Late Thursday the gas company installed a new device on the gas meter
for _Automated Meter Reading _. Now they will do a drive by reading. *

The Encoder, Receiver, Transmitter (ERT) has a battery the size of a
regular AA battery. I've read some about this, but the life
expectancy of the battery is not in any material. The entire project
for my area started in July and will end October 2008.

Anyone familiar with the battery life of these devices?


* http://www.swgas.com/faq/ert/index.php

Thanks.

On Nov 4, 12:35 pm, Oren wrote:
Late Thursday the gas company installed a new device on the gas meter
for _Automated Meter Reading _. Now they will do a drive by reading. *

The Encoder, Receiver, Transmitter (ERT) has a battery the size of a
regular AA battery. I've read some about this, but the life
expectancy of the battery is not in any material. The entire project
for my area started in July and will end October 2008.

Anyone familiar with the battery life of these devices?

*http://www.swgas.com/faq/ert/index.php

Thanks.

We have had these in our area for both gas and water for a long time.
The expected battery life is 10 years.

JK

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:38:11 -0000, Big_Jake
wrote:

On Nov 4, 12:35 pm, Oren wrote:
Late Thursday the gas company installed a new device on the gas meter
for _Automated Meter Reading _. Now they will do a drive by reading. *

The Encoder, Receiver, Transmitter (ERT) has a battery the size of a
regular AA battery. I've read some about this, but the life
expectancy of the battery is not in any material. The entire project
for my area started in July and will end October 2008.

Anyone familiar with the battery life of these devices?

*http://www.swgas.com/faq/ert/index.php

Thanks.

We have had these in our area for both gas and water for a long time.
The expected battery life is 10 years.

JK

Thanks. This was the question I missed, when I spoke with the
installer. I thought about it later and was curious..

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:40:39 GMT, wrote:

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:54:52 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:38:11 -0000, Big_Jake
wrote:

On Nov 4, 12:35 pm, Oren wrote:
Late Thursday the gas company installed a new device on the gas meter
for _Automated Meter Reading _. Now they will do a drive by reading. *

The Encoder, Receiver, Transmitter (ERT) has a battery the size of a
regular AA battery. I've read some about this, but the life
expectancy of the battery is not in any material. The entire project
for my area started in July and will end October 2008.

Anyone familiar with the battery life of these devices?

*http://www.swgas.com/faq/ert/index.php

Thanks.

We have had these in our area for both gas and water for a long time.
The expected battery life is 10 years.

JK

Thanks. This was the question I missed, when I spoke with the
installer. I thought about it later and was curious..

10 years might be a little optimistic. It's no doubt a litium battery. The have
a shelf life of about 5 years even with nothing attached to them. Yes, some will
go longer than that. It's recommended to have the meter serviced and checked for
accuracy every 5 years anyway. Sometimes these things go a little "flooey" and
the reading on the mechanical meter inside the house may be different than the
reading they are getting outside. Sometimes by a LOT.


My gas meter and the device are both outside - one place. If the
battery does last 10 years; I want some for other devices )

I don't how long the battery was on the shelf. Apparently (limited
info), the ERT uses little power and transmits "low battery" to the
drive by reading. My WAG is they have to last awhile if you have 1.2
Million to replace.

Our water reading is automated, but no battery as I know of.
--
Oren

"I wouldn't even be here if my support group hadn't beaten me up."

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:09:01 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:40:39 GMT, wrote:

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 11:54:52 -0800, Oren wrote:

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:38:11 -0000, Big_Jake
wrote:

On Nov 4, 12:35 pm, Oren wrote:
Late Thursday the gas company installed a new device on the gas meter
for _Automated Meter Reading _. Now they will do a drive by reading. *

The Encoder, Receiver, Transmitter (ERT) has a battery the size of a
regular AA battery. I've read some about this, but the life
expectancy of the battery is not in any material. The entire project
for my area started in July and will end October 2008.

Anyone familiar with the battery life of these devices?

*http://www.swgas.com/faq/ert/index.php

Thanks.

We have had these in our area for both gas and water for a long time.
The expected battery life is 10 years.

JK

Thanks. This was the question I missed, when I spoke with the
installer. I thought about it later and was curious..

