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How To Boost A WiFi Signal around The Drilling Rig Location See Also: How To Eliminate Your Rig Intercom Costs At Bottom Of Page
One thing that has caused me considerable frustration is getting a good WiFi signal on the rig site. Today most every rig, whether it is a small land rig or offshore semi submersible, has a satellite internet connection. Ideally this connection is shared between trailers or offices by a hard wired LAN cable. In other cases, such as when the MWD - Directional drillers or mudloggers trailers or skid units are located at the far end of the location they will hook up a wireless router in the company man or toolpusher's office and try and pick up the connection wirelessly. Wireless routers were not made to be super long range. One special problem that oilfield trailers and skid units pose is that they are often made with steel walls that reflect radio signals such as cell phone and wifi.
I found the best solution was to use a high gain wireless adapter. I have tried several and had good luck with most of them. In the case of a desktop computer, you can connect a high gain wifi antenna to the wifi adapter that is in the PCI card slot in the back and mount that antenna outside the trailer. The only problem with that is that most desktops already use all of the available card slots. You can purchase a long range Wifi adapter that
uses an available USB port. This solves the problem for both desktops and
laptops. These most often come with a jack that you connect an antenna to. In
most cases the 8" "rubber duck" antenna that comes with them will work for a
couple hundred yards, even through metal walls. If you still have problems you
can add the external antenna outside of the skid unit or trailer.
You will want to place the router that is in the company man's or toolpusher's office as high as possible and near a window if one is available. I have been able to pick up Wifi signals from as far away as two miles when traveling. When traveling or staying in an RV park I use the long range Wifi adapter sold below connected to an antenna outside of my vehicle. While I do have a cellular aircard from Verizon I find that I can find a much higher speed internet connection when I am near a town where there are open networks connected to cable or DSL. There are typically many open connections in a given area. It is not illegal to connect to an open wireless connection, yet you don't want to abuse someone's system by downloading large files and slowing their system down. Always use caution when connecting to an unsecured network since some, though very few, may belong to computer hackers that may steal your info. When on the rig site always enable WEP encryption since there is much sensitive information that could be stolen over a wifi network, especially on a "tight hole" or well that is in a speculative area where "spies" from other companies try to find out if your well has struck oil or gas. UBDO makes a very rugged USB based wireless internet booster and outside antenna. These work very well placed or mounted on the outside of crew quarters, company man trailers and mudlogging units and give clear wireless reception from a router located far away. The following products which I have used are sold through Amazon Associates stores...
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In many cases you can get by with just the external antenna on the router to boost signal, however for mobile use you will need a wireless card that has an external antenna connector like the one the the small stubby antennas screw into. Most laptops don't have this. The long range WiFi booster works with ANY computer with a USB jack and you can connect any antenna, even a high gain directional antenna to it if you need it for very long range. The UBDO booster is built for marine or outdoor use.
For more serious long range WiFi connections, up to ten miles or more see the following article on WiFi Panel antennas and high power WiFi adapters:
See also: How To Establish A Very Long Range Wireless Internet Connection Getting Rid Of Your Rig Intercom Rental Cost Renting an intercom system can be costly. In these cost conscious times many drilling companies are getting rid of problematic rental phone systems and using long range cordless phones from Engenius. The DuraFone system is the phone system most rigs use now as an alternative to wired intercom systems. The use of wireless eliminates trip hazards by removing all the cords run across location and the phones are intrinsically safe for industrial use. They work across almost any size location and an external antenna can be added to the base for extra range. Durafon handsets are rubberized and can withstand daily abuse. They are in use on hundreds of drilling rigs around the country including H&P rigs. Phones can be used as a secure communication link (for tight hole use) and can either connect to landline phones or talk among each other. The Engenius DuraFone, pictured below can support up to 34 handsets. It can be used as a speaker system, to broadcast to all phones, for phone to phone. These systems are not cheap, running about $2000 for a four phone setup and around $320 per additional phone, however if you figure the cost of a wired intercom rental they can quickly pay for themselves. The system below is exactly the same system that rental companies put their logo on and rent for up to $10 per day per phone. Buy your own and it will pay for itself in about two months.
*To make sure that you have good reception out to the farthest points on the location, such as the mud pits or mudlogging shack you should add the high gain antenna above to each your phones. There you have it. This is all you need to get rid of your intercom rental system. |
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Helpful Links: Rigzone.com Rig Count Page Schlumberger Dictionary Baker Hughes Peak Oil News
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EnGenius
Durafon Industrial Phone / Intercom
High
Gain External Antenna
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