Alncom | Alnwick Computerware | Alncom Internet | Alnwick Computerware Warehouse


Background
The Smith family have worked together with Natural England through the Countryside Stewardship Agreement to ensure that the agricultural business of the farm works in harmony with this very special landscape. The land surrounding the farm falls entirely within the North Northumberland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and has areas of archeological interest which visitors will be able & encouraged to explore. It was the intention of Rod Smith and his family to create a visitor center which would not only be a beautiful place to visit, have a coffee and take in the view on a trip to Lindisfarne, but to be a place to educate and inspire. Alncom were asked to assist in the provision of IT, audio, security and communication systems for the visitor centre. The brief started as a simple installation of information systems and CCTV but it quickly became apparent that this was no ordinary installation! Implementation
CCTV SYSTEM
The security and CCTV system recordes and monitors the visitor centre and farm. It gives near DVD quality recording 24/7 with remote access, from a digital recorder with high quality day / night cameras. This is all very straightforward for us however, a request was made to install a camera capable of streaming live video of the Holy Island Causeway, back to the visitor centre. The problem facing us was that the chosen site was 2 miles away from the visitor centre and had no electricity supply. We investigated the possibility of having power installed, but found this would be prohibitively expensive. So, the solution we came up with was to provide a wind and solar power system, that would provide enough power to allow the camera to function, but not have too much visual impact on the environment. Design considerations had to include the harsh weather conditions experiences in such an exposed location. The next problem was the distance back to the visitor centre and it quickly became apparent that laying 2 miles of cable, over farmland and protected areas, was going to be impossible. The solution was to use a microwave link which transmits video from the camera and control from the visitor centre - allowing visitors to 'move' and 'zoom' the camera, to view the spectacular wildlife and views of the Northumberland coast. The result is extremely impressive and there is now a fully functioning PTZ (pan tilt zoom) camera, beaming live images to plasma screens in the visitor centre. Plans are in place to stream the video to the internet in the coming months.
AV & INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Our next brief was to design, provide and install all the necessary equipment to kit out an education / conference room. This consisted of an interactive white board, laptop, projector and sound system. We also provided an information kiosk and worked with Lazy Grace to install and run an interactive information system on it.
COMMUNICATIONS & NETWORKING
We worked closely with the electrical contractor from the start of the barn conversion to visitor centre. This including eh design and layout of the cabling infrastructure to allow effective data and communications from launch with consideration given to future expansion. We also provided the telephone lines and broadband. The broadband was a challenge since within minutes of the connection going live there was a total loss of signal due to line capacity issues. Working with BT we successfully restored connectivity. A hosted VOIP telephone system will be installed giving massive flexibility and low running costs. 'The Guys at Alncom have done an excellent job and I don't hesitate in recommending them at every opportunity' - Rod Smith, owner of the Barn at Beal.

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