I was wrong. I mean like, publicly wrong. Like, in front of the whole world wrong… Perhaps I should explain. See, what had happened was… Not too long ago, I posted on social media about some interference I inadvertently caused that disrupted the operation of my garage door opener. See, I have this pair of… Read more

Part 1 – The Assessment Before any wireless project, I recommend an assessment. If there are reoccurring issues with a current wireless deployment, I recommend an assessment. If a site wants to expand their wireless into new areas with new applications, I recommend an assess…. well, you get the idea. I also prefer the term… Read more

I was fortunate enough to acquire a pair of Phoenix Contact FL WLAN 2011 radios for my lab. I have been wanting to dig into them for quite some time, and now I had the opportunity! These are small, dual band 802.11 wireless access points. They can function as a standard wireless access points/gateways, mesh… Read more

A friend of mine asked me to take a look at these little industrial wireless access points and give him my honest thoughts/opinions on them and their practical uses. So, I brought them home and fired them up on the workbench to see what they were all about. The WAGO 758-919 is a small, dual… Read more

I constantly preach about “Knowing your airspace”. I honestly don’t think I can say it enough. Even if you have no control over what is out there at least knowing what it is, where it is, what frequencies it’s using, and what kind of volume of traffic there is gives you something to work with.… Read more

Since my beginnings in the realm of wireless communications, I have had an interest in the 900MHz part of the ISM bands. This small group of frequencies left unlicensed to the general public is nestled right in between some crowded licensed bands. It is dedicated to variety of uses including amateur radio, Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)… Read more

Let’s face it gang, the Internet of Things (IoT) has a completely horrible security track record. Companies want to push out the latest in buzz-worthy tech and make that dollar (or Yen or Euro) without a single thought given to securing their devices or their pathways to cloud services. Thanks to these guys, botnets like… Read more

While most of what I talk about is 802.11 based WiFi, there are more types of wireless communications to be found in an industrial and manufacturing environment. I tend to lump them all together in casual conversation. Perhaps I shouldn’t though as there are some significant differences between them and how they work. While WiFi… Read more

With the progression of Industry 4.0 and the advents of Smart Manufacturing initiatives, not only has WiFi become more important on the manufacturing floor, but so have multiple forms of wireless communications. For those of you who are not familiar with Industry 4.0, it is a reference to the fourth industrial revolution taking place right… Read more

Let’s be honest. Like most things in this age of technology, it really is amazing that any of this works. All the applications that utilize wireless frequencies are incredible. From commercial radio and television to Wi-Fi, cellular, and radar; from civilian to military – everything working in harmony and not interfering with one another. Well…… Read more

As I peruse the magical land known to my parents as the Interwebs, I often seek out subject material related to what I do for a living. I find it interesting that when you search for information on any sort of Industrial Wireless, you get hammered by lots of vendors advertising their snazzy new gear,… Read more

One of the big differences I have seen over the years in the OT vs IT realm is the base knowledge of what you have. An active inventory that is kept so you know when it is time to do an equipment refresh. So many facilities grow homogeneously over time that pieces and parts are… Read more

Many years ago I went through the Cisco Academy at our local community college while working on my first degree, and I had a great instructor. He was an Air Force veteran, a fighter pilot to be exact, who then moved on to data communications. He had a great sense of humor and his teaching… Read more

Well, that’s kind of true. However, there are some significant differences between industrial WiFi and everything else. These can be broken out into three different aspects: Environmental Equipment Rules of engagement The industrial and/or manufacturing environment is completely different from anything else. In these unique environments, office spaces are small and far between. Many places… Read more