The Honeywell (formerly Mercury Instruments) TCI is a very popular temperature-compensating index for gas flow meters. Because it is equipped with solid-state pulse outputs, it can be connected to Ethernet-based SCADA systems via the SCADAmetrics EtherMeter®. If you would like to connect a TCI-equipped gas meter to your SCADA, Telemetry, or Building Automation system — … Read More →
In order to track and minimize utility costs, a growing number of sustainable-minded Universities have initiated efforts to monitor utility usage in realtime — including natural gas, water, and electricity. Consumption monitoring does not only occur at the utility-owned meters, but within the campus itself so that a breakdown of the utility costs may be … Read More →
A new firmware version of the EtherMeter has been created that is tailored to transmit flow metering data over the Iridium Satellite Data Network. Iridium is a constellation of Low-Earth-Orbit satellites capable of receiving data from virtually anywhere in the world. Validation was successfully performed at a Water District in rural North Dakota. Value-added SCADA … Read More →
In instances where the pulse input signal is derived from a mechanical contact (eg reed-relay pulse signals from many gas meters), it may be necessary to install a “de-bounce” filter on the pulse-input wires to remove false pulses caused by bouncing and/or arcing contacts. The capacitor value is selected based upon the expected pulse duration. … Read More →
The EtherMeter is the only known device that can calculate, transmit, and display rate-of-flow and totalization from all the major encoder-based water meters. And this fact can come in handy for a multitude of applications. For example, there are often occasions where bulk water users wish to visually monitor flow rate through a variable speed pump or … Read More →
A new application note has been posted to the support page of scadametrics.com. The note documents the procedures for programming a Sensus “ICE” register (index) for maximum metering resolution and EtherMeter compatibility. Maximized resolution improves the connected SCADA system’s ability to monitor realtime flow-rate and totalization from both water and gas meters. While it is preferable (and simpler) for the customer to … Read More →
In response to customer requests, pulse-based batching capability has been added to the EtherMeter. This new ability will be included on all future EtherMeter shipments dated 01 Feb 2010 and beyond. In most municipal water applications in which a pulse-based water meter is used, the pulse count is generally preferred to totalize without reset. However, … Read More →
The EtherMeter can be used to enable a SCADA system to collect both water and gas meter totalization and instantaneous flow-rate — even simultaneously. An interesting application is the use of a single EtherMeter connected to an encoder-based water meter plus an encoder-based gas meter. In the example illustrated below, a Sensus SR-II water meter and a Sensus R-275 temperature-compensated … Read More →
A new white paper has been posted to scadametrics.com. In this paper, methods are described for connecting a combination of water and gas meters to an automation network. Because Itron/Actaris offers encoder-type signaling, in the form of the “Cyble-Coder” technology — in both their water and gas meters — the Itron/Actaris models are emphasized in this article. Click … Read More →