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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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#1
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Radio Antenna on street lights
We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little
antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#2
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000
mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. Where I lived in the States, they were so that a speeding Police Cruiser or Fire Engine could signal them on approach to turn green in its favour. Or it could be some remote control, allowing individual shut-off, instead of block by block. Or, if you see black helicopters marked 'GCHQ' hanging around, they could be something else entirely....... There was also a local experiment in the US to provide WiFi for residents, and they used street light poles to hold the antennae, but the whole scheme foundered and died. The equipment is probably still there, if anybody wants it. -- Davey. |
#3
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000, mogga wrote:
We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. TOJ. |
#4
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote:
We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? ... Mind control - time for the tin foil hat. Colin Bignell |
#5
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On 12/12/2013 19:38, Davey wrote:
There was also a local experiment in the US to provide WiFi for residents, and they used street light poles to hold the antennae, but the whole scheme foundered and died. The equipment is probably still there, if anybody wants it. Westminster council offer free wireless access in Central London using wireless access points mounted on lamp post. This is with BT, they use an SSID of BTWiFi and the service is not that fast (well, it's free). Now some hospitality buildings I visit also have their guest wireless provided by BT, and it's the same BTWifi SSID name that's advertised to use. That one is faster (sometimes upto 20Mbps), but occasionaly I come across a guest that's unwittedly connected to the lamp post outside the window, and they are complaining that it's slow. Such fun :-| -- Adrian C |
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On 12/12/2013 19:38, Davey wrote:
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000 wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetector same as the old ones too. Where I lived in the States, they were so that a speeding Police Cruiser or Fire Engine could signal them on approach to turn green in its favour. Er . . the OP was asking about street lights, not traffic lights. -- Cheers, Roger ____________ Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom checked. |
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Radio Antenna on street lights
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#8
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thursday 12 December 2013 19:47 The Other John wrote in uk.d-i-y:
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. Let the hacking being! I want to see a whole street be a Cylon! -- Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/ http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage |
#9
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:31:35 +0000, Nightjar wrote:
On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? ... Mind control - time for the tin foil hat. Colin Bignell There's a new system coming out for early detection of failing lamps for seamless replacement by use of the 'distress signals' they emit in the RF spectrum shortly before failure. These signals are visible on handheld spectrum analyers which can be driven around in vans checking the 'health' of such lamps; the antennas enable the distress signals to be detected from further away, thereby shortening the route taken. |
#10
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:57:45 -0000, Sam Plusnet wrote:
In article , says... On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? ... Mind control - time for the tin foil hat. Sensors. When a micro-chipped dog gets too close, the base of the lamp post generates a static charge. That'd be interesting to see! -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#11
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:31:35 +0000, Nightjar
wrote: On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? ... Mind control - time for the tin foil hat. Colin Bignell Yes I suspected that'd be an answer from someone! They've done them over in New Moston already - and there is some radio interference on our street on the bit near there. Having read today what frequency these radio things work at then it might be them causing problems with people's car alarm fob things. Although worrying as there aren't lights desperately close to the affected part of the road. Someone has been in touch with Ofcom already about this interference and we're waiting to see what they find. -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#12
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:47:20 GMT, The Other John
wrote: On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. TOJ. So how much does that bit of the system cost? Does it balance out the savings in energy at some point over the life of the PFI? (25 years) -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#13
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 21:41:10 +0000, Tim Watts
wrote: They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. Let the hacking being! Is that possible? I want to see a whole street be a Cylon! -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#14
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Friday, December 13, 2013 11:23:19 AM UTC+13, Cursitor Doom wrote:
There's a new system coming out for early detection of failing lamps for seamless replacement by use of the 'distress signals' they emit in the RF spectrum shortly before failure. These signals are visible on handheld spectrum analyers which can be driven around in vans checking the 'health' of such lamps; the antennas enable the distress signals to be detected from further away, thereby shortening the route taken. Here in NZ we need a lot of light houses, some on small offshore islands. Even when they became automated, they still needed their lights changed and fuel supplies. So an ingenious person designed solar powered lighthouses, and that have five lights on a rotating mechanism. When a light fails, it automatically changes to a new bulb. So every few years somebody puts some new bulbs in place. But there's no urgency to do that. Why don't they have street lights that change their own bulbs? OK, someone will steal them. |
#15
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 22:23:19 +0000 (UTC), Cursitor Doom
