Welcome to the August edition of the Tekron International newsletter.
As predicted in our last newsletter, 2009 is proving to be a very busy year for Tekron, with strong sales right across the globe.
Our product development team have also been busy. As you will read in this newsletter, we have recently released the TCG 08 and will be releasing a major upgrade to the TTM 01 within the next few weeks.
I want to take the opportunity to emphasise how important customer feedback is to our product development. When you read this newsletter you will see that many of the items in it are direct results of interaction with customers; the TCG 08 is a good example of this.
Please keep the feedback coming - I assure you that it is not an empty promise when we say that we will listen to what you tell us.
Ian Mills Director
Dual Clock released
You may have read on our website about the recent release of a new Dual GPS Clock: the TCG 08. As with many of our clocks, the development of the TCG 08 originated from a suggestion by a customer, who was looking for a dual clock with in-built redundancy to automatically provide backup in case one clock goes off-line.
We have been surprised by the level of interest we have received for the TCG 08; apparently many of our customers have been looking for a dual clock for some time. Although there are already dual clocks on the market, we believe that the TCG 08 is the first that has been developed specifically for the power industry.
A key feature of the TCG 08 is the Best IRIG Source Algorithm (BISA), which automatically chooses the best time source from either GPS or another IRIG source should one clock go off-line.
If you would like to discuss the TCG 08, please contact us.
TTM 01 to be upgraded
In August we will be releasing the TTM 01-E, an upgrade to our popular "mighty mouse" of clocks, the TTM 01.
The TTM 01-E contains all the functionality of the TTM 01 with the addition of an NTP/SNTP port and remote configurability. The addition of the NTP/SNTP port means that all Tekron clocks will now support IEC61850. Now with ethernet configurability, the TTM 01-E can be programmed from anywhere within the Ethernet network. Long drives to substations in remote locations to upgrade a clock's firmware will be a thing of the past.
The icing on the cake is that the TTM 01-E can also be purchased with PTP (IEEE1588 v2) support - including the new power profile - making this product truly future proof!
We are taking orders for the TTM 01-E now, with delivery from late August. Please contact us for a quote or more information.
Survey
We pride ourselves on the quality and timeliness of our technical service, but we don't want to take this for granted; so are seeking feedback from you on the technical service you have received from us. This survey is very short and will take you less than three minutes to complete.
As always, we would like to send you a Tekron laser pen as a thank you for completing the survey.
If you would like to comment on our technical service, but would rather not complete a survey, please contact us.
You can access the survey from the link below
Newsletter promotion - Buy two TTM 01s and get one free!
As we are shortly going to be releasing the TTM 01-E, we need to clear our shelves of existing TTM 01s.
For the month of August - and only until we clear our stocks - we are offering three for the price of two for our existing TTM 01s. This offer is strictly for the existing TTM 01s and is on a first in first served basis.
There is no maximum number of clocks per order, so you will need to get your order in quick. Contact us for more information.
Tekron blog
We have recently commenced a Tekron company blog. Although the blog is open to all, its main purpose is to open Tekron technical discussions up to all our customers.
We invite you to post comments on our blog; we hope that it will become a two-way discussion over time.
We are in the early stages of planning an Australian seminar series. At this stage all we know is that Brian Smellie (Technical Director) and Marcel Geor (Export Sales Manager) will be in Australia in November. We don't yet know the exact dates, which cities they will be visiting or the exact topic of the seminars.
Before making our final arrangements we want to ask you what you want us to talk about, which cities we should visit and when is the best date.
The next IEC61850 revision is expected to include PTP (IEEE1588) as the recommended time synchronisation method. This will be an opportunity for you to learn about PTP and to share your thoughts on the implementation of time synchronisation and what is important to you.
If you are starting down the path of the development of a Smart Grid you may want to consider attending this seminar. Accurate timing is crucial for real time monitoring of automated systems.
The series is open to everyone, not just our customers. If you are interested in the seminar series please click on the link below to complete a short questionnaire.
Staff profile - Brian Smellie
This month we thought we would give you an insight into the man who started it all: Brian Smellie; a man who has built up a reputation over the years for translating complex technical requirements into the manufacture of commercially successful products.
Brian developed our first clock in 1999. He had heard that a New Zealand power company had a need for an extremely accurate clock to provide time stamps for their IEDs. Although there were clocks on the market, these were highly expensive and did not meet the power company's exact requirements. Within a short period of time Brian had built them a clock that met their exact needs. From these humble beginnings Tekron has grown into a company with global sales. To date, our clocks have been installed in 45 countries.
Brian's experience prior to Tekron spans more than 30 years at the forefront of design, development and manufacture of electronics monitoring and control systems. His working life began at the New Zealand Post Office, where he was responsible for the design and development of a number of computer systems.
Brian then went to work at Harding Signals as Company Engineer, where he was responsible for developing a range of successful products, including: traffic signalling controllers for the Australasian market, supervisory and control equipment (SCADA) for the telecommunications and power industry, a remote controlled data collection system designed for monitoring water levels and security/building access control systems.
His design/development work included a combination of electronic circuit design, mechanical design, microprocessor hardware and firmware (embedded software) design, PC software design, using a wide variety of emerging electronic engineering design tools together with software development tools.
Brian's efforts are those of the truly successful innovator - many years of hard work at the forefront of a specialised area of technology resulting in technical leadership and an outstanding product range.
Brian has many interests outside of Tekron, including music, classic films, boating and his extended family. He is also an active Rotarian.
Brian is Tekron's Technical Director. He coordinates all our product development, as well as managing the technical service team.
You may have read on our website about the recent release of a new Dual GPS Clock: the TCG 08. As with many of our clocks, the development of the TCG 08 originated from a suggestion by a customer, who was looking for a dual clock with in-built redundancy to automatically provide backup in case one clock goes off-line.
Australian Seminar Series