EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

General questions and discussions focused around the EKM Metering System. Discuss your meters, installations, and meter communications here.
Jameson
Posts: 860
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Jameson »

Thanks for the heads up Will. Yes this is a known issue with v.4 meters on iffy incoming power. When doing the power cycle reset I would unpower it for 10 seconds and then power it back up (sorry for the hassle). This is actually the first I have heard that it affects 1 of the 3 Pulse Inputs sometimes.

We are working on a firmware solution for this and hope to have it with our next batch of meters. You can setup an alert for this via the EKM Dash such as let me know when the pulse count increments by less than 1 in 1000 reads.

We expect to have the updated firmware available in our next batch of meters by about April/May (we will let you know when we get these in). We are also considering a limited remote warm reset of the meter over RS485, we will see if we can also get that in there.

Thanks again for letting us know. It is much appreciated!
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
whansen
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 11:30 am

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by whansen »

Jameson,

Thanks for the quick response. We will watch out for the Firmware update. But for now, a lot of our devices are installed at remote locations where we can't always visit to reset them. Is there ANYTHING else we can do in the meantime?

Thanks,
Will
Jameson
Posts: 860
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Jameson »

Do you have a lot of your v.4 meters located at sites with unreliable incoming AC power?

There is a way to tell if the meter is locked up. If the Pulse Counts do not increment, but the Input States do toggle. So in the case of a meter that is set to 1:1 Pulse Input ratio, the input states would go from Open to Closed to Open without incrementing the Pulse Increment.

Other than that it would involve either a timed switch or a switch controlled by the v4 itself to power cycle itself. Or if you have a direct iSerial or USB connection (not a Push), you can try setting the meter time (be sure to let me know if this works for you or not).

Sorry that is all I have for you at this point. How are you reading these v.4 meters? Thanks for your help.
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
whansen
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2015 11:30 am

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by whansen »

Jameson, I am using a direct USB connection...we have RS-485 adapters connected to Linux netbooks. So actually, setting the time might work. Could you walk me through how I would do that? Right now I have a Java application which sends the standard request and parses out the Pulse meter. It would be pretty easy to add the structure to send the back and forth required to set the time...
Jameson
Posts: 860
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Jameson »

I would test out this theory of being able to make the meter snap out of it by setting the time by using the EKM Dash software. I could be leading you astray as I don't have a meter I can lockup to test in my vicinity.

However if you are interested in making meter settings using your Java application, I would also use the EKM Dash to learn how this is done. We have a section called "Hex Inspector" that shows you how the Dash is making meter settings. You can then use the "Settings Protocol" Documents for v.3 meters and v.4 meters at the bottom of this page: http://www.ekmmetering.com/developer-portal/

Hope this helps.
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
xAPPO
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2012 5:24 am

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by xAPPO »

Just checking in as I've got yet another pulse count lockup on a meter :-( Not in a poor quality supply area but there was a powercut a few days back . Dissapointed there's still no fix as yet but keenly awaiting the firmware update in April/May. If anyone does get the time reset to work please do post here.
Kailua
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:54 pm

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Kailua »

My v.4 #300000218 gas meter pulse count stops counting at random and unpredictable times. I'm not sure what makes it start again, but it stopped again about a week ago. I'll go try turning the power off and on tomorrow and see if it starts counting again. Might there be a problem with these early s/n units?
Kailua
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:54 pm

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Kailua »

Here's the Hex:

Send
http://io.ekmpush.com/readMeter/v4/mete ... 7795115164

Receive
{
"readMeter": {
"Requested":1,
"ReadSet":[
{
"Meter":"300000218",
"Group":65219488,
"Interval":60,
"Protocol":"v4",
"MAC_Addr":"40:16:fa:01:00:2c",
"Tz_Offset_Sec":0,
"Bad_Reads":0,
"Good_Reads":2,
"Credits":1000000,
"ReadData": [
{
"Good":1,
"Date":"2015-03-31",
"Time":"09:47:15.202",
"Time_Stamp_UTC_ms":1427795235202,
"FWVER.METER":"15",
"MODEL.METER":"2410",
"PT.TOT":"4874.84",
"PT.T1":"2894.70",
"PT.T2":"1980.14",
"V.L1":"121.9",
"V.L2":"121.8",
"I.L1":"0.6",
"I.L2":"1.0",
"P.L1":"90",
"P.L2":"140",
"P.TOT":"232",
"PF.L1":"100",
"PF.L2":"101",
"PF.L3":"200",
"P.MAX":"1455",
"ENUM.PMAXPD":"1",
"RAT.CT":"200",
"PC.P1":"4299",
"RAT.P1":"1",
"RAT.P2":"1000",
"RAT.P3":"1000",
"PT_REACT.TOT":"892.90",
"PT.RST":"4874.84",
"P_REACT.L2":"20",
"P_REACT.TOT":"20",
"ENUM.PTSCALE":"2",
"FREQ.P":"60.05",
"ST.PDIR":"1",
"ST.OUT":"1",
"PT.L1":"1585.71",
"PT.L2":"3288.52",
"RAT.CF":"800"
},
{
"Good":1,
"Date":"2015-03-31",
"Time":"09:46:15.184",
"Time_Stamp_UTC_ms":1427795175184,
"FWVER.METER":"15",
"MODEL.METER":"2410",
"PT.TOT":"4874.84",
"PT.T1":"2894.70",
"PT.T2":"1980.14",
"V.L1":"121.9",
"V.L2":"121.8",
"I.L1":"0.6",
"I.L2":"1.0",
"P.L1":"92",
"P.L2":"138",
"P.TOT":"232",
"PF.L1":"100",
"PF.L2":"101",
"PF.L3":"200",
"P.MAX":"1455",
"ENUM.PMAXPD":"1",
"RAT.CT":"200",
"PC.P1":"4299",
"RAT.P1":"1",
"RAT.P2":"1000",
"RAT.P3":"1000",
"PT_REACT.TOT":"892.90",
"PT.RST":"4874.84",
"P_REACT.L2":"20",
"P_REACT.TOT":"20",
"ENUM.PTSCALE":"2",
"FREQ.P":"60.06",
"ST.PDIR":"1",
"ST.OUT":"1",
"PT.L1":"1585.71",
"PT.L2":"3288.52",
"RAT.CF":"800"
}
]
}
]
}
}
Jameson
Posts: 860
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:42 pm
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Jameson »

Thanks I did take a look at your data and I can see that it is stuck, a power cycle should do it, but I would be very curious as to any ideas about "I'm not sure what makes it start again".

Yes, there is an issue with the v.4 meter where it will lockup when powered up with unreliable power (ie during a power failure and restore on the grid which means that in most cases we have seen it in rural settings). We have tinkered a lot on the firmware and hope to have solved it in the next manufacturing run of v4 meters.

Thanks,
Jameson
EKM METERING
http://www.ekmmetering.com
831.425.7371
Kailua
Posts: 17
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 10:54 pm

Re: EKM Omnimeter Pulse v.4 - Pulse Counter Problem

Post by Kailua »

Please let me know when you have fix for this problem. I'll send my meter in for new firmware if it will fix this problem. My meter is on Hawaiian Electric service. We have an occasional outage, but it should be fairly stable.
Post Reply