ETC News
June 11, 2009
Property Owner Survey Now On-line.
Property owners who received a survey in the mail may complete it on-line. The on-line survey will be available until July 10, 2009. "Continue Reading" for more details and link to the survey.
To be eligible for one of two cash prizes of $50, surveys must be completed on or before July 03, 2009.
A password was provided in the Resident letter included with the survey you received in the mail.
To begin the survey, please click here.
Click here to view a map of Property I.D. numbers for the Community.
The map is in PDF format. To be able to read individual PID numbers you will have to zoom in by approximately 150%.
April 29, 2009
Property Owner Survey Completion Date Extended.
The completion date for the Property Owner Survey has been extended until May 12, 2009.
Property owners should complete their survey as soon as possible and either deliver it to the Community office at the North Shore Community Centre, send it by mail, or complete it on-line.
Links to the on-line survey and other important information can be found in the news item below dated April 14, 2009.
April 14, 2009
Property Owner Survey Now On-line.
Property owners who received a survey in the mail may complete it on-line. The on-line survey can be taken until April 30, 2009.
To be eligible for one of two cash prizes of $50, surveys must be completed on or before April 27, 2009.
A password was provided in the cover letter included with the survey mail-out.
Note: the user name "North Shore" mentioned in the cover letter is not necessary to complete the survey.
To begin the survey, please click here.
To view a map of Property I.D. numbers for the Community please click here.
The map is in PDF format. To be able to read individual PID numbers you will have to zoom in by approximately 600%.
June 06, 2008
The on-line property owner survey for Miltonvale Park, PEI is now closed.
Thank you for your input.
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Residents that have been contacted are asked to take this survey. A username and password were included in the mail-out.
The survey has closed. Thank you for your responses!
For more information, see the entry in our Resources section.
October 10, 2006
The complete detailed March 2006 report is available now for download in our Resources Section
July 25, 2006
The executive summary of the final March 2006 report is available now for download in either official language. The complete detailed report (86 pages) will be available for download in the near future. The executive summary is available in our Resources section.
January 18, 2006
We run several IVM6000 Intelligent Valve monitors on a test pumping setup outside the back of our shop. It's interesting to see how some common problems are picked up, and how the errors that are reported should be interpreted. Click here for details: Freezing valves
IVM IVM6 IVM60 IVM600 IVM6000 IVM 6000 IVM 600 Intelligant KRAIN Zoeller Zabel Orenco OSI Vavle Valve Smart Valve
January 17, 2006
New technical questions answered regarding the (IVM6000) Intelligent Valve Monitor, an easy to install or retrofit electronic monitor which confirms the correct sequencing and operation of K-Rain Hydrotek® 6000 , Zoeller, Orenco, Zabel indexing valves and distributing valves. (indexing valve monitor) (distributing valve monitor)
New information regarding ETC's Intelligent Valve Monitor is now available in the products and resources sections.
Finally! An elegant solution which allows for the instrumenting and monitoring of a popular mechanical distributing valve commonly used in the wastewater and irrigation industry.
The IVM6000 is an easy to install or retrofit unit which monitors the correct operation and sequencing of mechanical distributing valves.
The internal microprocessor logs and analyzes data to determine if a malfunction has occurred. The alarm output may be wired into existing control panels and details are shown directly on the Intelligent Valve Monitor's display. The IVM6000 can also be configured to provide advanced telemetry data for remote monitoring controllers.
Capable of both low voltage hard-wired and/or battery operation it may also be used stand alone or as a portable diagnostic tool.
The graphical display shows real-time operation, logs events, percentage distribution of flow between outlets, time-per-outlet, count-per-outlet, and provides details as to the types of errors or warnings that are detected.
January 10, 2006
Village of Belledune Wastewater Study
Details are available in the resources section
http://engtech.ca/resources/2006/belledune_wastewater_survey
Residents that have been contacted are asked to take this survey. A username ans password was included in the mail-out.
October 26, 2005
Impact Data Systems LX-1 Dragsled was featured today in the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal Newspaper. The article annouced New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) investment in the company.
Engineering Technologies Canada Ltd. wishes our client great sucess with their product. The Drag Sled hosts a variety of advanced features and is the first of it's kind to support a browser based embedded Linux (uClinux) interface. This allows the LX1 to be monitored and controlled using any web-browser regardless of operating system or equipment.
