Leaky Feeder Wi-Fi Communication Systems in Mines

Leaky feeder Wi-Fi cable and communication systems provide effective and secure communication for underground and above-ground operations, incorporating a cable that is stretched throughout the mine, and acts as an antenna for a number of devices to receive and transmit a signal.

As Carroll Engineering president Allen Haywood explained:

“If you have line of sight with that antenna, or are in reasonable distance, you can talk to that cable rather than talking to another radio.”

This effectively extends the range of communication devices, as the cable serves as a wireless connecting point between two devices that are trying to communicate; a worker ten miles underground could speak to a colleague ten miles above ground using the antenna between them to connect the signal.

This leaky feeder communication system replaces the older ‘pager-phone’ model of underground communication, where miners would have to go to telephones hard-wired to the surface to speak to their colleagues, either above or below ground.

Not only did this system limit locations of communications much more than the leaky feeder Wi-Fi system, new pagers would have to be individually installed as mines grew creating an inherently inefficient system, as all lines of communication would have to go through a single point above ground, regardless of the location of the workers attempting to communicate.

PBE leaky feeder radio systems stand out as some of the best communication solutions available to the industry. The PBE 112 mine phone, for instance, is a traditional pager-type system that can be integrated into leaky feeder systems to improve productivity and serve as emergency lines of communication in the wake of accidents.

Radios distributed by Carroll are also part of PBE’s fourth generation of leaky feeder technology which incorporates systems such as proximity alerts, gas monitoring and both text and voice communication.