10 years might be a little optimistic. It's no doubt a litium battery. The have
a shelf life of about 5 years even with nothing attached to them. Yes, some will
go longer than that. It's recommended to have the meter serviced and checked for
accuracy every 5 years anyway. Sometimes these things go a little "flooey" and
the reading on the mechanical meter inside the house may be different than the
reading they are getting outside. Sometimes by a LOT.


My gas meter and the device are both outside - one place. If the
battery does last 10 years; I want some for other devices )

I don't how long the battery was on the shelf. Apparently (limited
info), the ERT uses little power and transmits "low battery" to the
drive by reading. My WAG is they have to last awhile if you have 1.2
Million to replace.

Our water reading is automated, but no battery as I know of.

I used to work for a company that now is one of the big players in
this market. (Hexagram) The first version they introduced used a
Tadiran lithium thionyl chloride cell. This is a different chemistry
than typical lithium cells. The projected life under the very low
duty cycle application was 20 years. The first units were installed
about 22 years ago. I just read where those first units are still
operating. These cells have extremely low self discharge, but can
only deliver relatively low current, so are not suitable for high
discharge rate applications. No idea if the current generation of
remote read equipment uses the same type cell or not.

Paul F.

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...

http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf

Paul F.

On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:
Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...

http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf

Paul F.

they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

On Nov 4, 10:40 pm, " wrote:
On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...

http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf

Paul F.

they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

The EZPass toll gizmos used in cars here in NJ/NYC have batteries.
They have to be periodically swapped out for a new unit, not user
replaceable.

wrote:
On Nov 4, 10:40 pm, " wrote:
On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...
http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf
Paul F.
they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

The EZPass toll gizmos used in cars here in NJ/NYC have batteries.
They have to be periodically swapped out for a new unit, not user
replaceable.

And if you get the transponder via the ever friendly PA turnpike
commission they charge you $60+ to replace it (I don't remember the
exact amount he told me). My buddies EZpass recently failed for some
reason. There was no physical damage

On Nov 5, 9:36?am, George wrote:
wrote:
On Nov 4, 10:40 pm, " wrote:
On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...
http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf
Paul F.
they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

The EZPass toll gizmos used in cars here in NJ/NYC have batteries.
They have to be periodically swapped out for a new unit, not user
replaceable.

And if you get the transponder via the ever friendly PA turnpike
commission they charge you $60+ to replace it (I don't remember the
exact amount he told me). My buddies EZpass recently failed for some
reason. There was no physical damage- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I am PA as well.

If they attempt to charge me 60 bucks for a failure they lost me as a
customer.

I mean drive over it smashed fine.

They charge 3 bucks a year rent, if you get auto $ refill.

So he should of just added another one to his account. II have 3, one
per vehicle

On Nov 5, 11:17 am, " wrote:
On Nov 5, 9:36?am, George wrote:





wrote:
On Nov 4, 10:40 pm, " wrote:
On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...
http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf
Paul F.
they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

The EZPass toll gizmos used in cars here in NJ/NYC have batteries.
They have to be periodically swapped out for a new unit, not user
replaceable.

And if you get the transponder via the ever friendly PA turnpike
commission they charge you $60+ to replace it (I don't remember the
exact amount he told me). My buddies EZpass recently failed for some
reason. There was no physical damage- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I am PA as well.

If they attempt to charge me 60 bucks for a failure they lost me as a
customer.

I mean drive over it smashed fine.

They charge 3 bucks a year rent, if you get auto $ refill.

So he should of just added another one to his account. II have 3, one
per vehicle- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Here in NJ they charge you $1 a month fee for EZpass, which over time
is even worse. The Port Authority just said they want to raise the
toll for getting into NYC via tunnel or bridge from the current $6 to
$8. And our great Gov Corzine said he thought it was a swell idea.
Oh, did I mention I pay $10K a year in property tax?

One way or another they screw all of us here in NJand the people are
dumb enough to let in keep going on. They just started spending
$200mil on Stem Cell research. And on the ballot tomorrow is a
question authorizing another $450bil in new debt, for a state that is
already deep in debt, to pay for the same thing. Does anyone
believe for a minute that these crooks and scoundrels that can't do
anything right have any chance of that money resulting in anything
more than more waste, kick backs, and corrupiton?

On Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:33:03 -0500, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...

http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf

Paul F.


Thanks, Paul. Interesting stuff.

