Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Leonard P Levine Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Boston Gas "Specially-equipped Gas Meter" Message-ID: <8678@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 5 Jun 90 18:30:25 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: len@csd4.csd.uwm.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 33 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 414, Message 7 of 10 From article <8654@accuvax.nwu.edu>, by jim@aob.aob.mn.org (Jim Anderson): > As far as the signal encoding goes, it probably is a relatively > unsophisticated code, as the transmission is only a burst transmission > and (my opinion) should only contain the current meter reading, not > the usage since the previous reading. I had an interesting experience with a simpler meter some years ago. The system was a municipal (shorewood Wisconsin) water meter with a repeater outside the house so that the meter reader needed only read the repeater without going into the basement. The repeater failed over a period of years, missing ticks, and finally quit. I was asked to allow the city to replace the repeater. They did, and brought the readings up to date. Later I was billed for about ten years missed water service billings. As I recall, the bill was for more than $200.00. Some discussion with the village manager convinced him that not all of the water had been used this year, and that rates earlier did not include sewer service. We negotiated a price. With gas meters the same alarming thing may happen. What is worse, the numbers will be an order of magnitude larger. Be very wary to see that the REAL meter is read when you purchase a house, not just the repeater, whatever the technological type. | Leonard P. Levine e-mail len@cs.uwm.edu | | Professor, Computer Science Office (414) 229-5170 | | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Home (414) 962-4719 | | Milwaukee, WI 53201 U.S.A. FAX (414) 229-6958 |