General Description; A3 Alpha Meter Circuit Board - Elster A3 ALPHA Product Manual

June 2008

General Description

A3 ALPHA Meter Circuit
Board
The A3 ALPHA meter can be used as a component of the EnergyAxis
where remote communications in polyphase and advanced single phase meter-
ing 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 2-
way, 900 MHz, radio frequency LAN. This option essentially allows the
A3 ALPHA meter to be a metering node within the EnergyAxis automated
metering network. The primary task of the ILC2 option board is to communicate
within the local area network (LAN) and process billing data from A3 ALPHA
meters. The A3 ALPHA meter performs its programmed metering tasks but now
has remote communications features within the EnergyAxis network.
In addition with the other communication functions as part of the EnergyAxis
System, the A3 ALPHA meter/node can return metering data in one of the fol-
lowing formats:
The short data format provides kWh consumption data, three current
■
maximum demand quantities, one channel of load profiling, and basic
status information.
The long data format provides two metered quantities, two maximum or
■
coincident demands, two channels of load profiling, and extensive sta-
tus information.
The format is selected at the time of ordering and is configured at the factory.
The short data format can be used when only one metered quantity or one load
profiling channel is needed. The long data format can be used if you need two
metered quantities, two load profiling channels, or other data not provided by
the short data format. The long data format requires more communication time
and more storage in the collector. For more information about the two data for-
mats, including the status information they return, see "ILC2 Option Board Con-
figuration" on page 5.
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 to fully support ANSI C12.18,
C12.19, and C12.21 standards.
To function as a node in the EnergyAxis System, an A3 ALPHA meter requires
the following option boards:
internal interface board to support the mounting of the ILC2 option
■
board
the ILC2 option board
■
The interface board connects to the A3 ALPHA meter using the 20-pin header
(J4) on the meter circuit board as shown in Figure 1. The ILC2 option board con-
nects to the interface board using the 20-pin header (J5) as shown in A3 ALPHA
meter electronic assembly.
The antenna for the ILC2 option board mounts directly onto the electronic hous-
ing (see Figure 2) and fits completely under the cover of the A3 ALPHA meter.
A thin shield between the interface board and the main meter circuit board pro-
vides additional isolation between the option boards and the high voltage com-
ponents of the A3 ALPHA meter. The unit should not be operated without this
shield installed.
A3 ALPHA Meter/Node (ILC2)
Product Guide
®
System
DRAFT
1