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Reserve Your Seat TodayRemote site monitoring within a power utility is always difficult. Upgrading and maintaining remote monitoring systems for widely dispersed substations is often a challenge.
Different hardware generations, varying termination panels, and a patchwork of existing solutions can make it hard to maintain a unified, easily understood view of your entire power network.
Recently, I met with a team from a major DPS client: a multi-state power utility. They needed to sort through their existing deployments, identify suitable upgrade paths, and explore new options for both large substations and smaller outdoor enclosures.
Their story will resonate with you if you need to modernize your legacy monitoring equipment while maintaining reliable, secure service.
At the start of our meeting, this utility's engineers openly admitted that their alarm monitoring structure had grown complicated over time. While their current RTUs (Remote Terminal Units) still worked, they were concerned about long-term viability and a path forward that didn't require guesswork and extensive manual upkeep.
As one engineer said:
"We don't fully have this network documented... there's a lot of institutional knowledge that would be good to get a better handle on."
In other words, they knew they needed to get ahead of future challenges. They were dealing with multiple NetGuardian RTU models and different ways of terminating alarms (e.g., 110 panels). They also had questions about when an alarm master station like T/Mon would be worthwhile, how to ensure hardware longevity, and how to support smaller outdoor cabinets.
The team currently deployed various NetGuardian RTUs, notably the 420 and the 480, to monitor discrete inputs, analog signals, and relay outputs. The 420 offers four relay outputs and 20 discrete inputs, making it well-suited for smaller sites. The 480, on the other hand, provides four relays and 80 discrete inputs, giving them the capacity needed at larger locations.
One key advantage is that these units integrate with a variety of termination methods, such as 110 panels. As one of the engineers noted:
"We've been doing 110 panels, mounted horizontally, for a while."
That's the kind of practical detail you have to consider when updating equipment. The chosen RTU must work with your existing infrastructure so you're not forced into costly rewiring labor.
One question on everyone's mind during the meeting was how long their current models would remain supported. They worried about potential end-of-life announcements and the silly scramble that often follows.
Fortunately, the NetGuardian 420 (built on the 832A G5 platform) remains active and supported. When and if something unforeseen happens - like a lightning strike - there's already a G6 version that's form-fit-and-function compatible. As our sales team explained on the call:
"We don't have a scheduled end-of-life for the 420 G5, and the G6 is form-fit-and-function compatible. If a unit gets struck by lightning, you can swap in a G6 smoothly."
This practical approach means you're not pushed into immediate upgrades. Instead, you choose the right time to advance, confident that the manufacturer hasn't set arbitrary deadlines.
When you're running multiple substations, especially across multiple states, a centralized master station is key. The T/Mon alarm management system is built to unify all your alarms into a single, coherent platform.
T/Mon provides text-driven screens, analog gauges, and graphical interfaces (GFX) that let you visualize alarms in various ways.
One team member asked if they could load maps for a more intuitive display. The answer was an absolute "yes". Static maps, logical diagrams, or even integrated map services can be used, depending on how dynamic you want the display to be.
T/Mon also includes dashboards for high-level views and can tailor access to specific user roles. As the representative explained:
"One client uses door alarms exclusively for their security guards, so they don't get bogged down with irrelevant data."
Your operations team can focus on what matters, instead of sifting through noise.
A cluttered screen with repetitive alarms can overwhelm even the most attentive technician. T/Mon allows temporary silencing of alarms for a set duration.
If a tech is on the way to fix an issue, you don't want the system bombarding everyone with repeated notifications. This approach prevents critical alarms from being lost amid a sea of minor, recurring alerts.
Not every location is large enough to justify a full-sized RTU in a climate-controlled environment. Some are unregulated outdoor cabinets exposed to harsh conditions. For these cases, a smaller DIN-rail-mounted NetGuardian was introduced:
Whether you're monitoring a small outdoor cabinet or a larger substation, the right gear exists. If there's a special requirement, a good manufacturer can adapt an existing design, add features, or engineer a custom solution that fits your exact needs.
During the discussion, the team also explored ways to incorporate equipment beyond NetGuardian RTUs into their T/Mon platform. One engineer brought up his region's progress in integrating other devices via SNMP, asking how that process worked.
This is where T/Mon Device Modules prove their value. They bring third-party equipment under the same monitoring umbrella, providing a unified view of all alarms and metrics. Key points include:
By using SNMP integration, utilities can gather data from various devices - regardless of manufacturer - into one central system. This approach reduces the number of screens operators must check, allowing them to respond more quickly and accurately. For this utility, it opens the door to future expansions that further unify their substation and cabinet monitoring strategies.
Another recurring point was the need to secure institutional knowledge and equip operations teams with the skills they need. One member of the client's staff noted the challenge of undocumented best practices and incomplete training resources:
"We have a lot of institutional knowledge that isn't fully documented - it would be nice to train up our operations team on how everything connects."
Understanding that technology alone doesn't solve every problem, DPS offers several training options to ensure that clients can make the most of their equipment:
We also discussed setting up a lab environment to give the team a safe space to experiment, learn, and grow their understanding. As I suggested:
"We could schedule a series of sessions in January or February to go through each of your bullet points - keeping it simple and focused."
By investing in structured training and knowledge transfer, this utility can ensure that each team member understands how equipment fits together, why certain configurations are made, and how to quickly address issues. Over time, this creates a more resilient operation, with confident staff who can preserve institutional knowledge and keep their network running effectively.
This conversation highlighted the importance of flexible solutions that stand the test of time. The engineering staff learned that their existing NetGuardian units are not going to vanish overnight. Even better, they have a credible upgrade path to newer versions if and when they need it.
T/Mon's centralized approach means they're not stuck maintaining a dozen separate monitoring systems. Instead, they can pull everything - rectifiers, door alarms, generator runtimes, temperature sensors - into one master station. This eliminates guesswork, improves response times, and gives everyone from field techs to managers a shared understanding of network health.
As one DPS sales engineer put it:
"If something new comes up that you need to monitor, let us know. That's how we created solutions like the 420 in the first place."
By focusing on long-term reliability and adaptability, this utility can gracefully evolve its monitoring strategy over time.
If your remote monitoring system has gotten too complicated over the years, it's time to consider a more cohesive solution. Modern RTUs and alarm masters can ensure better visibility, reduce confusion, and gracefully handle shifting requirements.
Whether you're upgrading from older equipment or adding more sites, you can get help. As you weigh your options for RTUs, alarm masters, and special configurations for small outdoor cabinets, a little bit of expert guidance goes a long way.
If you'd like to discuss how to achieve smooth and effective substation monitoring across all your sites, give DPS a call at 1-800-693-0351 or email sales@dpstele.com. We'll work together to create a plan that fits your environment for the next 10-15 years.
Andrew Erickson
Andrew Erickson is an Application Engineer at DPS Telecom, a manufacturer of semi-custom remote alarm monitoring systems based in Fresno, California. Andrew brings more than 18 years of experience building site monitoring solutions, developing intuitive user interfaces and documentation, and opt...
