The Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender (DIN Rail) from Radiocrafts is designed to help you simplify your indoor building or campus wide Modbus RTU installations significantly while lowering cabling maintenance and costs! 

This is possible because the Modbus Extender is supported by our wireless Sub-GHz mesh module, RIIM, which converts the Modbus RTU signal into a wireless Modbus signal while maintaining the standard Modbus protocol.

By extending the Modbus signal wirelessly using RIIM, you create a highly efficient network which supports reliable sensor reporting, low latency actuator control, and long indoor building range, all in a single wireless network! These benefits allow you to scale your wireless Modbus network reliably to cover an entire skyscraper or campus with up to 700 devices in a single network and a data packet delivery rate of 99.99% or higher. On top of that, the Sub-GHz frequency provides long range and can easily penetrate through reinforced concrete walls or steel beams to reach devices in hard-to-reach places like an underground parking lot or basement.

Why Wireless and Not Wired?

There are several drawbacks with wired solutions which can be mitigated by going wireless. For example, installing kilometres of copper and fiber optic cables is expensive and labour-intensive in large buildings complexes. Furthermore, cables are vulnerable to all kinds of damage such as from the weather, animals, and simple wear and tear which can be costly to repair. One single point of failure could shut down the whole system. Finally, expanding or upgrading wired solutions requires a tremendous amount of work including structural re-engineering of the building complex and disruptions to current functions. Wireless solutions provide simple answers to these issues.

With a wireless solution, the cost of ownership is reduced significantly because it reduces the need for expensive cable installations and frequent maintenance work because there are no cables to repair or replace. Instead, what you get with wireless is a non-invasive and quick plug-and-play installation experience making it ideal for both new and old buildings alike. Wireless solutions are also easily expandable and can reconfigured to support a future-proof solution which can last decades.

Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender Benefits

Radiocrafts’ Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender coupled with RIIM Sub-GHz mesh technology has several other advantages on top of the above mentioned benefits, including:

• Long range (outdoor up to 6 km Line-of-Sight, indoor typically 150 – 250 meters)
• Mesh functionality multiplies the range up to 28x
• DIN Rail housing for easy installation
• Connection to Modbus client and Modbus server (Master/Slave)
• Support up to 32 servers (slaves)
• Connect up to 700 devices to the gateway/building automation controller with MQTT integration.
  • Ex: Sub-meters, CO2 sensors, Gas sensors, Ventilation actuator, etc…
• Support low latency control for applications such as load control, grid feed-in, EV charging, and solar applications
• FCC and CE approved module option for integration
• Installation and commissioning in minutes
• Remove hours of cable installations
• Customisable firmware and hardware
• Future-proof solution with low latency Over-The-Air updates

Future Possibilities For The Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender

Radiocrafts is also planning to add some new integration possibilities to the Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender to support:

• Modbus to IPv6/MQTT
• Modbus to IPv6, UDP, CoAP
• Edge Intelligence

Examples of edge intelligence you could add to the Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender include reading out a sub-meter every minute and only reporting the average value per hour wirelessly. Another example could be to readout a Modbus sensor  every 10 seconds and only report to the central unit if the reading is above or below a certain threshold.

Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender Ordering Part Numbers

Radiocrafts has 3 versions of the Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender:

• RC2038 – Operates at both RC868 MHz and 915 MHz
• RC2038HP-915 – Operates at 915 MHz, extended range with 500 mW output power. US/FCC
• RC2038HP-868 – Operates at 868 MHz, extended range with 500 mW output power. EU/CE

Want to learn more about how our Wireless Mesh Modbus Extender can help you take your indoor building or campus wide Modbus RTU installation to the next level? Schedule a Teams Meeting with Radiocrafts or shoot us an email at sales@radiocrafts.com and we will gladly support you to make it happen!