The installation of the iROWNOW system into Community Rowing, Inc in Brighton, MA presented some unique challenges. To get the iROWNOW system to work, we needed to “bring” the internet into the sculling pavilion.
The pavilion has 2 bays and holds about 80 boats (mostly singles). The decision was made to have two computer stations at the far end, away from the doors. This kept the stations out of the way of traffic, but still handy for the rowers as they got their oars.
Here you can see the left side of the pavilion with the computer station at the far end. Each station holds a desktop machine, monitor on top, keyboard and mouse. The stations are made out of plywood painted black to match the iron of the structure.
The system has been PROBLEM FREE since its it went “live” on April 6th, 2009. Despite heat & humidity, the system has been running 24/7 for Community Rowing members and staff.
For the internet connection, a wireless link was added to the Harry Parker boathouse (main boat house).
It was a challenging job since this boathouse with a metal roof and traversing side-beams created Faraday-like cages. After testing various locations, the conclusion was that to get a decent RSSI value only line-of-site wireless links worked.
In the pavilion we have a D-Link DWL7700AP all-weather type access point that links to a D-Link DWL-3200AP business class access point connected into the main router. The external unit “sees” the internal unit and there are only glass walls between the two of them. The two AP have been up and running since April with no problems to report!
So, another very successful installation! Rowers log into the iRowNow system, check-out the boat and off they go. When back off the water, they check-in and enter miles and -if needed – a repair log. A repair message gets sent to CRI’s boathose rigger and if a repair is in order, it gets taken care right away. Staff can monitor from the office which boats are on-water, in repair or on-hand in real-time.
Update … As of today October 4th, 2009 the IROWNOW system is working fine, the two computers are operational despite rain coming down (hole in the roof) during some intense downpours that we had this summer. 