AGL TransGuard Slave Monitoring Unit
Next-Gen Airfield Technology

AGL TransGuard

Centralised smart monitoring for CCR / AGL transformer networks — real-time visibility across every light on your airfield.

360°
Transformer Visibility
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Communication Architectures
3
Deployment Scenarios
24/7
Predictive Health Monitoring

Blind spots on the airfield cost time, money — and safety

AGL transformer failures in a CCR series circuit can cause partial or total loss of runway lighting with little or no warning. Today's maintenance teams rely on manual inspection and reactive fault-finding.

TransGuard changes that. By placing intelligent sensors at every transformer and aggregating data to a central master controller, your team moves from reactive to predictive maintenance — knowing of degradation before a lamp goes dark.

Complete Power & Environment Intelligence

Primary Current

Real-time CCR series loop current monitoring detects open-circuit conditions and deviations from set-point, helping prevent cascading failures.

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Secondary Current

Per-transformer load current tracking provides a precise health index, flagging lamp degradation or unexpected load changes long before failure.

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Temperature

Integrated thermal sensing on each transformer core detects overheating caused by overloads, blocked drainage or embedded moisture ingress.

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Humidity

Onboard hygrometer continuously evaluates moisture levels inside the transformer enclosure — essential for underground and subsurface installations.

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Health Status

A composite health score derived from all measured parameters delivers instant actionable status — green, amber, or red — for each unit in the field.

Lamp Voltage

Continuous secondary voltage measurement at each transformer ensures lamps operate within specification and highlights early insulation or winding faults.

Monitor From Anywhere

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On-Site Dashboard

Live display in the airfield operations centre or equipment room. Real-time status map of the entire CCR circuit visible at a glance via LAN.

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Cloud & Remote

Maintenance teams and OEM service centres access historical logs, trend analysis, and alerts remotely — enabling predictive maintenance from anywhere in the world.

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Fault Alerting

Threshold-based alarms triggered automatically when parameters drift outside safe limits, with configurable escalation to email, SMS or SCADA integration.

Two Communication Variants

Type A — Modem PLC

Rapid Deployment

Uses proven narrow-band Power Line Communication technology to transmit sensor data over the existing CCR wiring. No additional cabling required. Pre-configured monitoring paramenters

  • Standard N-PLC protocols (G3-PLC / XXR)
  • Up to 466 kbps OFDM data rate
  • CPU + MODEM + PLC slave architecture
  • Fastest path to market; lower NRE cost
  • Ideal for retrofit and add-on deployments

Type B — Ring PLC

Expandable System

A cyclic ring communication protocol implemented on a dedicated chip, delivers deterministic, high-reliability data collection across the entire CCR circuit with possibility to implement custom features.

  • Proprietary ring protocol over AC power line
  • Up to 500 kbps ring communication speed
  • Customisable master & slave architecture
  • Multi-master architecture for very large deplyments
  • Preferred for OEM and white-label agreements
Power & Battery BackupPowered from CCR loop; battery maintains operation during mains interruption
ADC MeasurementHigh-resolution analogue-to-digital conversion for voltage & current sensing
Temp & HumidityDedicated sensing module with environmental logging
Harsh EnvironmentIP-rated enclosure designed for buried / surface-mount airfield conditions

Flexible for Every Project

01

Modular Field Retrofit

Snap-on slave units attach to existing AGL transformers already installed in the airfield. Minimal disruption to operations; no re-cabling required. Ideal for airport upgrade programmes.

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OEM Factory Integration

TransGuard electronics are embedded at the transformer manufacturer's production line, delivered as a pre-wired, pre-tested assembly — simplifying installation and commissioning.

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Complete Smart Transformer

A fully integrated product combining AGL transformer and monitoring electronics in a single sealed unit. One SKU, one warranty, one supplier — the simplest solution for new builds and major expansions.

Ready to Illuminate the Full Picture?

TransGuard is available for pilot programmes and technical evaluation. Contact us to discuss your airfield's requirements and arrange a proof-of-concept demonstration.

Contact Our Team View Technical Specification

Technical Documentation

This section presents the complete architectural diagrams for the TransGuard monitoring system, covering the overall CCR network topology, Slave unit configurations (Type A and B), and Master controller block diagrams for both communication variants.

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System Overview — General Architecture

The complete CCR/AGL monitoring topology showing the relationship between the control tower, CCR unit, Master controllers, and Slave monitoring nodes distributed across the airfield. The dashed blue line marks the boundary between the equipment room and the airfield.

