SST’s Advanced Liquid Sensor Devices Provide Protection for Telecom Equipment in Adverse Weather Conditions

As a majority of telecom infrastructure is located outdoors, the adverse weather conditions pose a threat in the form of rainwater ingress. This can give way to certain unavoidable consequences like prolonged service interruptions, ultimately leading to costly repair work. In order to address this issue, SST is now using a series of leak detection sensors that have been developed based on the company’s Optomax technology. 

 

These sensors are compact, high-performance liquid level switch units equipped with built-in microcontroller functionality, devoid of any moving parts. The devices instead make use of a convenient, reliable, yet expensive infra-red (IR) sensing mechanism. Talking about its working principle, it works in a way that when the liquid comes in contact with the sensor tip, the properties of the optical setup change with light that was earlier internally reflected being dispersed. 

 

 

Thus, less light is incident on the device’s phototransistor, which brings a change in the output voltage. In this way, the telecom operators/carriers can be rapidly alerted to the presence of water in the fiber optic cabinets, base stations, picocells, etc. The enclosures are packed with cabling and electronics thus leaving a limited scope for space. As the optomax devices are offered in an M10 housing measuring just 22.7 mm long, these are highly suitable for this kind of application setting. 

 

These robust sensors support the temperature range of -25°C to +80°C and can deal with severe environmental fluctuations, thereby maintaining long-term operation. The IR-based approach helps in delivering an elevated degree of sensitivity. This implies that there is no delayed response and the valuable apparatus is not at risk. 

 

 

For over a decade, SST Sensing Ltd has been developing and manufacturing fluid and gas sensing solutions. These are used to satisfy a broad range of demanding industrial, aviation, medical, transportation and domestic applications. The company’s extensive portfolio of products is made up of optical liquid level sensors, ZrO2 and luminescence-based oxygen sensors/analysers, CO2 sensors and CO2 air quality monitors.