Why WG-WiFi Remote tuning?

The full line of WG Systems is now available in WiFi Technology. Since the previous version of BTL antennas the noise processing has been improved and this makes the WiFi master antennas the best ever detecting system. But the most important difference is the fact that WiFi is on board.

• Benefits of Wifi for the installer on site:

There are two nice effects of the WiFi functionality for the installer:

In a typical EAS installation the installer uses a serial cable connection between his laptop and the antenna for the initial tuning. Several laptops have been broken on site, when people get stuck in that cable and the laptop was fallen on the floor. – No cable, nothing to get stuck.

 

The second is more impressive. If there is massive noise in an environment the typical job of a skilled engineer is, that he needs to find the source of this noise. Usually this is done by switching off power line by power line. Eventually the noise disappears when the right power line was turned off. But monitoring the signals on the laptop connected by serial cable at the store front, while switching the power lines at the switchboard which is maybe in the warehouse is kind of difficult. With WiFi connection this is no issue. – The engineer simply connects via Wifi from Laptop to antenna, and takes his computer with him. Usually the reach of such a WiFi connection inside a store is far enough.

• Benefit of Wifi for remote tuning:

About 80 % of all service calls that we receive could be solved when we have remote access to our customer´s systems.

In general remote tuning avoids unnecessary travel and labor cost. In case of a malfunction the system is back on track faster.

No.1 of all service calls are tags in the field.

Customers claim of permanent alarms. When we ask them over the phone 7 out of 10 times the answer is: - Of course we checked. – There are no tags around.

But the experience of the field tech´s tell a different story. – They very often have found tags in the field being the alarm reason. And one question in such a case always stays: - Who´s going to pay the trip?

With remote tuning we can clearly see the tag signal. We can turn off the alarm for now, so that the customer can search for tags without the annoying permanent alarm.

 

No.2 service reason is noise issues

A retail store is a living thing. The infrastructure changes, new technology is implemented. New TV´s, New lights and illuminations, any kind of technology change in the store and around the store also changes the electronic noise. If such a change effects the frequency-bandwidth of the installed EAS system (58 KHz), it might effect in weaker detection or spontaneous alarms. In those cases it is necessary to readjust the settings of the system to this new environment.

This can be done 100% in remote tuning. – No travel cost, and

No. 3 of all service calls are synchronization needs:

All Acoustomagnetic Systems are operating by a similar mode: Transmitting a signal, receiving a signal, processing the received signal and comparing it to the surrounding noise. To avoid interferences of systems in the neighborhood, the systems need to be synchronized. In easy words, the 50 Hz amplitude of AC power line is used as a universal synch indicator.  If your systems becomes unsynchronized i.e. after works on the power line, or a neighbor system is sending interferences, we can detect the signal busts of your and other systems via remote and resynch your EAS system.

• What are the costs of WG WiFi Cloud:

If you have an existing WiFi Network and you provide us the Name (SSID) and password, the system can be connected during the installation. – In this cost there is no cost involved.

• How secure is WG WiFi Cloud

The WG cloud is hosted in one of the world´s largest IT-Providers. It has 24/7 availability and is set up using the highest security means.

Each WG Business partner has its own Area in the cloud. Only he and his certified staff can access this area. Inside a Partner´s area he can create sub-areas and locations for customers. Access rights can be tailored by areas, locations, user rights and temporary access.

A connected WG-system turns to be invisible for other WiFi devices. – And no one can access what he can not see.

• How much data is it that is transmitted?

A WG WiFi System is providing only status information. The total bandwidth used per month is as little as 5 KB.

• Will WG or the partner access my system permanently?

No, WG will only connect to the system in case the customer reports a malfunction. Every access is documented in a log file.

• Why WiFi and not a cable connection?

Lots of installations are done in an existing store. Never, we have found a computer plug at the place that we would install an antenna. This means that there is always an extra cost for creating this cableway from an existing router to the antenna or system controller. – With WiFi – No issue. We connect through the “Air”.

If your existing WiFi network would go down for whatever reason. The system would automatically reconnect once your WiFi is up and running again. The best is if your router can create a dedicated and invisible WiFi network for this use. But any other setup works as well.

• Can I use mobile phones or hotspots for remote access?

Yes, it is possible to use your mobile phone as a Hotspot. Your phone will only act as a bridge, bringing the local system to the internet, so that the system can connect to the cloud. The connection is still safe. No one can access your system with his mobile phone. – Tuning is only possible through the secured Cloud application by a certified partner.