DRAFT Product Guide PG42-1017A A3 ALPHA® Meter/Node (ILC2)
DRAFT © 2008 by Elster. All rights are reserved. No part of this software or documentation may be reproduced, transmitted, processed or recorded by any means or form, electronic, mechanical, photographic or otherwise, translated to another language, or be released to any third party without the express written consent of Elster. Printed in the United States of America. ALPHA, ALPHA Plus, EnergyAxis, and REX are registered trademarks; and Metercat, AlphaPlus, and REX2 are trademarks of Elster.
June 2008 Contents A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide General Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 A3 ALPHA Meter Circuit Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Metercat Programming Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Metering Software and System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Metercat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide ii DRAFT June 2008
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 General Description The A3 ALPHA meter can be used as a component of the EnergyAxis® System where remote communications in polyphase and advanced single phase metering is desired for commercial and industrial accounts. The A3 ALPHA meter can be equipped with an option board that communicates to the network via the 2way, 900 MHz, radio frequency LAN.
DRAFT A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 Figure 1. A3 ALPHA meter electronic assembly ILC2 option board at position 2 J5 Interface board at position 1 Option board shield Meter circuit board J4 Meter electronic housing Figure 2.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 Metercat Programming Note To have the A3 ALPHA meter function properly as a node in the EnergyAxis System, it is important that the meter be programmed correctly using Metercat™. Be sure to understand the following restrictions: Component Quantities Description ■ ■ Interval Data Configuration ■ ■ Short data format: The ILC2 will return the first kWh quantity configured in the meter.
DRAFT A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 1 If you do not see the Remote tab, select Remote as a program option in the Properties tab of your program. Note. If the remote definition is not programmed into the meter, the ILC2 will not be able to return any meter reads to MAS. The other options can be set as desired. For more information on using Metercat, see the Metercat user guide (TM42-2203K or later) or the online Help.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 At midnight, the ILC2 option board copies the A3 ALPHA meter's billing data to a separate memory location. A demand reset is then performed immediately thereafter. During the next reading of all its registered meters, the collector retrieves and stores the copy of the billing data. Once the billing data is stored in the collector, it can be retrieved by MAS at the next read of the collector.
DRAFT A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 ■ The second demand quantity can be assigned to any of the four rates. ■ The third demand quantity can be assigned to any of the four rates. In addition, the short data format returns the following information: ■ per phase voltages ■ A3 ALPHA meter configuration information ■ the presence of meter error or warning codes ■ number of demand resets ■ number of outages Long data format.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 Display List Items The A3 ALPHA meter display is divided into different regions as shown in Figure 3. See Chapter 3, “Operating Instructions,” in the A3 ALPHA Meter Technical Manual (TM42-2190) for more detailed descriptions of the LCD and its display regions. Figure 3.
DRAFT A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 Table CRC error. This code indicates an error in the ILC2 option board’s programming. Contact Elster Electricity if this error code is displayed on the LCD. General configuration error. This code indicates a problem with the ILC2 option board’s configuration or program. ■ If the node is programmed for the short data format, verify that the meter is programmed with at least one kWh quantity.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 ILC2 Option Board Information ILC2 option board information can be displayed on the A3 ALPHA meter LCD. Information item and display format identifies all the items that are available for display. The quantity identifier must be a numeric character (represented by i in Table 3) and should be unique for each item that you want to display. Use Metercat meter support software to select the display items and their associated quantity identifier. Table 3.
DRAFT A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 Warning (Part 15.21) Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Elster Electricity, LLC could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. RF Radiation Safety Guidelines per Part 2 of FCC Rules and Regulations The meter should be installed in a location where there will be a separation greater than 20 cm (8 inches) from locations occupied by humans. User Information (Part 15.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide June 2008 Technical Specifications Appendix E, “Technical Specifications,” of the A3 ALPHA Meter Technical Manual (TM42-2190) lists the meter specifications for an A3 ALPHA meter. When the A3 ALPHA meter is operating as a node within the EnergyAxis system, the operating range for a Form 35S meter is different than the specifications listed in TM42-2190.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2) Product Guide 12 DRAFT June 2008
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DRAFT This page is intentionally left blank. Elster Electricity, LLC Raleigh, North Carolina USA + 1 800 338 5251 (US Toll Free) + 1 919 212 4800 (US Main) + 1 905 634 4895 (Canada) support@us.elster.com www.elsterelectricity.
