# IIoTuesday – When does a wire become wireless?

**URL:** https://community.cambiumnetworks.com/t/iiotuesday-when-does-a-wire-become-wireless/57405
**Category:** Broadband Service Provider
**Created:** [August 21, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.cambiumnetworks.com/t/iiotuesday-when-does-a-wire-become-wireless/57405 "2018-08-21T17:46:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![Bruce\_Collins](https://d10gw3vjmzyp8.cloudfront.net/user_avatar/community.cambiumnetworks.com/bruce_collins/32/11547_2.png) [@Bruce\_Collins](https://community.cambiumnetworks.com/u/Bruce_Collins)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2018, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.cambiumnetworks.com/t/iiotuesday-when-does-a-wire-become-wireless/57405/1 "2018-08-21T17:46:13Z")

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Cities, industrial companies and network operators of all kinds typically have some long wires going through conduits or buried in the ground carrying simple control signals like on/off signals and current loops from a sensor to an indicator or controller.&nbsp; These might be measuring water levels in a tank for flood protection or might be driving indicator lamps for automatic pump controllers.&nbsp; The problem with burying these cables in the ground is that over time they are susceptible to water, rodents, etc. causing the reliability to suffer.&nbsp;&nbsp; And if you want to move something or add a new location, the cost is prohibitive.

A new feature in cnReach called ‘Wire Replacement’ simplifies the replacement of these wires by leveraging the built-in general purpose IO capability.&nbsp; With no need for any external RTU or PLC, cnReach can now send an analog or digital voltage or current ‘over the air’ to a remote radio.&nbsp;&nbsp; So if a switch gets turned from off to on at point A on radio A, the signal light at point B on radio B can automatically turn from off to on as well – even if point A and point B are miles or kilometers apart from each other.&nbsp; Similarly, if a pressure sensor input at point A goes from 4 mA to 12 ma, the output at point B can also go from 4mA to 12 mA.&nbsp; This is all configured through a simple GUI directly on the cnReach radio or IO expander with no requirement for external hardware or software.

There are dozens of examples where this ability to send a voltage or current reading ‘over the air’ can be useful:&nbsp; fire control panels, water pumping stations, flood control districts, security systems, etc.&nbsp;

What are some applications you can think of that can take advantage of this new capability?

- Bruce