Welcome to the Geo SCADA Expert SCADAPack 50 Driver Guide.
This driver is an advanced driver. It provides additional functionality to enable Geo SCADA Expert to interface with specific supported devices using a particular protocol. To interact successfully with such devices, you need to:
- Install and run the driver
- Ensure that the driver is licensed
- Configure the required database items and settings on the driver
- Ensure that the database items (and any database items on which they depend) have valid, saved, configuration and are 'In Service'.
Intended Audience
This guide is primarily intended for engineers who are responsible for configuring SCADAPack 50 items and features in the Geo SCADA Expert database.
The guide also contains information for:
- Operators and engineers who use the SCADAPack 50 driver to monitor and control plant
- Maintenance engineers.
Document Scope
This guide explains the configuration, features and database items that are specific to Geo SCADA Expert's SCADAPack 50 driver. The SCADAPack 50 driver adds functionality to Geo SCADA Expert, enabling it to communicate with SCADAPack 50 devices. To enable communication, the SCADAPack 50 driver needs to be installed, licensed and configured to run on the Geo SCADA Expert system.
Prerequisite Reading
This guide contains technical information that is intended for users that are sufficiently familiar with Geo SCADA Expert configuration and operation. Before reading this driver guide, ensure that you are familiar with:
- Geo SCADA Expert configuration practices, procedures, and the configuration of properties that are common to many database items. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Configuration, and the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Core Point Configuration.
- Driver structure, components, and configuration properties, pick actions, and status attributes that are common to many drivers. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Drivers.
- Advanced driver configuration order, outstation types, and configuration properties and logging options that are common to many advanced drivers. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers.
Some sections of this guide are intended for operator-level users. These sections are intended for users that are familiar with the navigational and operational aspects of Geo SCADA Expert. Before reading the operational sections in this guide, ensure that you are familiar with:
- The Geo SCADA Expert user interfaces (ViewX and Virtual ViewX), the various types of display, their navigation and operation. For more information, see the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to ViewX and Virtual ViewX Clients.
The SCADAPack 50 device is a wireless data logger. It uses GSM SMS text messages to communicate with Geo SCADA Expert. For more information, see SCADAPack 50 and SMS Messaging and see Short Message Service in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to Advanced Drivers.
The SCADAPack 50 device is also known as the Wade 310 or the Brio.
The SCADAPack 50 device is battery powered. It is suited to remote, isolated sites, as it is not dependent on a site’s power supply or infrastructure.
Typical applications include:
- Remote measurement of river, borehole or tank levels
- Remote measurement of gas storage pressure.
The SCADAPack 50 device features include:
- Acquisition and logging of various physical measurements with time stamping (for example, metering, voltages and temperatures). After taking readings, the device implements its alarm detection function.
- 4 digital inputs and 4 analog inputs to obtain data from analog or digital sensors or 8 remote points that are connected using RS485.
- Periodic GSM SMS transmission of the logged data back to the SCADA master station.
- Operation in two modes: Sleep mode and Awake mode.
Sleep mode is a low-power mode, in which the device is mostly inactive. The device operates in Sleep mode for much of the time to save energy. However, in Sleep mode the device provides for real-time detection of changes in the status of digital inputs.
You can activate Awake mode by applying a small magnet to the device. For more information see the documentation supplied with the device. The data logger can activate Awake mode when a change occurs on the status of one digital input, depending on the configuration settings of the digital inputs.
- Operating diagnostics. For example, battery voltage level and GSM signal strength.
Typically, you commission a SCADAPack 50 device with:
- A PC running an application called Kervisu
- A USB infrared (IrDA) connection from the PC to the device.
When you have commissioned the device, you then need to configure the Geo SCADA Expert database items to represent the device (see Configure SCADAPack 50 Devices in Geo SCADA Expert).
For more information, see the topics that are listed in the gray footer section at the bottom of this topic. Select the relevant entry to display the topic that you require.
However, we recommend that you start by reading the SCADAPack 50 Quick Start Tutorial. This tutorial guides you through creating a basic working configuration of:
- A single SCADAPack 50 device
- Various SCADAPack 50 driver database items.
Once you have completed the working configuration, the tutorial also describes how to test the communication link between Geo SCADA Expert and the device.