User's Manual

RTM Elster AMCO applicative PFS Coronis Systems
1.Definitions
Absolute Encoder: A meter register, that when queried by the Radio Transmitter module, will reply back to
the Radio Transmitter module with the exact reading of the register odometer reading.
Automatic Frequency Control: AFC guarantees top performance over the full lifetime of devices, keeping
Rx carrier frequencies aligned to Tx. AFC compensates frequency shift introduced by component aging
(discrete,quartz), but also by temperature drift and even by ambient temperature differences between
communicating devices.
Automatic Sensitivity Control: ASC operates like the squelch function in audio systems (ambient noise
filtering) to avoid “false” wake-up when RF environment is noisy. This is a serious factor for saving power.
Back flow: A reverse flow condition, created by a difference in water pressures or tampering of the meter
(i.e. reversing the physical meter), which causes water to flow back into the distribution pipes of a potable
water supply from any source or sources other than an intended source.
Bubble-Up Technology: Radio Transmitter module communications technique in which the radio transmitter
module automatically transmits, at pre-determined intervals, without having received a command to do so,
the information it has acquired from the meter register
Datalogging: Storage of consumption data over time, so that usage may be tracked. This is achieved by the
Radio transmitter module interrogating the water meter register at programmable time intervals and saving
the obtained reading together with time and date in memory for later retrieval.
Link budget: A link budget is the accounting of all of the gains and losses from the transmitter, through the
medium (free space, cable, waveguide, fiber, etc.) to the receiver in a telecommunication system. It takes into
account the attenuation of the transmitted signal due to propagation, as well as the loss, or gain, due to the
antenna. Random attenuations such as fading are not taken into account in link budget calculations with the
assumption that fading will be handled with diversity techniques. It is given by the following equation:
Pout (dBm) + Gtx (dBi) - Att-Max (dB) + Grx (dBi) - Sensi (dBm) = 0
Where:
Pout (dBm) output power on the TX side
Gtx (dBi) antenna gain on the TX side
AttMax (dB) Maximum possible attenuation. It includes LOS attenuation that
depends on distance and carrier frequency. It also includes signal
attenuation through obstacles.
Grx (dBi) Antenna gain on the RX side
Sensi (dBm) Receiver sensitivity on the RX side
Leak Detection Algorithm: An algorithm in the radio transmitter module which uses consumption
information acquired from the meter register to determine whether or not a leak is present on a specific
account
Overhearing: Overhearing is when a given, unintended device, within radio range, receives another device’s
transmission frequency, forcing the unintended device’s receiver to power up.
Pit Mount Interface: An adapter which allows the Radio Transmitter module antenna to rest above the pit lid
for better reception and transmission reliability in a pit environment.
Pseudo-bubble up: A feature which was developed in order to counter systems that specifies X amount of
readings a day via a bubble up system (see “bubble-Up Technology”). The pseudo bubble up feature will
automatically send a daily profile acquired from the datalogging table to the end user in one transmission
rather than via 6 transmissions. To the end user, who is receiving the data, there is no difference, other than
the means in which the data was received. Hence, “pseudo bubble up”.
Pulse Register: Meter register that sends an electrical pulse at a pre-defined interval (i.e. 1 pulse equals 1
gallon). The interval is usually a volume of consumption (gallons, cubic feet, cubic meters, etc).
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