Controlling the AC power on equipment in a remote location can be very helpful. The scenario I think of is a repeater 'locking up' in the dead of winter, getting to the site is difficult. It will take time to get to the site. In the end, you only need to turn the equipment off and on again. A job that should only take a few minutes if you can do it remotely over the internet.
Whether it's your remote PC, HF transceiver, or a repeater, if you have networking and the internet, a PDU can be a very handy piece of equipment.
My local ham club has a custom programmed Raspberry Pi doing multiple functions in one of our repeater shacks. Remotely rebooting that Pi has already been seen as a valuable feature especially in the dead of winter.
Recently I picked up a number of the Luxul PDU-02's. A professional piece of network power equipment designed for purposes like networking, home theatre, automation scenarios. MSRP on the PDU-02 is approx $225 US.
The setup couldn't be simpler.
- Plug the provided 2ft. power cable into an AC power source. Any standard IEC PC power cord can be used if you need something longer.
- Plug the network into the ethernet port. Add the provided RF choke to the ethernet cable as close to the PDU as possible.
- Plugin the power cables for two devices (or a string of devices on power bars if you need more plugs).
- Get onto your network with a PC or laptop
- The PDU will pickup an IP address over DHCP. If the PDU 2 fails to find a DHCP server the unit will default to the IP address 192.168.0.6. You can use a network scanner to identify what IP it's using and plug that into your web browser to access the device's handy web interface.
Key features and specs.
- Individual IP outlet control of 2 outlets.
- 12 amp continuous load, 15 amp peaks.
- Easy setup and control
- IP “Autoping” and recovery for optimized system reliability
- MOV surge and spike protection
- Fast and easy configuration
- Automatic actions improve system reliability
- Automatic notification of connection status
- Control start-up or shut-down with remote sequencing
- Seamlessly interfaces with third-party control systems and cloud platforms for scheduling, control, reporting and customization
- 3-year limited warranty
- Connected equipment warranty
- Mounting kit included with a metal bracket for wall or flat surface mount.
- RF choke provided for ethernet cable
- Ground connector built-in.
- The unit shipped with the latest firmware 1.10.00
- Three account levels are built-in (admin, user, control system account).
- Accurate time from a network time source.
- Configure email alerts.
The web interface for the PDU has all the basic features and is very nicely laid out.
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