User's Manual

A3 ALPHA Meter/Collector PG42-1005A
4 July 2003
Metercat Programming Note
To have the A3 ALPHA meter function properly as a data collector in the
EnergyAxis System, it is important that the meter be programmed correctly using
Metercat. In the Remote component tab in Metercat, be sure that the following
options are set:
■ Port 1 usage is set to internal modem.
■ Port 2 usage is set to direct connect.
■ On the Port 1 Modem tab, enable line sharing (the Enable Line Sharing box is
checked).
■ On the Port 2 Direct Connect tab, the bit rate is set to 9600.
The other options can be set as desired. For more information on using Metercat,
see the Metercat documentation.
Metercat
The A3 ALPHA meter/collector requires Elster Electricity Metercat support
software release 1.4 or later to program the meter for collecting REX meter data
and read the LAN status and information from the meter. Metercat offers the
following features:
■ program development to create user-defined configuration data
■ meter programming to send user-defined configuration data or commands to
the meter
■ meter reading to receive data that has been stored by the meter
EnergyAxis Metering Automation Server
The EnergyAxis Metering Automation Server (MAS) reads meters over telephone
or wireless networks. Using MAS, meter readings can be scheduled on a periodic
basis or performed on-demand from the browser-based user interface. MAS
allows all billing data to be read from the meter; this includes data from the A3
ALPHA meter/collector and from each REX meter. Billing data includes multi-
channel interval data, consumption, demand, time-of-use registers as well as
meter status flags. REX meter data can be read from the stored data in the A3
ALPHA meter/collector or it can be read directly from the REX meter. MAS
provides several reports to help manage and operate the system.
Data exchange with MAS is performed using an open XML schema, AMR Data
Exchange Format (AMRDEF), so that interfaces with billing systems and other
enterprise systems can be easily implemented. MAS also comes with the
JSlinger module, a powerful driver for file transfer protocol (FTP) that can trans-
form, compress and encrypt data files prior to sending them to trusted IP ad-
dresses across the Internet.
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