20 Years this Month
MasTec has been in business in Oceania now for 20 years - starting its first company back in Nov 1989.
Technology is on an exponential ramp at present.
The cost/performance that we are getting from technology is astounding. However may have you noticed that life itself doesn't change to much. There is inflation and taxes and in general most people are about as well off as when we started back in 1989. Houses were a lot less in cost - about $100K for a nice house back then.
It is also interesting that NZ was getting over the 1987 recession and now we are getting over the 2007/8/9 recession.
So things seemingly change but actually remain much the same in most areas of life. Humanity's sand pit to work in may change shape, but the sand pit it still is, similar toys and time.
So where are we going with technology now - Mobile, low power, wireless, clouds and web based seem to be the talk.
The Atom/ARM energy efficient CPU design struggle at present will see huge gains as new technology like carbon nano etc take over from traditional old fashion silicon substrates.
MasTec
started as a Technology company offering solutions and products.
We have the products, our website is the proof of this. No other company has such an array of technology in one place.
However, we have come to realise over 20 years that to offer good software solutions it is essential to partner with good solution provider rather than try and do this ourself.
Hence the reason we have sold off SWS and are now partnering with a bigger and better software solution company.
In the December issue we will announce more on our software solution partner - you will be surprised, as it is not linear but a step sideways for many reasons mentioned above.
Digi APAC Conference Report
Last month I said we would look at Wireless and this was to be based around the info from the Nov 2009 APAC Digi Conference in China. This will be below this section.
ATTEN
However before we start all of that, and it will be extensive, let me quickly tell you about another company we have been distributing now for 3 years ATTEN.
One of China's leading instrument makers, ATTEN makes Spectrum Analysers, Oscilloscopes and Power Supplies.
Their scopes are badged for LeCroy and these models on their website are the same Scopes.
There are some conditions around the next statement.
A small high performance colour dual channel digital scope (as above) 500Msa/s 25Mhz BW for less than $500.
Also a small higher performance colour dual channel digital scope 1Gsa/s 100Mhz BW for less than $900.
Their new power supply ( as above ) is great value also. Cost for the 5A model is approx $250
Full digital programmable interface Dual 32V/5A and 32V/5A
- High resolution 10mV , 1mA
- Compact and lightweight package
- Intelligent window interface
- OV, OC, OT protection
- RS-232 standard Interface
- GPIB (IEEE
488.2) - optional
Check this please with other offerings. For bulk buys for Unis, Tech Schools etc we can do even better.
The Highlight Products and Company for this month - Digi International
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Overview When the Germans invaded China in the early 1900s they set up a brewery naturally and the beer continues to this day.
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Digi International® was founded in 1985 as DigiBoard. The company went public as Digi International in 1989 and is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol DGII. Digi® employs more than 550 people worldwide. Headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, with offices worldwide in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Their device networking solutions are marketed under the Digi and Rabbit® brands. MasTec is the only Full Product Digi Distributor in NZ. MasTec sold Rabbit and Maxstream for years and then Digi purchased those companies. Here is a quick snap shot of the product line. It is lengthy as this company makes a huge range of gear. I have divided it up as on the website, into sub categories of each product type Many of these famillies overlap, depending on how you define them or use them. |
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As you read below and bounce around their website you will see the scope of these products is wide. Digi is pivoting to become an International company rather than a USA based company with International markets. They recently purchased Sarian UK and Orbcomm India, so their presence is expanding Current and emerging markets: iDigi and DIN- Smart Grid/Energy, Metering/Energy, Demand response, Sub Station, Security, Building Automation, Industrial controls and automation, Asset and Fleet and Tank Management - moving to Railway, Truck Trailers, Containers, Agriculture, Animal, Horticulture, Construction equipment However in general any spread infrastructure system of any type can be managed both logging, alarming, and control Embedded - Not off the shelf or Specific infrastructure, monitoring, controlling, machine, device, system, wireless, project builders, ATM, POS, Handheld devices etc endless apps. Wireless - Data Back hauls, ATM Secure data fall back comms, Infrastructure mesh systems & point to multipoint systems, long distance data links, IT systems, routers and gateways, Industrial - (removing cables and wires). Serial Servers, Console Servers, USB and Serial Connectivity - All IT and Industrial systems as building block |