Technical details and other dragsled information may be found on the Dragsled's website and Engineering Technolgies Canada's technical resources section.
A scan of the the Telegraph Journal article may be found here
See also:
New Brunswick Innovation Fund (NBIF) annoucement on their website.
Government of New Brunswick (GNB) Innovation Fund (NBIF) new release on their website.
October 06, 2005
ETC currently has plans to attend the NOWRA (National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Assosciation) conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio from October 10-13, 2005. While we don't have our own booth, we will be showcasing our Intelligent Valve Monitor at both the Geoflow and K-Rain booths. We hope to see you there!
For more information on the conference, please vist the NOWRA website.
September 29, 2005
New information regarding ETC's Intelligent Valve Monitor is now available in the products and resources sections.
September 27, 2005
Iain Galloway VP Engineering Technologies Canada Ltd. will be giving a talk on Friday October 7th as part of the UPEI Co-Op program openhouse. His talk will give an overview of the technology that ETC is involved with, and what employers look for in Engineering, Physics and Computer Science Students.
August 30, 2005
ETC is presently testing small scale wind turbines system for residential and commercial use. Mini turbines in the 1 to 2 Kilowattt range are suitable for providing power for field equipment, as well as offsetting power consumption in residential environment. Both a high wind and low wind system are being tested. The unit shown here is a high wind tail-less 2KWatt unit .
Mechanical and Electrical simplicity is a key factor in the viability of a small wind turbine. ETC's residential system is designed to minimise battery requirements by focusing on loads that are suitable for intermittent use. This includes auxiliary air heating, cooling and domestic hot water heating.
Techical issues are presently being addressed. A more significant hurdle however is the regulatory one. Local guidelines do not presently differentiate between large and small turbines, and without clarity on this issue, consumers are likely to be hesitant to install such a system.
June 16, 2005
The Zion Kindergarten class spent Wednesday morning learning how to using a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit to find hidden treasures in Victoria Park.
The class found four treasures referred to as geocaches hidden in the park by Kelly Galloway (left) of Engineering Technologies Canada Ltd., Stratford. Students Ailish Bergin (centre left) and Caroline Galloway (centre right) prepare to navigate to the next geocache while Zion Kindergarten teacher, Donna MacLean looks on.
According to the web site www.geocaching.com there are currently 45 geocaches hidden on PEI and a total of 174,000 in 214 countries around the world. Geocaching combines geography, hiking and treasure hunting. All you need to participate is a GPS unit and a sense of adventure.
May 30, 2005
The GIS (Geographic Information Systems) division of Engineering Technologies Canada (ETC) has just competed a review of three Open Source GIS packages - GRASS, QuantumGIS and MapServer.
Please click here to View our Report »
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March 30, 2005
The DEADLINE for completion of the Caissie Cape Wastewater Survey has been extended until APRIL 29th.
March 04, 2005
An Introduction to Embedded Linux Development, Part 4 | Linux Journal
February 25, 2005
The GIS (Geographic Information Systems) division of Engineering Technologies Canada (ETC) has just launched a review of two Open Source GIS packages.
We are reviewing the GRASS 6.0 package and the Quantum GIS 0.6.0 package. The review will consist of testing the packages in the Linux and the Windows environments, and comparing ease of installation, functionality and suitability for users in the Atlantic Canada area. Typically available data (ie free data from PEI and New Brunswick governments) will be used for the testing. The results of the review will be posted on this web site in March 2005. As part of the project the PEI and New Brunswick Double Stereographic Projections will be tested with the two packages. Data testing will include standard formats such as SHP (ArcView), MID/MIF (Mapinfo) and unique formats native to GRASS and Quantum. Orthophotos in TIFF and MrSID formats will also be imported for background display and for testing raster analysis functions.
To learn more about GRASS please visit the web site at http://grass.baylor.edu/
"GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is a raster/vector GIS, image processing system, and graphics production system. GRASS contains over 350 programs and tools to render maps and images on monitor and paper; manipulate raster, vector, and sites data; process multi spectral image data; and create, manage, and store spatial data. GRASS uses both an intuitive windows interface as well as command line syntax for ease of operations. GRASS can interface with commercial printers, plotters, digitizers, and databases to develop new data as well as manage existing data." (from GRASS website)
To learn more about Quantum please visit http://qgis.org/
Quantum GIS (QGIS) is a Geographic Information System (GIS) built for Linux/Unix. QGIS supports vector, raster, and database formats.
