FW: [RFI] Utility Automation

[Ed -K0iL]

-----Original Message-----
From:	Tom Rauch

I have some questions.
How far can BPL go between repeaters?
How fast is maximum data rate when duplexing both ways on thr power line?

How will my smart meter report back to my EMC when the line that supplies
the power is down?

My local EMC has a outage call-in line. It looks at your caller ID, and 
adds
your address to the list. Why or how would a system that relies on the same
lines that fail improve restortation of power? Why is it neceassy to know
what my meter says?

It sounds to me like they need a really slow system that goes a longer
distance, NOT broadband. the only reasn to have a wideband system is if 
they
want to sell service for Internet. It doesn't appear to me that BPL is the
key to anything at all except that. Everything else, including load
management, could be done at very slow data rates except at the hubs of the
system (where many slow speeds combine into one faster data stream).



From:	Ed -K0iL
Tom, the answers to most of your questions vary with each BPL vendor.  Many 
of these questions have come up on the BPLandHamRadio yahoogroup and have 
been asnwered there for the various vendor's.

As for your other questions, again, I'm not the expert in that area.  I 
know of many wireless systems that work very well, but the cost makes them 
limited to hard to get to spots like dangerous meter reading locations or 
in northern MN in the dead of winter.

A Smartmeter would have to have a back-up battery to be of any use.  All it 
would have to do is make the outage report and go into quiet mode once ack 
is rcvd, and then wait for power to come back.  It isn't necessary to know 
what your meters says, only that it has reported an outage.

A really slow system works fine for a limited number of data points; but as 
the number of points increases to include many or nearly every customer, 
the speed has to increase also.  An older system out there called "turtle" 
does exactly as you describe, but becomes useless when expanding beyond 
it's max capacity.  It worked really well for what it was supposed to do, 
but time marches on--it didn't.

We currently use the same telephone ID call in system that you're using, 
and it works pretty well.  But as utilities start looking to be more 
competitive if deregulation every starts up again, then they'll need more 
and more data to enhance customer service.  The only answer is a faster 
network capable of keeping up with the additional loading and is 
upgradable--the one thing BPL probably is not.

73, de ed -K0iL

-----Original Message-----
From:	Tom Rauch
Sent:	Sunday, 12 September, 2004 11:49 AM
To:	eedwards at tconl.com
Subject:	Re: [RFI] Utility Automation

I have some questions.

How far can BPL go between repeaters?

How fast is maximum data rate when duplexing both ways on thr power line?

How will my smart meter report back to my EMC when the line that supplies
the power is down?

My local EMC has a outage call-in line. It looks at your caller ID, and 
adds
your address to the list. Why or how would a system that relies on the same
lines that fail improve restortation of power? Why is it neceassy to know
what my meter says?

It sounds to me like they need a really slow system that goes a longer
distance, NOT broadband. the only reasn to have a wideband system is if 
they
want to sell service for Internet. It doesn't appear to me that BPL is the
key to anything at all except that. Everything else, including load
management, could be done at very slow data rates except at the hubs of the
system (where many slow speeds combine into one faster data stream).