摘要 |
A method for communicating utility usage-related information from a plurality of meter modules to a plurality of data accumulator units, each of which periodically transmits data to a control computer, including the steps of periodically transmitting from each meter module a first signal indicative of utility usage-related information and wherein the first signal includes a flag for self-configuring the communications network when the meter module is initially installed. The signal strength of the first signals from a meter module received at a data accumulator unit are measured and ranked by the control computer based on received signal strength. The ranking based on signal strength is utilized to enable only a limited number of data accumulators (those which received the strongest first signals) to receive, record and store data from a particular meter module.
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