Paul Franklin wrote:
....
...used a Tadiran lithium thionyl chloride cell. This is a different
chemistry than typical lithium cells. ...These cells have extremely
low self discharge, but can only deliver relatively low current, so
are not suitable for high discharge rate applications. ...

In a former life we investigated them as a power source for a wireless
remote monitoring device for preventative maintenance prediction
monitoring, but couldn't get the required power, unfortunately. The
advantage would have been a great boon in minimizing access to some
really yucky places in paper-processing mills and power plants for a
couple of examples...

--

On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:23:49 -0800, wrote:

On Nov 4, 10:40 pm, " wrote:
On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...

http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf

Paul F.

they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

The EZPass toll gizmos used in cars here in NJ/NYC have batteries.
They have to be periodically swapped out for a new unit, not user
replaceable.

For some reason I thought an EZPass system would read a sticker on the
car.. kind of like scanning bar codes in the local store.

--
Oren

"I wouldn't even be here if my support group hadn't beaten me up."

wrote:


And if you get the transponder via the ever friendly PA turnpike
commission they charge you $60+ to replace it (I don't remember the
exact amount he told me). My buddies EZpass recently failed for some
reason. There was no physical damage- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I am PA as well.

If they attempt to charge me 60 bucks for a failure they lost me as a
customer.

I mean drive over it smashed fine.

They charge 3 bucks a year rent, if you get auto $ refill.

So he should of just added another one to his account. II have 3, one
per vehicle

He already had the max on his account.

You might want to check out one of the other agencies. I switched ours
when the turnpike added the rental fee.

And as a point of interest I though handing over I-80 to the efficient
turnpike commission was a dead idea but my other friend lives close to
I-80 and just got a letter from the turnpike about a public meeting
where the conversion of I-80 to a turnpike will be discussed.

wrote:


Here in NJ they charge you $1 a month fee for EZpass, which over time
is even worse. The Port Authority just said they want to raise the
toll for getting into NYC via tunnel or bridge from the current $6 to
$8. And our great Gov Corzine said he thought it was a swell idea.
Oh, did I mention I pay $10K a year in property tax?

One way or another they screw all of us here in NJand the people are
dumb enough to let in keep going on. They just started spending
$200mil on Stem Cell research. And on the ballot tomorrow is a
question authorizing another $450bil in new debt, for a state that is
already deep in debt, to pay for the same thing. Does anyone
believe for a minute that these crooks and scoundrels that can't do
anything right have any chance of that money resulting in anything
more than more waste, kick backs, and corrupiton?

Of course not. We have had the best government money can buy for a long
time and as you say the voters love it and ask for more.

George posted for all of us...


And if you get the transponder via the ever friendly PA turnpike
commission they charge you $60+ to replace it (I don't remember the
exact amount he told me). My buddies EZpass recently failed for some
reason. There was no physical damage

No they don't!
--
Tekkie GRIP = Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians

George posted for all of us...


You might want to check out one of the other agencies. I switched ours
when the turnpike added the rental fee.

And as a point of interest I though handing over I-80 to the efficient
turnpike commission was a dead idea but my other friend lives close to
I-80 and just got a letter from the turnpike about a public meeting
where the conversion of I-80 to a turnpike will be discussed.

Yeah Fast Eddie did it again subterfuge...
--
Tekkie GRIP = Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians

Oren posted for all of us...

On Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:23:49 -0800, wrote:

On Nov 4, 10:40 pm, " wrote:
On Nov 4, 6:33?pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:

Here's a link to the article describing how the original remote
reading modules I referred to in my previous post are still operating
after 20 years...

http://www.tadiranbat.com/articles/metering20y.pdf

Paul F.

they just installed the remote reading gas meter this summer.

I was told the batrtery is good for at least 7 years, since it only
transmits when requested report in.

must be a interesting technology, i wonder how toll road fast pass
work? no batterys there

The EZPass toll gizmos used in cars here in NJ/NYC have batteries.
They have to be periodically swapped out for a new unit, not user
replaceable.

For some reason I thought an EZPass system would read a sticker on the
car.. kind of like scanning bar codes in the local store.

--
Oren

"I wouldn't even be here if my support group hadn't beaten me up."

There used to be a system like that - see the stickers every so often...
EZ-pass is a transponder it's activated when passing and sends the info to bill
you.
--
Tekkie GRIP = Get Rid of Incumbent Politicians