Some of the major features include:
1. Support for spatially enabled PostGIS tables
2. Support for shapefiles, ArcInfo coverages, Mapinfo, and other formats
3. Raster support for a large number of formats
4. Identify features
5. Display attribute tables
6. Select features
7. GRASS Digitizing
8. Feature labeling
(from QGIS website)
January 25, 2005
Junior to intermediate embedded C/Linux programmer or engineer.
This is a position programming primarily in C for embedded Linux or uClinux hardware.
Please see the careers section of our website for further details.
January 24, 2005
The performance of wireless networks is somewhat dependent on the weather conditions. This is particularly true for events that put moisture into the air due to snow or rain. In addition tree foliage coverage (moisture in the leaves) and snow accumulation on tree branches are also a factor. We were curious as to how the mesh network would fare during a blizzard.
Our primary test-mesh network is purposly stretched to the limits, with up to 900 Meters between nodes, using standard antennas. Once there was snow accumulation on the trees, we saw a predictable drop in signal strength, often below a level at which data can be transmitted. In the spring we will fill in the gaps with additional nodes.
Recently we set up a secondary mesh network at a much shorter distance. This is basicaly a node on the second floor of a house, and another node in a basement window down the street. Nothing is optimized about this configuration, and that's the way we wanted it. Basically - Slap up two nodes anywhere and see how it works. The distance is much shorter, only about 150 meters.
Usually we lose the ability to communicate on our mesh networks when the signal strength falls somewhere below -96dBm. This second network has great "fair weather" signal strength hovering somewhere about -80 to -84 dBm, while reporting full "54MBPS" connection rate.
(Note: Every 3dBm difference represents a doubling of output power)
During the severe snowstorm this weekend, the high wind and snow made for a blinding blizzard, at times it was difficult to even see from one house to the next. This was to be a significant test of performance, and honestly I didn't expect the signal to popagate through what was essentially a solid wall of snow. But upon checking the signal strength, I was pleasantly surprised that it had only dropped to only dropped to -90 to -92dBm, and the nodes were still reporting a 22MBPS link.
While not particulary scientifically determined, for future reference I suggest all links in this type of mesh network be installed so that their signal strength during fair weather is -80 to -86dBm, or at least 12dBm above the cutout signal strength. This will of course reduce the maximum distance at which nodes can be placed for outdoor use when network performance is required during poor weather conditions.
January 03, 2005
Second article: Engineering Technologies very own LBOX uClinux platform is featured in Linux Journal embedded linux article series.
"An Introduction to Embedded Linux Development"
By Richard Sevenich - Eastern Washington University.
Part 1 in a series on embedded development explains the purpose of the project and outlines hardware options
Click here to read the first article...
Part 2 in a series on embedded development explains how to establish serial communication between an LBox and a workstation, compile tool chains and write and run a simple program.
Click here to read the second article...
Part 3 explores different scenarios for updating and/or replacing the root filesystem, the kernel image or even the bootloader on our embedded development system.
Click here to read the third article...
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December 15, 2004
Engineering Technologies Canada had the privilege last night of participating in the Entrepreneurs Forum here on PEI. Don Harris is the Client Coordinator and is well known in the community from research roles he has played with NRC and others.
The Entrepreneurs Forum is a great program that is readily accessible. It's goal is to provide you (the entrepreneur) an opportunity to discuss you challenges with others in business and in the community - all in a confidential setting.
The best part of the forum is the frank and open discussion from the participants. There's no fooling yourself when you're in the presence of people who will share with you their honest opinion of what you are saying. Luckily for us is that there were no surprises in the advice that was being given. That in itself was worth it.
I would encourage you to contact Don to determine if the Entrepreneurs Forum could be of value to you.
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November 24, 2004
Kelly Galloway, President of Engineering Technologies Canada is pleased to join the PEI Women in Business Association.
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November 22, 2004
Second article: Engineering Technologies very own LBOX uClinux platform is featured in Linux Journal embedded linux article series.
"An Introduction to Embedded Linux Development"
By Richard Sevenich - Eastern Washington University.
Part 1 in a series on embedded development explains the purpose of the project and outlines hardware options
Click here to read the first article...
Part 2 in a series on embedded development explains how to establish serial communication between an LBox and a workstation, compile tool chains and write and run a simple program.
