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From: asuvax!gtephx!mothra!bakerj@ncar.ucar.edu (Jon Baker)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Boston Gas "Specially-equipped Gas Meter"
Message-ID: <8397@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 29 May 90 23:49:44 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 395, Message 5 of 9


In article <8341@accuvax.nwu.edu>, roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith)
writes:

> 	A few (ten?) years ago, Hackensack Water Company installed an
> automated meter reading gizmo on my parents' water meter (and a new
> meter, equipped for said gizmo).  There is a cable running from the
> meter to a plastic box around 6" x 9" x 2" (about big enough to be a
> late 1970's line-powered 1200 bps modem, I guess) and some quad cable
> from there to Tip/Ring on the phone entrance block.  Anybody know
> exactly how this works?  Either it is programmed to place a local call
> in the middle of the night to some data-collection number, or maybe
> HWCo has permission from NJBell to run some sort of data-over-voice
> carrier on top of their wires?  Anybody know for sure?

The utility runs a special trunk to the CO.  The trunk is siezed, and
the utility's equipment sends tones to the CO indicating which
subscriber line it wishes to connect to.  The CO pulls a path from the
utility's special trunk to the subscriber's line.  Note - the line is
not rung; a path is just built.  The utility sends some tones to the
'box' at the customer's premise, activating it and requesting the
current reading.  The box sends some tones back indicating the current
reading.  If the subscriber goes off-hook, or if a call is placed to
the subscriber, while this is going on, the connection is immediately
aborted.  Pretty nifty, huh?