 Beside their huge range of current products on the web, Rabbit has a large road map of products both hardware and software from now until Dec 2010 that will introduce a new set of powerful hardware and software technologies. Expect more and more wireless solutions. I will release this info as I am able. If you haven't been keeping up with Rabbit Embedded Products you may be surprised at where it is up to. Digi Rabbit Embedded - Mini Core 5000 - tiny - lowest cost 16 bit micro cores The Rabbit MiniCore 5000 products are a huge hit with the market! -- and soon the MiniCore 6000 Products
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iDigi™ - a whole web site devoted to this product and service A programless complete M2M Service for Wireless and Cable systems from End point sensors and adaptors in a wireless mesh or a point to multipoint, connected to Gateways and on to cloud based servers that easily allows Remote Assets to be connected to Enterprise Applications. Just configure and it is running. A lot of the configuring is automatic also done by the DIA application in the Gateways, as it maps the Mesh or Multipoints etc. I have seen it working and also played with it. There are products available to get started now See the kits below. So if this sounds interesting but you need some hard info to get a better understanding. Here are some examples so you can see the way it works and the scope, and remember no programming to get to this level. Hard to believe really, but if you need this type of M2M solution then this is easy and very low cost. The Server is maintained by Digi also - so low infrastructure costs to get going and almost no expertise required. |
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Digi DIN ( Drop In Networks ) - a large family of interconnections, enabling wireless, endpoint modules and adaptors etc. Gateways
- configurable with ZigBee/802.15.4, cellular (CDMA & GSM),
Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity Endpoint Connectivity - Cellular - 3 levels of routers 3G, GPRS to remote assets for real-time two-way communications. Remote networks requiring a backup connection to existing landlines may also utilize a wireless connection for failover. Essential for ATMs and finance systems. Very popular back haul devices. Endpoint Connectivity - Embedded - Several famillies, Digi Mesh, ZigBee Mesh, 802.15.4 Multipoint, 868MHZ modules and also a range of long distance wireless systems Endpoint Connectivity - External Adapters/Modems - These are adaptors rather than modules that are packaged and ready to go with terminals and connections, Zigbee Mesh, Point to Mulitpoint, long distance wireless and long distance multipoint and mesh Network Extenders - A Zigbee wall plug router to expand the mesh distance or links out, a long distance wireless extender/repeater, a long range Wifi bridge using 900MZ rather than 2.4GHZ, can be point to point or multipoint. Digi DIN Kits ( Drop In Networks Kits) Digi has several DIN kits. These kits are based around each of possible embeddable products that Digi makes. First 4 link to iDigi™ services out of the box ( read about this above )
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Digi Embedded - several large families of embeddable products from chips, modules to SBCs ConnectCore A family of ARM Based embeddable wireless and wired products - requires programming Digi Connect - A family of embeddable wireless and wired devices - Digi and NetSilicon technologies - no programming XBee Zigbee Mesh and Point to Multipoint - The XBee and XBee-PRO family of OEM modules offers easy-to-implement, low-cost, low-power, point-to-multipoint and mesh-capable modules designed for ZigBee and IEEE 802.15.4 networks. Long Range Wireless three models with up to 40 miles - they may be meshed also. NET + ARM micros - royalty-free NET+OS® suite of networking development tools & software - Linux & MS CE 6 tools. Satellite - Digi's family of embedded satellite communication products provide worldwide satellite data transmit/receive capabilities for customers involved in satellite-based tracking and industrial remote communications. Operating over the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network, these products can significantly improve asset utilization by allowing clients to monitor, track and manage their fixed and mobile assets around the world. |
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Digi Wireless- Digi's wireless connectivity products utilize cellular, Wi-Fi®, ZigBee®, proprietary RF and satellite technologies to simplify cabling, increase user mobility, and enable remote device management and Drop-in Networking. WiFi - several different famillies of product types - Digi Connect, Digi Connect Port, Port Server. Also a large family of Embedded ConnectCore and Digi Connect products. ZigBee Mesh - Digi’s XBee® family includes robust mesh networking products that are easy to deploy and optimized for device networking applications. Available protocols include the ZigBee PRO Feature Set designed for interoperability, and the innovative DigiMesh™ peer-to-peer architecture that delivers sleeping routers and other advanced networking features. Point to Multipoint - Digi's point-to-multipoint wireless solutions allow device connectivity in a broad range of applications and include low-cost, short-range Personal Area Network (PAN) radios, high powered Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) radios, and long-range Ethernet bridge radios. Available in OEM embedded modules or off-the-shelf configurations (modems, adapters, extenders) these radios enable fast and reliable wireless connectivity to local and remote infrastructure. Long Range Point-to-Multipoint / Mesh - Digi's long