Sensus water meter three-wire protocol

Aloha All;

I have an app I need to develop to march data out of a Sensus water meter. The Sensus water meter uses ASCII characters and is synchronous, as opposed to asynchronous like a serial port. The data is marched in and out via a clock signal. Has anyone on this site know what the ASCII codes are to send a request and receive the serial number and the meter data? I believe the data connection used is the same for the three-wire and two-wire interface. The lack of information on this protocol, on the internet is amazing. Any info would be greatly appreciated! -Chris (Honolulu, HI)

I did a google search and found very little except they use something called ECR. I would give them a call.

I used to work for a Sensus distributor. As I recall, your options are to either reverse-engineer the protocol, or contact Sensus and get the information from them. I believe you have to do the usual NDA-type stuff to get the protocol specs.

Thanks guys;

I do have a call in to Sensus -Hooray! They just called me today. They're going to Email me an NDA. I did find a binary/ASCII string example in a manual for a meter telemetry interface. It pulls the meter serial number and totalization value! Only dicey thing is I am usually required to turn over all source code on government projects. I have enough to reverse engineer, if Sensus and their NDA doesn't work out. Thank you for your replies! Chris (Honolulu).

boxofrelays said:

Thanks guys;

I do have a call in to Sensus -Hooray! . . .Only dicey thing is I am usually required to turn over all source code on government projects. Chris (Honolulu).

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You lucky dog - a government job on Oahu! Have you got enough part-time work for an old guy who mostly would like to lie on the beach and watch the tide roll in?

Maybe you could put the Sensus routine inside a protected block - a black box that your customer could not see or modify.

Interesting to note: SENSUS used to be owned by Rockwell International.

They don't use Electronic Communication Register(ECR) anymore. That was actually introduced by Rockwell back in 1984.

Since 2000 they've been using SENSUS Protocol, found inside SENSUS ICE Registers. The protocol is widely used in other manufacturers devices as well and these meters are generally used by utility companies to read and bill customers. They are often sealed, so they don't want any old Joe trying to commmunicate with them.

Whatever you are using to read from the meter has to generate the clock pulses to power and receive the data.
I think it's usually 5V in the order of 100's of Hz?

I've attached a picture depicting the Sensus Protocol ASCII structure.
ASCII requires data to be sent 10 bits at a time, so that's why you see:

7 DATA BITS, 1 START BIT, 1 STOP BIT, 1 PARITY BIT = 10 BITS(ASCII ENCODING)

Hope it helps Chris.

G.

----------EDIT BY PHIL: Attached image copied from page 11 of SCADAmetrics user manual found here:
http://scadametrics.com/PDF/EtherMeter_Manual_207.pdf ------------

Aloha G.

Thanks! Yes, big help.

A Sensus representative is checking if the source code exposure is going to be an issue for the Sensus Company. The protocol is officially called UI-1203. Should be an interesting project.

RE: Lancie1's suggestion about putting that code in a protected block. I have suggested, to Sensus, that we could offer that as a possible compromise to adhere to the spirit of the NDA. With regards to laying on the beach and watching the tide roll in; that's best done with a tropical drink in hand! And yeah, there's work here in Honolulu , but wherever you're located in this world it's the same thing, deadlines to keep and technical challenges to overcome.

Mahalo (Thank you) all for your suggestions.
Chris (Honolulu)

I do know a little about sensus protocol. It's uses three wires; one (red in my case) is power and clock, one (black) is common, and one (green) is data transfers send and receive.

There are a few things that I don't know.
How fast should the clock be going? Because it is the clock, I don't think I have to be right on for the device, but because it's power, I think I need to atleast ballpark the clock speed.

What kind of register do I need to send the device to get it to respond back with the data? One document I found states that a 0x00 should do it, but that document seems to show a more advanced device that uses sensus protocol.

boxofrelays said:

I need to develop to march data out of a Sensus water meter.

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I love the way you said that. Four words. Perfectly Specific. I am borrowing that phrase "march data out of". Thanks.

boxofrelays said:

And yeah, there's work here in Honolulu , but wherever you're located in this world it's the same thing, deadlines to keep and technical challenges to overcome.