Click here to ready the second article...
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October 19, 2004
Engineering Technologies very own LBOX uClinux platform is featured in Linux Journal embedded linux article series.
"The Rookery: An Introduction to Embedded Linux Development"
By Richard Sevenich - Eastern Washington University.
Click here to read the first article...
Read the 5 comments
October 04, 2004
Recently ETC performed a quick site survey at the local University campus to deterine our mesh networking node's range. In this test only one node was placed at a central location (Second floor window of Cass science building), and no special antennas were used. We walked campus using a laptop and another identical mesh node powered by battery. In a true mesh deployment there would be significantly more nodes, but what we have demonstrated is that significant coverage is possible with only one node. A many noded mesh network installation would increase the robustness through network path redundancy.
To help determine the building signal penetration given their brick construction, we entered the lobbies of a number of the campus buildings. As expected the "deeper" into the building the more the signal faded. However the signal remained strong within the lobby suggesting a node placed either inside or just outside the building would sufficiently re-boost the signal for in-building use.
In the image above (click to zoom) the red circle represents the approximate limits of useful transmission coverage, while the area inside the green circle represents premium quality coverage. With planned antenna placement (i.e. not just stuck in a window) we would expect these limits to stretch. Care has to be taken to avoid paths which are heavily obscured by trees, as they tend to have the most impact on signal level.
Our philosophy on mesh networking deployment is not only that the per-node cost should be kept low, but that there should be libreral placement of nodes at convenient locations. This keeps both installation and upkeep simple. And while there are two towers and a few tall buildings on campus that we wouldn't mind taking advantage of, the light posts(light standards) would serve well as locations for nodes.
What is wireless mesh networking?
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September 24, 2004
I'd like to thank The Canadian Unity Council and in particular Richard Jameson of YIPYAP for inviting us to the Atlantic Young Leaders Workshop.
Not knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised by the vision brought forward by the speakers. In particular Bernard Lord, Premier of New Brunswick was refreshingly frank in his discussion with us about the tough decisions that have to be made as Premier, and really impressed me as a contemporary leader with vision for his province. Our own Premier Pat Binns gave a genuinely interesting account of the history of Atlantic Canada and how political agreements and trade patterns impacted the economic climate. Other inspiring speakers included Parker Mitchell, the young CEO of Engineers Without Borders who spoke on social responsibility. He and was also a group discussion leader along with local businessman and successful entreprenurTim Banks of APM in the breakout discussion sessions. My thanks and congratulations to all for such a productive and successful workshop.
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August 26, 2004
Engineering Technologies Canada is hosting a technical discussion of the LX-1 Drag Sled on the Resources section of it's website. Topics include battery charging, how to perform a pull, and desired features.
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July 20, 2004
Engineering Technologies Canada Ltd.
16 Myrtle St. Unit #1 , Stratford Business Park, Stratford, PE, Canada C1B 2W2
Tel (902) 628-1705 Fax (902) 628-1703 Toll Free 1-888-747-7645
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June 25, 2004
We'll have much more detail in the near future, but suffice to say we are very exited to now have a small wi-fi mesh running with three nodes. We'll be increasing the mesh size soon, and are looking for a partner for additional development and larger scale deployment.
Presently the three Nodes are operating in a WDS (wireless distribution system) mode. Redundancy, meshing, and of course extension of range are all working well. however, at the moment the WDS system routing has to be manually configured. Using OSPF (open shortest path first) it looks like we may be able to manage nodes coming and going dynamically in the near future. We hope to test advanced dynamic routing soon.
What we're shooting for is a mesh of one or more internet connected nodes, with non-wired nodes filling in the middle, providing redundant wide area coverage at a low hardware cost.
I may be looking for rooftops in Charlottetown, PEI, Canada soon!
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June 07, 2004
ETC Principal, Kelly Galloway, P.Eng. was recently invited to give the keynote address at the 2004 Annual General Meeting of the Wastewater Nova Scotia Society.WWNS The title of Ms. Galloway's presentation was "Reflections of an on-site professional - lessons learned, technologies to watch".
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May 21, 2004
ETC is pleased to announce it will attend Enviroexpo in Boston.
We will be exhibiting our integration with SCADA systems, electronics manufacturing and design capabilities, and web based front ends to sensors, multiparameter measuring equipment and PLCs.
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