CONTROL SYSTEMS
Telemetry is the automatic measurement and transmission of data from a distant source to a receiving station.
Some means of controlling these positioning devices must be used where movable cameras are present in a system. These control systems are generally referred to as telemetry systems. This name comes from the Greek word meter - to measure, and therefore to control, and tele - meaning at a distance, In the same way that television means viewing an object at a distance.
There are many types of control systems available on the market and, as always, each method of controlling a movable camera has its benefits and drawbacks. There are two main ways of configuring the cabling from a controller to remote locations. One is known as daisy chain in which the cable is looped from one unit onto the next and sonon. The other is a star configuration in which a separate cable is run from the controller to each location. These types of connection only apply to the control cable. The video cable must always be run from each camera location back to the main control. In other words the video cable is always in a star configuration.
The daisy chain configuration does not need the last unit to be looped back to the controller. The control system being considered should be checked to ascertain which method of cabling is required. In a large industrial system the layout of the site will dictate which type of cabling will be the most economical.
