Dexter Fortson Associates, Inc. (DFA) supplies and installs fully integrated SCADA / Telemetry Monitor and Control Systems, control panels, and other electronic products and services or may custom engineer electronic products to the customer’s needs. Specializing in customer owned licensed VHF/UHF radio networks, DFA has installed Radio Telemetry Systems throughout the United States in applications ranging from water, wastewater, environmental, natural gas, electrical, industrial, and irrigation applications.

The DFA Telemetry System is designed, manufactured, and programmed in Hueytown, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, in a UL508A certified shop and varies according to the application and the customer’s specifications. The DFA programmable Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) is the basis of each system and is easily networked by VHF/UHF radio, hardwire, phone, cellular, fiber optics, or internet.

Utilizing an open architecture and open communications protocol developed by DFA, the DFA remote terminal unit (RTU) is designed to be a utility grade, non-proprietary unit, programmable, configurable and capable of human voice interface. Every DFA RTU is a repeater with ‘store and forward’ capabilities and ‘peer to peer’ communications. Its modular design allows upgrades or expansion and works with a wide range of external devices from various vendors.

The DFA RTU has a battery backup designed for continued operation during power outages and protects inputs/outputs against surges and spikes. During a catastrophic power outage, a car battery attached to this RTU can provide weeks of operation until power is restored.

All required parameters at a remote site are monitored, logged and controlled by the DFA remote terminal unit (RTU) that also provides alarms and executes commands from the Telemetry System control defined in a PC desktop computer known as a System Control Computer (SCC), a PLC, or another intelligent RTU or Area Remote Terminal Unit (A-RTU) which may or may not have an operator interface.

Below are examples of gasfield and oilfield telemetry applications that reduce manpower requirements and optimizes production.

Control of pumpjack motor speed produces an even, continuous gas flow rather than intermittent flow. Well production monitoring, flow and pressure. Discharge of water from the gas well.

Technical services offered for all DFA SCADA systems include a radio path survey and FCC licensure coordination, turnkey installation, commissioning, customer operator training, and 24/7 hour remote software and hardware support. A one-year DFA warranty is normally provided on labor, materials and system performance.