wrote: On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:31:35 +0000, Nightjar wrote: On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? ... Mind control - time for the tin foil hat. Colin Bignell There's a new system coming out for early detection of failing lamps for seamless replacement by use of the 'distress signals' they emit in the RF spectrum shortly before failure. These signals are visible on handheld spectrum analyers which can be driven around in vans checking the 'health' of such lamps; the antennas enable the distress signals to be detected from further away, thereby shortening the route taken. And that costs more than waiting for people to complain a light is out? (Which in itself saves energy whilst lamps aren't coming on) http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/pla...s/basestations Are they the equivalent of picocells or microcells? do they require separate planning? -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#16
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Radio Antenna on street lights
En el artículo , mogga
escribió: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? It's so they can be switched on and off remotely. There's also an area here undergoing testing where the lights are dimmed to half brightness after midnight. Unfortunately, the control gear doesn't seem to be too reliable - about half of them have died altogether. Suppose it still achieves the objective of saving money... -- (\_/) (='.'=) (")_(") |
#17
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote:
We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. New generation of miniature speed/number plate cameras mounted in the lamp post that transmit the pictures directly back to base. They will also be used to enforce parking restrictions 24/365. -- mailto:news{at}admac(dot}myzen{dot}co{dot}uk |
#18
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On 12/12/2013 23:39, alan wrote:
On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. New generation of miniature speed/number plate cameras mounted in the lamp post that transmit the pictures directly back to base. They will also be used to enforce parking restrictions 24/365. I thought they were RFI tag readers so they can track the compulsory ID cards coming soon. |
#19
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thursday 12 December 2013 22:32 mogga wrote in uk.d-i-y:
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 21:41:10 +0000, Tim Watts wrote: They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. Let the hacking being! Is that possible? Probably... -- Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/ http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage |
#20
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:41:51 +0000
Roger Mills wrote: On 12/12/2013 19:38, Davey wrote: On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000 wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetector same as the old ones too. Where I lived in the States, they were so that a speeding Police Cruiser or Fire Engine could signal them on approach to turn green in its favour. Er . . the OP was asking about street lights, not traffic lights. True. Senior moment. -- Davey. |
#21
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 22:48:16 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote: En el artículo , mogga escribió: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? It's so they can be switched on and off remotely. From where? There's also an area here undergoing testing where the lights are dimmed to half brightness after midnight. Unfortunately, the control gear doesn't seem to be too reliable - about half of them have died altogether. Suppose it still achieves the objective of saving money... -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#22
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Radio Antenna on street lights
mogga scribbled...
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:31:35 +0000, Nightjar wrote: On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? ... Mind control - time for the tin foil hat. Colin Bignell Yes I suspected that'd be an answer from someone! They've done them over in New Moston already - and there is some radio interference on our street on the bit near there. Having read today what frequency these radio things work at then it might be them causing problems with people's car alarm fob things. Although worrying as there aren't lights desperately close to the affected part of the road. Someone has been in touch with Ofcom already about this interference and we're waiting to see what they find. You know the tories have been selling off frequencies to mobile companies some of which are buggering up everything close by? eg http://amdram.co.uk/articles/radio-m...ency-sell-off/ |
#23
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Radio Antenna on street lights
In message om,
"dennis@home" writes On 12/12/2013 23:39, alan wrote: On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. New generation of miniature speed/number plate cameras mounted in the lamp post that transmit the pictures directly back to base. They will also be used to enforce parking restrictions 24/365. I thought they were RFI tag readers so they can track the compulsory ID cards coming soon. ID cards? Old technology. We'll all have compulsory RFID implants. -- Ian |
#24
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 08:24:55 -0000, Artic wrote:
You know the tories have been selling off frequencies to mobile companies some of which are buggering up everything close by? eg http://amdram.co.uk/articles/radio-m...ency-sell-off/ Interesting! -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#25
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Radio Antenna on street lights
In article , mogga
writes From where? Dunno. Just says "centrally controlled" http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/45...amps_trial_for _Wirral_gets_the_green_light/? http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/92...or_computer_co ntrolled_street_lamps/ I've tried and failed to find a link on Wirral Council's website. I do remember seeing one at the time and have contacted them to see if they can come up with it. The trial wasn't entirely successful, I think, as a lot of the new control gear seemed to fail prematurely. -- (\_/) (='.'=) (")_(") |
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 10:20:54 +0000, Mike Tomlinson
wrote: In article , mogga writes From where? Dunno. Just says "centrally controlled" http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/45...amps_trial_for _Wirral_gets_the_green_light/? http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/92...or_computer_co ntrolled_street_lamps/ I've tried and failed to find a link on Wirral Council's website. I do remember seeing one at the time and have contacted them to see if they can come up with it. The trial wasn't entirely successful, I think, as a lot of the new control gear seemed to fail prematurely. Ta chuck! Have a friend who reckons if they're centrally controlled then it'll need an ofcom licence... -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#27
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Radio Antenna on street lights
Yes I noticed this.
Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian -- From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active "Roger Mills" wrote in message ... On 12/12/2013 19:38, Davey wrote: On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000 wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetector same as the old ones too. Where I lived in the States, they were so that a speeding Police Cruiser or Fire Engine could signal them on approach to turn green in its favour. Er . . the OP was asking about street lights, not traffic lights. -- Cheers, Roger ____________ Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom checked. |
#28
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:12:14 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote: Yes I noticed this. Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian How far are they sending a signal and how much does it cost? The logical thing for a council to do is wait til people report a street light is out. If no one does then it's not needed. -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#29
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Radio Antenna on street lights
Well, could someone explain what these look like? I did see some lamps with
a couple of spiky things on the top, well a friend spotted them, and the guy who was fitting it told us they were to stop pigeons pooping on the photocells, which I find hard to believe myself. If they are they would need to have 10,000 volts on them and we wouldno doubt find the birds falling on our heads dead as we walked down the street, as these birds are incredibly stupid on one level, ie perching on dangerous things. Brian -- From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active "Ian Jackson" wrote in message ... In message om, "dennis@home" writes On 12/12/2013 23:39, alan wrote: On 12/12/2013 19:12, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. New generation of miniature speed/number plate cameras mounted in the lamp post that transmit the pictures directly back to base. They will also be used to enforce parking restrictions 24/365. I thought they were RFI tag readers so they can track the compulsory ID cards coming soon. ID cards? Old technology. We'll all have compulsory RFID implants. -- Ian |
#30
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 08:39:29 +0000, Ian Jackson
wrote: I thought they were RFI tag readers so they can track the compulsory ID cards coming soon. ID cards? Old technology. We'll all have compulsory RFID implants. Enough to make you paranoid.. http://www.oldham.gov.uk/downloads/f...u siness_case section three is all blanked out! (remote monitoring and switching) -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#31
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On 13/12/2013 11:14, mogga wrote:
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:12:14 -0000, "Brian Gaff" wrote: Yes I noticed this. Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian How far are they sending a signal and how much does it cost? The logical thing for a council to do is wait til people report a street light is out. If no one does then it's not needed. Er, that may have been a joke. |
#32
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:17:23 -0000, "Brian Gaff"
wrote: Well, could someone explain what these look like? I did see some lamps with a couple of spiky things on the top, well a friend spotted them, and the guy who was fitting it told us they were to stop pigeons pooping on the photocells, which I find hard to believe myself. If they are they would need to have 10,000 volts on them and we wouldno doubt find the birds falling on our heads dead as we walked down the street, as these birds are incredibly stupid on one level, ie perching on dangerous things. Brian http://www.flickr.com/photos/25345470@N02/11351514855/ That should work. You might not notice if you didn't suddenly have one outside your window. -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:21:05 +0000, newshound
wrote: On 13/12/2013 11:14, mogga wrote: On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:12:14 -0000, "Brian Gaff" wrote: Yes I noticed this. Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian How far are they sending a signal and how much does it cost? The logical thing for a council to do is wait til people report a street light is out. If no one does then it's not needed. Er, that may have been a joke. No it does actually say it on one of the links - perhaps the Wirral one Night inspection of lights controlled by the central management system would no longer be required, as faulty lights would be reported by the computer. http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/45...mps_trial_for/ -- http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk |
#34
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Radio Antenna on street lights
In message , mogga
writes On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:17:23 -0000, "Brian Gaff" wrote: Well, could someone explain what these look like? I did see some lamps with a couple of spiky things on the top, well a friend spotted them, and the guy who was fitting it told us they were to stop pigeons pooping on the photocells, which I find hard to believe myself. If they are they would need to have 10,000 volts on them and we wouldno doubt find the birds falling on our heads dead as we walked down the street, as these birds are incredibly stupid on one level, ie perching on dangerous things. Brian http://www.flickr.com/photos/25345470@N02/11351514855/ That should work. They installed new lights along the main road in a nearby village, Driving through today I paid a bit more attention to them and noticed that whilst they had what I had assumed was a photocell type lump on top, there was an aerial type thing sticking out of the top of that as well -- Chris French |
