Frog Services 1300 376 462
Frog Services Chinchilla Call 1300 376 462
Solar Powered Comms hut. Frog designed and developed a stand alone solar power comms hut with 13m wind up mast.
After more than a year in full operation without any need for external power, the design’s been hailed an outstanding success – so much so that the client is now wanting a total of 10.
This lean, green communications machine is completely self-sufficient, costs less than half that of its predecessor is significantly cheaper to run and has virtually no environmental impact. Not to mention that it also maintains optimum internal temperature with ease, via the solar-powered air conditioning.
This idea was not in the original plan for the project, but as fate would have it it’s turned out to be an incredibly valuable concept which will save the project hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, in fact in most cases the unit could pay for it self in less than a year.
Temporary and quick to deploy these comms huts essentially act as their own instant communications centers, gathering and sharing valuable data from gas wells 24/7. Each one offers mobile data, video voice, and TETRA radio capabilities, which are critical when connecting personnel with information in a remote area.
Thank you Richard Russ and Peter Sargent for your help on this project.
A 13 meter wind-up mast is fitted to the end of the shipping container, but it too has been designed for stand-alone and quick deployment, meaning it can be moved and re-fitted to any container at short notice.
We decided to use the system of brackets and cross members to fit into the standard corner castings of the container. The bottom cross member needed a winch and a system of pulleys so the mast could be wound up from the ground to the upright position.
The search for a suitable bracket that would bolt into the corner castings wasn’t quite so simple! Weeks of sourcing from suppliers everywhere from America to Europe and couldn’t find a single suitable option. So we designed our own, taking the concept to a specialist engineer in Toowoomba, in Queensland’s south-east.
We designed and built a 9m flatbed trailer to transport the mast to site, so it’s a really simple system which allows us to transport and fit the mast without needing a crane, which is an even greater advantage in such remote areas.
Innovation and design Frog has shown an ability to come up with solutions
Frog developed a fully bunded fuel line system. By adding a gal pipe into the side of the bunded fuel tank and running the supply and return fuel lines inside. Any fuel leaks will flow to the bund in the generator, activating a float switch and shutting the generator down. This is a very simple idea that is far cheaper and more effective than the other methods currently used. This was the brain child of John Scutts, Frog perfected it, The system is in use at a number of installations in the Surat basin.
Environmental initiative
Trailer mast tie down block design. 30m trailer mast came with steel star pickets to fix the guy wires to the ground this was not suitable for a number of reasons. Frog came up with a combination of small concrete blocks and an anti skid frame to sit the blocks on. We were able to get engineer sign off on the design and it has been used at a number of locations and survived some bad storms.
Another example This solar powered communications hut was installed next to a 40m mono pole. This is the 2nd to be installed on this project, with many more to go.
Safety Initiative. Testing electrical installations can be a dangerous task. Testing for dead for example can be classed as live testing. Frog came up with an answer. This change over switch has 2 simple off the shelf solutions.
1 We fitted a test point to the change over switch upper panel this allows us to carry out voltage and phase rotation tests safely this method means the testing is not classed as live testing.
2 Current testing. We simply removed the outer sheath and slid clear PVC over each individual cable this maintains double insulation and allows safe testing.
Technology. Frog has developed its own large range of reporting and testing forms that are all fillable and sign-able on our IPad mini. Every employee is issued with an I pad mini and they carry it with them at all times it is used for time sheets, daily reports, vehicle pre starts journey management, hazed reports etc with photos vehicle pre starts incident reports and others
The above is and example of a daily report with a test sheet and test for dead sign off this is a fantastic tool.
Patent applied for. If you would like to use this idea we would be happy to talk about a license, or we can install this system for you.
File number 2015902249
