This article looks at an alternative configuration for NoahFace Thermal that does not require powered ethernet cables in your building
Often where you want to position NoahFace Thermal may not be a great spot for where cables are laid. Pay Cat offers an installation service but often a DIY approach may suit your positioning requirements.
The configuration in this article requires a reliable mobile coverage using a 3G or 4G cellular network.
What you will need
- A 4G LTE Wi-Fi Router with a SIM card slot. We purchased the "D-Link DWR-921 4G LTE Router with Standard-size SIM Card Slot" from JB Hi-Fi. However, any router that has an ethernet port and takes a SIM card will do the job.
- A prepaid (or plan) SIM card. We purchased a pre paid SIM from JB Hi-Fi and chose a prepaid 40GB plan on Telstra with a 12 month expiry. Since we won't be using much data, we wanted to use an extended expiry period.
Important: make sure the SIM is for "data" and mot "mobile phones" as a mobile phone SIM may not work with a router. - 3 x CAT6 Ethernet Cables. We chose 2m lengths but this depends how far your router has to travel from the iPad. You can pick these up at most electronic retailers or purchase them through Pay Cat.
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5-Port 10/100 PoE Network Switch. We picked up one of these from JayCar. This device will "power" the ethernet cable, meaning we can run the iPad and the Thermal Sensor without a separate power supply.
How to put it together
- Inside the iPad thermal wall mount there will be two Ethernet cables. Plug one end into the adapters provided in the kit, and run the other ends out the hole in the back of the wall mount. The picture shows the back of the wall mount.
- Plug the other end of the two ethernet cables into the back of the PoE network switch. Plug in the power chord from the PoE network switch to a power point.
What this device does is "powers" the network cables so you don't need to separately plug the iPad or thermal sensor into a power point. You'll notice in the picture below that we plugged our cables into port 3 and 4 because they are power over ethernet.
- Next plug the LTE Wi-Fi Router into the power point. Put in a SIM card in the slot. We needed the SIM to be full size (not micro like in mobile phones) and the SIM Card we got came with both options. You can then activate the SIM by following the instructions provided by the Telco you chose.
It took ours a good 15 minutes to connect to the internet and we saw an indicator light turn on to let us know it was picking up 4G internet
- Now plug in your last ethernet cable in the back of the LTE Router. Plug it in a "LAN" port not a "WAN" port otherwise it won't work (took me a while to work that one out!).
Plug the other end into the PoE switch, but this time use the port labelled '1' or '2'.
Setting up the iPad
The iPad will want to use WiFi instead of ethernet, so we need to switch off WiFi. Head to Settings > WiFi and turn off WiFi. If you cannot turn off WiFi and Pay Cat are managing the device remotely, get in touch at support@paycat.comlau.
Put it wherever you like
The Thermal Sensor has now only just started getting a power supply so it will take 30-40 minutes to 'warm up'. That is, it will get used to the ambient temperature. Once it's ready, so is your NoahFace Thermal unit!
NoahFace have a pedestal option. This means the only requirement is two power points to plug in the router and the switch. This type of setup makes the entire unit quite flexible.
The picture shown on the left mounted the wall bracket to the pedestal using four bolts. Behind the pedestal both the PoE Switch and Router were fastened using double sided tape as they are quite light.
The stand can be moved anywhere the client prefers, like a foyer, staffroom or entrance way and only requires the two power chords to be plugged into a power outlet.
The stand provided by NoahFace also includes an opening for an automatic sanitiser dispenser