An important application for the power market is Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) due to the way it facilitates automation. With wireless communication, AMR can achieve the benefit of long-range transmission with little overhead and expense.

A client in the power industry has deployed Moxa's IA241 embedded computer as the front-end controller for an AMR system. The IA241 provided multiple serial connection options for meters, sensors, and other IEDs, and the information collected is easily transmitted to the control center over cellular networks (GSM/GPRS). The built-in dual LAN ports were used to provide a wired connection to the control center, ensuring continuous operation and network redundancy. 4 digital input and 4 digital output channels allowed DIO devices to be connected, such as Moxa's remote I/O servers. Moreover, the was able to manage communication between different protocols through the included Moxa Protocol Converter software, reducing costs for system integration and development.

Moxa's IA241 provided the following benefits:

• Great flexibility with multiple device connection options
• PCMCIA slot for wireless expansion
• Fanless operation and rugged design for longer MTBF
• Programmable platform for protocol conversion

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