Mahalo (Thank you) all for your suggestions.
Chris (Honolulu)

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Paycheck for automation techs in Hawaii? You don't say....

Okie,

I can only imagine that you are sort of thinking some about moving right now. I am glad you survived the tornado. Is there some place I could send some money that might help the recovery efforts?

Okie,

I can only imagine that you are sort of thinking some about moving right now. I am glad you survived the tornado. Is there some place I could send some money that might help the recovery efforts?

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Oh yes, there are hundreds of organizations, the Red Cross, feed the children is very effective for the logistics of the material items and cash too, and nearly any church or business in the area. I will post some links. I think they are buried with aid already though, people are lined up for a mile to volunteer to feed the volunteers!

I have always planned on going warmer once my kids were grown. I have never been to Hawaii. At the very least I should vacation there soon and partially write it off by applying for work. My youngest son graduates high school tomorrow.

Volvagia720,

Is the attached PDF file the same document you are referring to? If so, it's from 2001 and might not be what you're after. It's for a ReefNet SENSUS Data Recorder. It data logs depth and temperature measurements while diving.

It explains how you send 0x00 to alert the SENSUS device and then you receive an initial handshake stream of 12 Bytes.
These received bytes are specific to this device and not generic to all SENSUS Registers. Note how Byte 4 refers to the battery status, as this is a portable device.

Once you have received the handshake, error free, you send 0x40 to "march data out of" the device, or send 0x00 to cancel the request.

This method is specific to this type of device and may even be specific to just this company.

What are you trying to pull data from exactly?
A lot of people attempt to connect to their domestic water meters for usage monitoring, or "other" reasons. They don't make it easy for a good reason. They don't want users tampering with the registers that they use to carry out meter readings.

If your device has a SENSUS ICE Register you have to use the ASCII Encoding method as per above.

G.



OT: OK Tornado...

I watched an elderly lady from Moore on SKY News the other morning being interviewed. She had taken shelter, sitting on a stool in the bathroom with her dog as the tornado struck. The remains of her house were strewn behind her and no sign of her dog, feared perished. She spoke emotionally, but showed great strength.
Suddenly a crew member cried "The dog!" and here was her pet behind her, trapped under some debris, but alive. She helped it out, and it stood beside her as she hugged and rubbed it down, overjoyed to see her companion had survived, and thanked God. Just a small ray of sunshine on an otherwise bleak canvas.

It brought a tear to my eye.

I'll take our damp and dismal Irish weather any day compared to what those folks are having to endure. Unimaginable.

God bless them.

G.

Lancie1, here's some links...

Info: http://www.ok.gov/okstrong/

Donations: http://www.unitedwayokc.org/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moore-OK-Tornado-2013/174719849360384?fref=ts

It took out my 5th/6th grade school. I lost my 3rd 4th grade school in 99.

I only know one person who lost her home all except some clothes. Several other friends had close calls.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50147534n

I have never been to Hawaii. At the very least I should vacation there soon and partially write it off by applying for work.

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I have been 2 times now, for a couple of weeks each time. Hawaii is hard to see because it is split into about 5 volcanic islands. The first time I went with my wife, we bought a week passes on Aloha Air that had commuter flights each day between the islands. That way we could hop on a plane and fly to any island at not extra cost. I know they discontinued that sevice when Norwegian started cruising between the islands with the Pride of America ship. My wife and I did that cruise last time out, which is a pretty efficient method to see parts of several of the islands. The best times to go are in spring and fall during the tourist off-seasons (unless you like crowds). The weather is fairly constant year round, with a little more rain in winter and spring. No tornadoes or poisionous snakes there, but there are possibilities of typhoons, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions!

Yeah, pick any island I will be happy. Sand in toes, the scent of coconut and sea life...having that at your doorstep, and the climate and the kind people, and the suntan and the pineapple. Yeah, that'd be a dream spot. Sorry for going way OT here. I started a OT weather thread. I like lightning and tornados and dangerous weather that I can see coming and plan for. It is exciting. Volcanoes are some real exotic examples...talk about recycling...