#35
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Friday 13 December 2013 11:37 mogga wrote in uk.d-i-y:
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:17:23 -0000, "Brian Gaff" wrote: Well, could someone explain what these look like? http://www.flickr.com/photos/25345470@N02/11351514855/ (Brian's blind BTW) It looks like a little ( 10cm ) WIFI antenna - short, stubby and plastic looking, sticking up vertically from the very top of the lamp casing. -- Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/ http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage |
#36
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Friday 13 December 2013 09:35 Huge wrote in uk.d-i-y:
On 2013-12-12, mogga wrote: On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 21:41:10 +0000, Tim Watts wrote: They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. Let the hacking being! Is that possible? SCADA systems are usually poorly protected. And if "they" cannot apply solid network security to pumping stations and the like, I very much doubt if anyone has bothered much about some street lamps! One of the reasons I do not want a smartmeter for electricity... -- Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/ http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage |
#37
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:12:14 -0000, Brian Gaff wrote:
Yes I noticed this. Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian Maybe it's just to control the timer? -- The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered. |
#38
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:38:56 -0000, mogga wrote:
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:21:05 +0000, newshound wrote: On 13/12/2013 11:14, mogga wrote: On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:12:14 -0000, "Brian Gaff" wrote: Yes I noticed this. Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian How far are they sending a signal and how much does it cost? The logical thing for a council to do is wait til people report a street light is out. If no one does then it's not needed. Er, that may have been a joke. No it does actually say it on one of the links - perhaps the Wirral one Night inspection of lights controlled by the central management system would no longer be required, as faulty lights would be reported by the computer. http://www.wirralglobe.co.uk/news/45...mps_trial_for/ Why not wait for complaints? I emailed my council when the light here went out, they replaced the bulb in 2 days. -- The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered. |
#39
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Friday 13 December 2013 11:14 mogga wrote in uk.d-i-y:
On Fri, 13 Dec 2013 11:12:14 -0000, "Brian Gaff" wrote: Yes I noticed this. Maybe they can phone home to let them know the bulb blew? Brian How far are they sending a signal and how much does it cost? The logical thing for a council to do is wait til people report a street light is out. If no one does then it's not needed. Without knowing any details, I would not mind betting they form a simple mesh network - so in the best case, each one only has to reach as far as the next, or the one after that in the case of single unit failure. Occasionally one would have a proper uplink. -- Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/ http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage |
#40
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Radio Antenna on street lights
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 20:15:33 -0000, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:47:20 GMT, The Other John wrote: On Thu, 12 Dec 2013 19:12:58 +0000, mogga wrote: We're getting some new street lights and have noticed they have little antennas on the top. What is it for? They look like they have a light detetctor same as the old ones too. They are remote controlled and dim-able, we've got them too. TOJ. We have them here also (West Cornwall). Many years ago, say in the early 1960's, the street lights here were switched on from a control centre in Redruth. A pulsing audio-frequency signal was sent through the mains supply (about 1 pulse per second IIRC), which set a sort of balance-wheel arrangement oscillating in the control box in the lamp-post, until the amplitude got large enough to close a contact, switching on an individual light or short sections of lights. The slight variation in characteristics of the oscillating switch meant that the lights didn't all come on together, but over a period of a few seconds, so reducing the sudden drain on the mains supply, AIUI. I used to have a Cossor CR100 communications receiver*, and obviously something in the power supply wasn't very well screened, as I could always hear when the street lights were being switched on. There was a greatly enlarged model of this oscillating switch on display in the Science Museum, which worked when you pressed one of the buttons that were on every display case. * http://www.shopingathome.com/images/B28.jpg Adding crap to the mains supply is not a good idea, as you found out. -- Why do the Scots wear kilts? Sheep can hear a zipper at 500 yds.... |
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