Self-contained system is ideal for harsh land-based oil and gas drilling sites

BURLINGTON, Iowa (March 11, 2014) – Winegard, a global leader and innovator in antenna design and manufacturing for 60 years, has designed and developed a self-contained, rugged, and transportable 1.2 meter skid system for UK-based Hermes® Datacomms. The unit is designed to be used in remote and hostile environments. The extremely small footprint skid allows the unit to be transported in a pickup truck. It’s ideal for mobile rigs, construction sites and emergency response teams.

A U.S. based manufacturer of extremely rugged, reliable and value-priced VSAT satellite communications systems, Winegard is globally recognized for its abilities to design, engineer and produce all types of custom antennas, mounts and skid systems. The transportable skid was specifically designed for the harsh environments encountered in the oil and gas industry. Hermes uses Hermes Connect for land-based drilling sites. Currently Hermes is using the Winegard transportable skid in Australia, and soon in Libya and Egypt. Hermes will also be demonstrating the unit in Siberia.

"Hermes chose Winegard due to their experience in design and their ability to provide competitive solutions for unique requirements," said Giles Middleton CEO, Hermes Datacomms. "The transportable skid is helping us improve our services to important user groups in the oil and gas industry. Its ease of deployment and lower set up costs are great benefits for our customers."

The ease of transporting this skid makes it extremely mobile. The small footprint allows it to be transported in a variety of vehicles easily from site to site. In addition, a built in GPS compass enables the system to deploy automatically in new locations.

Another feature of the transportable skid is the environmental flexibility. The robust design enables the system to withstand the harshest of conditions. The durable skid helps prevent damage to the self-contained electronic components. In addition the unit is designed with a heating system and Solid State Peltier cooling device. Due to the self-contained nature of this product it does not need to rely on a site with an indoor facility. Therefore, this avoids trouble associated with managing coaxial cable runs across busy, temporal sites. The unit can be connected wirelessly or with a standard data cable.

This totally self-contained skid is easy to use. It features automatic one button deployment and satellite acquisition upon startup. All that is needed is to power and activate the unit and it will connect with the internet or private voice and data networks in 3 to 5 minutes.

The Winegard transportable skid is mobile, environmentally flexible, easy to use and also cost effective. The efficient design has allowed Hermes to lower maintenance costs, deployment costs and reduced bandwidth costs.

"Winegard collaborated with Hermes to develop this custom skid system specifically designed to withstand the harsh environments of the Middle East,” said Jon Manley, Winegard President. “The oil and gas industry is a high stress and fast paced environment where reliable equipment with 100 percent uptime is a necessity.

The antenna skid system is being introduced at the Satellite 2014 Conference & Exhibition, March 11 – 13, held at the Walter E Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, booth #4061.

About Winegard
Winegard Company is a respected world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative antenna products for satellite and terrestrial communications. Since its founding in 1954, Winegard’s pioneering solutions have shaped the industry for home, recreational vehicle (RV), truck, marine, medical and automotive antennas. The company’s 2-way VSAT antennas provide real-time broadband solutions for extreme and remote environments in support of the oil and gas industries, as well as military and emergency response teams. Winegard is a privately-owned company that designed the first residential multi-channel antenna for the U.S. It has designed more than 1,000 antenna models and more than 80 patents. The company routinely develops custom antenna design and development work. To learn more about Burlington, Iowa-based Winegard, visit www.winegard.com or call 800-288-8094.

About Hermes Datacomms
Hermes Datacommunications Ltd specializes in providing Wide Area Communications to the upstream oil and gas industry worldwide. With over 20 years’ experience, service in 54 countries, representing 92% of the world’s oil and gas reserves. Hermes Datacomms provides satellite and fiber links to some of the most remote and challenging locations, both onshore and offshore. Solutions are tailored specifically to the oil and gas industry and include international connections, managed networks and oilfield infrastructure. Hermes Datacomms is listed in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 2011 as one of Britain’s 100 private tech companies with the fastest-growing sales over the last three years and won the Via Satellite Excellence 2013 Vertical Impact for Oil & Gas Award. For more information on our products and services, please visit www.hermes.uk.com or call + 44 (0) 1743 235555.