Elster Solutions REXILC User Manual

A3 ALPHA® Meter/Collector

Product Guide

PG42-1005A

A3 ALPHA Meter/Collector PG42-1005A

General Description

The A3 ALPHA meter/collector is the communications point between the
EnergyAxis System and the local network of REX meters that are registered to
the meter/collector. The EnergyAxis System communicates with the A3 ALPHA
meter/collector using a standard telephone line. The A3 ALPHA meter/collector
then communicates with its registered REX meters using a 2–way, 900 MHz radio
frequency network. The A3 ALPHA meter/collector is responsible for various
activities within the network of REX meters, including the following:

■ reading and storing the billing data from each REX meter on a periodic basis

■ reading and storing the load profiling data from a configurable number of

REX meters on a periodic basis

■ notifying the REX meters to perform demand resets based on a schedule

from the EnergyAxis System

■ reading and storing the previous billing period data from REX meters after a

demand reset has occurred

■ notifying the REX meters to perform season changes based on a schedule

from the EnergyAxis System

■ reading and storing the previous season data from REX meters after season

changes have occurred

■ synchronizing the REX meters to the system time and TOU day type

■ distributing TOU rate schedules to the REX meters

■ reading or sending commands to an individual REX meter on command from

the EnergyAxis System

■ performing other network maintenance tasks

■ reporting the billing and load profiling data back to the EnergyAxis System

A3 ALPHA Meter
Circuit Board

The A3 ALPHA meter builds upon the strengths of the existing ALPHA meter
designs. Like its predecessors, the A3 ALPHA meter uses Elster Electricity's
patented digital measurement techniques that offer high accuracy, repeatability,
and low ownership costs. In support of open architecture standards, the
A3 ALPHA meter is the first Elster Electricity meter with full ANSI C12.18,
C12.19, and C12.21 communication protocol support.

To function as an A3 ALPHA meter/collector, an A3 ALPHA meter requires the
following two option boards:

■ internal telephone modem (ITM3) with optional outage reporting capabilities

■ internal LAN controller (ILC1) option board

The ITM3 option board connects to the A3 ALPHA meter using the 20-pin
header (J4) on the meter circuit board as shown in Figure 1. The ILC1 option
board connects to the ITM3 option board using the 20-pin header (J5) as shown
in Figure 1.

An A3 ALPHA meter/collector has a 4-conductor telephone cable exiting the
meter with an RJ-11 connector at the end as shown in Figure 2. There is a wire
marker approximately 6 inches from the RJ-11 end with “INT MOD ITM3” printed
on it for identifying that the ITM3 option board is installed.

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PG421005A A3 ALPHA Meter/Collector

ILC1 option

board

ITM3 option

board

Meter circuit

board

Meter electronic

housing

J5

J4

Figure 1. A3 ALPHA meter electronic assembly

Figure 2. A3 ALPHA meter with ITM3 RJ-11 cable

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A3 ALPHA Meter/Collector PG42-1005A

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.

Elster Electricity Meter
Support Software

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 multi­channel 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 trans­form, compress and encrypt data files prior to sending them to trusted IP ad­dresses across the Internet.

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PG421005A A3 ALPHA Meter/Collector

Operation of the
A3 ALPHA Meter with
ILC1 Option Board

The A3 ALPHA meter and the ILC1 option board typically operate independently
of each other. The primary task of the ILC1 option board is to maintain the local
area network (LAN) and read and store billing data from REX meters. The ILC1
option board communicates with the A3 ALPHA meter/collector to read time and
day type information. This information is then propagated through the LAN to the
REX meters. The time base in the A3 ALPHA meter/collector is used as the
system time for the LAN, and the ILC1 option board periodically reads this time
and distributes the time to the LAN.

Billing Date

The billing date (or, the demand reset date) for the A3 ALPHA meter/collector can
be controlled by either of the following:

■ internally by the calendar in the A3 ALPHA meter

■ externally by MAS when the MAS calls the A3 ALPHA meter/collector on the

billing date and issues a demand reset command

Billing dates for REX meters in the LAN are handled by the ILC1 option board.
The ILC1 option board can assign each REX meter to one of thirty billing dates.
Using the billing date information, the ILC1 option board will make certain that the
associated REX meters reset demand on the correct billing date. Before resetting
demand, a REX meter will record a copy of the billing data. This billing data copy
will then be read and stored by the ILC1 option board.

TOU Schedules

If the A3 ALPHA meter/collector is a TOU meter, TOU switch points are controlled
by the A3 ALPHA meter. The ILC1 option board controls TOU switch points for
REX meters in the LAN. Each REX meter can be assigned to one of seven TOU
schedules, where each schedule consists of weekday, weekend, and two special
(that is, holiday) day types. The ILC1 option board broadcasts the TOU schedules
to the REX meters, where they are stored and used to record kWh data in the
correct TOU register. The ILC1 option board reads and stores TOU data from
each REX meter as part of the normal billing read.

Season Changes

Season changes for the A3 ALPHA meter/collector are controlled by the calendar
in the A3 ALPHA meter. Season changes for the REX meters are controlled by
calendars in the ILC1 option board. The ILC1 option board has season change
dates for each of the seven TOU schedules. Using the season change informa­tion, the ILC1 option board makes certain that the associated REX meter perform
a season change on the correct date. After a season change, the ILC1 option
board will read and store a season change copy of the billing data from associ­ated REX meters.

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