting this data into the ether with high output power, burning lots of energy, we prefer to build highly sensitive receivers, using tiny solar panels charging small batteries - and still last for a very very long time.

The Adcon-Topology for Wireless Sensor Networks
What makes the Adcon Topology so special? That's not hard to explain: every Adcon long range radio station, be it a weather station, a meter reading station or a pump monitor, can at the same time perform as a relay station for other Adcon long range or short range radio stations. This not only extends the range of data transmission, it also largely reduces infrastructure cost, because

- very low output power is sufficient,
- which can frequently be radiated free of charge or against a
  minor fee only,
- such a station needs much less power and requires much
  smaller - and cheaper - solar panels,
- installing dedicated relay stations is usually not necessary.

Furthermore that very same base station, which collects data from short and long range radio stations, can also communicate with GSM and GPRS stations. That will easily allow the integration of remote, isolated stations.

Why is the Adcon Topology superior over a Star Topology?
A star topology has several inherent disadvantages. Basically all the stations are installed around a central base station, and they all communicate directly with this base. What's wrong with that?
- The output power must be high enough to allow even the
   remotest station to talk and listen to the base station.
- High output power causes high power consumption, requiring
  large and expensive batteries and solar panels.
- High output power usually involves fees for using the
  frequency spectrum, which are usually much higher than the
  fees for low power devices,
- The Base Station requires a large high gain antenna with an
   expensive, sensitive radio receiver.

Star topology with dedicated Relay Stations
In many cases the landscape prevents direct contact between the RTU and it's base station, no matter how high the output power. In this case a dedicated relay has to be installed, doing nothing else but passing on the data from one station back to base.