Circuit Diagram AIRFIELD TOWER CCR CONTROLLER MASTER ON-SITE MONITORING REMOTE MONITORING Lamp AGL AGL Transformer Lamp Transformer SLAVE AGL Transformer Lamp AGL Transformer Lamp LAN

CCR Series Circuit

The Constant Current Regulator drives a series AC loop at fixed current through all AGL transformers on the circuit. This daisy-chain topology means any transformer fault affects all downstream lamps — making monitoring essential.

Master Controller

One Master unit per CCR circuit, co-located in the equipment room alongside the CCR. It aggregates data from all Slave nodes over the PLC bus, then forwards status to the on-site display via LAN and to the cloud for remote access.

Slave Nodes (Airfield)

One Slave per transformer, deployed in the field. Slaves are powered directly from the CCR loop — no separate supply cable required. Data is transmitted back to the Master over the existing CCR wiring using Power Line Communication.

Boundary (dashed blue line)

Separates the protected equipment room (left) from the exposed airfield environment (right). Slave units must be rated for harsh outdoor or in-ground conditions.

02

Slave Unit — Type A (Modem PLC)

Block diagram and connection schematic for the Slave monitoring node using standard N-PLC communication. Captures voltage, current, temperature and humidity; communicates to Master over the CCR wiring via OFDM modulation.

Connection Schematic SLAVE AGL Transformer Lamp PLC OUT Hygro Current Current Voltage Temperature
Block Diagram LAMP INPUTS POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE & CURRENT SENSE POWER & BATTERY BACKUP TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY SENSING ADC CPU MODEM PLC

Lamp Inputs / Power

The Slave draws power from the CCR lamp circuit. The same block performs secondary voltage and current sensing on the lamp load.

ADC

High-resolution analogue-to-digital converter digitises voltage and current waveforms for transmission and local health computation.

CPU + Modem

The host microcontroller runs the sensing logic and hands data frames to the PLC modem for transmission over the CCR wiring.

Temp & Humidity

A dedicated sensor module (yellow block) feeds environmental readings directly to the CPU, independent of the analogue power path.

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PLC Modem Features

The Type A configuration utlise a PLC modem for the Slave communication. It connects directly to the AC power line via a coupling transformer and line driver, and interfaces with the host CPU and sensors.

Key Features

InterfaceUART / SPI to host MCU
Line voltageAC or DC
Frequency band155 kHz – 490 kHz (FCC)
OFDM speed466 kbps max
XXR mode5 kbps (extreme noise)
ProtocolG3-PLC FCC / XXR
Supply3.3 V (5 V tolerant I/O)

Why a PLC Modem

The modem mange all PLC physical-layer complexity — OFDM modulation, noise cancellation, and channel estimation — allowing the host CPU to manage only local sensors. This minimises firmware and system complexity.

04

Slave Unit — Type B (Ring PLC)

The Type B Slave replaces the CPU+Modem stack with a custom chip implementing both data acquisition and the proprietary cyclic ring communication protocol. The field-connection schematic is identical to Type A; only the internal block diagram differs.

Connection Schematic (identical to Type A) SLAVE CUSTOM CHIP AGL Transformer Lamp PLC OUT Hygro Current Current Voltage Temperature
Block Diagram — CUSTOM CHIP Variant LAMP INPUTS POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE & CURRENT SENSE POWER & BATTERY BACKUP TEMPERATURE & HUMIDITY SENSING CUSTOM CHIP Proprietary Ring Protocol PLC

Type A vs Type B — Key Difference

Type A uses a CPU + MODEM chip. Type B consolidates both functions into a chip running a more robust ring protocol, with this topology it's also easier to implement cusotm features and multi-master architectures. Ring speed: up to 500 kbps.

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Master Controller — Type A & Type B

The Master unit sits in the equipment room alongside the CCR. It aggregates all Slave data, serves the local on-site display over LAN, and pushes data to the cloud for remote access. Type A uses a CPU+Modem architecture; Type B uses a custom chip architecture.

System Connection CCR CONTROLLER MASTER To CCR Circuit ON-SITE MONITORING LAN REMOTE MONITORING
Type A Block LAN POWER & BATTERY BACKUP CPU MODEM PLC
Type B Block LAN POWER & BATTERY BACKUP CUSTOM CHIP PLC

Master — Common Features

Both variants share the same external interface: LAN for on-site display and cloud connectivity, and Power & Battery Backup for continuous operation even during mains events. The Master is the single integration point for the entire airfield lighting monitoring system.

Connect with our Engineering Team

Whether you're interested in a pilot program, technical data sheets, or OEM integration, our airfield specialists are ready to assist.

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Global Headquarters

URT Sh.p.k. Rruga “Bardhyl”, No.1
Pallati Biffer & Co. 1001 Tirana – AL

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Contact Us

info@urt.al

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Direct Line

+355 68 606 4264