Gary_ro (Customer) asked a question.
Remote Modbus RTU setup
Hi all!
I’ve got a Modbus RTU energy meter in a substation building quite a distance from my main control room. Running a new cable isn’t really an option right now because the conduit route goes through an area we can’t dig up. My monitoring software only supports Modbus RTU through a COM port and doesn’t support TCP. Is there any way to connect the remote meter without adding a hardware gateway or changing the software configuration?
Just wondering what others have done for similar remote metering setups.
Phoenix Contact Radioline would probably be my first choice, but there are less expensive serial radios out there too. The Radioline IFS modules handle Modbus RTU over RS-485 or RS-232 quite nicely. We've also used E-Bytes serial radios for long range telemetry and have been impressed with their performance at fifty bucks each.
If I understand, you cannot install an underground conduit for a comm. cable. And it is not possible to run an overhead comm. cable.
You mention your monitoring software "doesn’t support TCP" and you don't want to add a "hardware gateway". Could you connect if your monitoring software did support Modbus TCP? And you had a gateway? If so, how? Do you have a conduit with an Ethernet cable? If you have a conduit with an Ethernet cable, you could verify the specs and use the Ethernet cable for your serial communication - if Ethernet cable is not used). Or use the Ethernet cable to pull another (replacement) Ethernet cable, and serial cable, (and pulling twine for future pulls).
Other options would require adding hardware. For example, we have done a project using serial RS232-to-radios to communicate with a remote pump house about a mile away, down a mountainside. with great success.