range wireless solutions provide point-to-multipoint & mesh applications with maximum transmission distance and RF penetration by incorporating potent one-Watt transmission power with high receiver sensitivity in a proprietary Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) radio. These feature-rich radios include low-power sleep modes, 256-bit AES encryption options, and full peer-to-peer DigiMesh™ functionality in both OEM embedded modules or off-the-shelf modem/extender configurations. Satellite - Digi's family of satellite communication products provide worldwide satellite data transmit/receive capabilities for customers involved in satellite-based tracking and industrial remote communications. Operating over the ORBCOMM low-earth orbit satellite network, these products can significantly improve asset utilization by allowing clients to monitor, track and manage their fixed and mobile assets around the world. |
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Remote Display Connectivity - Remote networking solutions offer serial, USB and display over IP connectivity, allowing the interactive experience to be placed anywhere there is a network connection. ConnectPort™ Display Digi ShowBox™ - Are you still using printed signage for tradeshows, exhibits and corporate presentations? The Digi ShowBox makes it easy to display electronic graphics, at a fraction of the cost typically spent on printing and shipping graphics for one event. If you have already gone electronic for your graphics, the Digi ShowBox will maximize your booth space by eliminating the PC or notebook previously needed to power the graphics. |
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Digi Console Servers - Intelligent console servers enable you to access, monitor and manage network devices and servers across multiple sites, both over the network or via their console ports, even when the network is down. The following products are critical for data center console management Digi Passport® - The Digi Passport provides secure remote access for computer systems and network equipment. It supports serial console connections, service processor connections to the leading server vendors, as well as SMASH extensions to network-based access protocols. Capable of communicating with virtually any server or device, the Digi Passport is ideal for cross-platform equipment support. Up to 48 ports Digi CM™ - The Digi CM provides secure access to any network device, even when the network is down. Users can manage their devices from anywhere using the corporate TCP/IP network, over the Internet, or through dial-up modem connections. This easy-to-use console management tool is ideal for managing servers, routers, switches and any network device with a serial port. Up to 48 ports Digi Passport® I-KVM - The Digi Passport I-KVM combines remote management of servers and network devices with KVM over IP functionality. One I-KVM is capable of managing one server using KVM/IP and a second device using a serial console port. Up to eight Digi Passport I-KVM units can be cascaded, using one Ethernet switch port and one power outlet. Users can add units as necessary, instead of buying expensive multi-port devices. Digi Remote Power Manager - The Digi Remote Power Manager (Digi RPM) is an intelligent power distribution unit for remote power management. It transparently integrates with the Digi Passport® and Digi CM™ product families, enabling console and power management from a common web interface menu. |
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Digi Serial Servers - Digi's external serial servers provide full network connectivity to virtually any serial device. They include a reliable TCP/IP protocol stack, remote management capabilities, both serial and network interfaces, and Digi's patented RealPort® COM port redirector for a fully transparent COM or TTY connection. There are three famillies Port Server - Commercial, Hardened and extended temperature range models plus one wifi model Connect Port - Several more options in WiFi, with ethernet switches etc Digi Connect - Compact small some with RS-232/422/485 and WiFi. Digi One - An industrial family with many models, one has ModBus to Modbus TCP conversion. EthernetLite - The EtherLite family of network serial concentrators adds serial ports to an Ethernet network, eliminating the installation of serial adapters inside servers. It offers easy installation and network efficiency and control at a low price per port. Available in two- to 32-port models, the EtherLite can be used in numerous applications including retail/POS, process control, data collection and console management of clusters, routers, hubs, switches, PBXs and other networking devices with console ports. |
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Digi Cameras and Sensors - Create a made-to-order environment monitoring system with USB cameras and USB sensors. Application software included for device status, data logging and alerts.ector for a fully transparent COM or TTY connection. |
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USB and Serial Connectivity - Digi offers a variety of serial-to-Ethernet products with our patented RealPort® COM/TTY redirector, the #1 selling serial card line in the world, and a full range of USB expansion options. This family is large also and some is legacy. Serial Servers, Serial PCI cards, USB to Serial, USB over IP, USB Plus Power, USB Dial Up Remote and USB Hubs |
So what a huge range. We would love to hear from you and assist you find the products you need for your success.
