Addressing the need for power utility companies to test a new technology defined by the IEEE Power Engineering Society, Sunrise Telecom Incorporated has introduced the Sunset MTT-45 Module for IEEE's new C37.94 standard. The SSMTT-45 Module makes the SunSet MTT platform an all-in-one test solution for xDSL, SONET/SDH, E1/T1, Ethernet, ISDN, VoIP, data communications, optical fiber and copper wire testing. Sunrise Telecom's market leadership in testing and monitoring solutions for voice, video, data services and next-generation digital multimedia gives the company the expertise and experience to bring the highest-performing test systems to the power utility market.
The IEEE C37.94 standard defines an Nx64 Kbps multimode optical fiber interface between teleprotection and digital multiplexer equipment, up to 2 km. Sunrise Telecom's SSMTT-45 Module is designed specifically to assist technicians as they turn up a new network or work to isolate problems on both sides (teleprotection and multiplexer) of an existing network using this technology.
The new module's bit-error rate testing (BERT) capabilities allow engineers to check the performance of IEEE C37.94 links prior to turning up the circuits, ensuring consistent and reliable network performance once deployed. The unit's alarm monitoring and optical power measurement enable technicians to quickly and easily verify connectivity and power levels for the optic fibers to ensure uninterrupted operation. Using this system, engineers can also measure propagation delay--the round-trip time of a digital signal on the C37.94 teleprotection communication line--which is a critical element of the overall time required for a protection system to automatically and successfully respond to failures and prevent outages in a power transmission network.
The IEEE standards committee defined the C37.94 standard to allow interoperability between different vendors of teleprotection and multiplexer equipment. Teleprotection equipment is used to quickly isolate faults in power transmission systems and is crucial for preventing damage to the network and power outages (blackouts).
Teleprotection is being aggressively deployed on communication links residing in harsh high-voltage substation environments. The optical data link in these systems that replaces existing electrical interfaces provides immunity to intra-station electromagnetic interference (EMI) and reduces data errors while transmitting data at speeds up to 12 x 64 kilobit per second.
