RAF Fylingdales and Smart Meters

[ACW599]

Originally Posted by pba_target

HOWEVER, (caveat) do not confuse a smart meter (the box that is attached to your incoming energy supply that reports your use to the supplier) with an in home display (a small screen that displays to you how much energy you are using in near real time). These things are different and IHDs do suffer from network compatibility issues.

The majority of IHDs use the ISM allocation at 433MHz for communication with the current sensor, so they might not take kindly to being used within a few miles of Fylingdales. They seem to use very simple wideband receiver circuitry as well. My amateur radio station can generate about 6kW ERP at 432MHz and my IHD doesn't like that at all even though it's a good 100m from the antenna. A colleague's weather station has a transducer that uses the 433MHz ISM allocation. He can either use an IHD or the weather station but not both simultaneously.

[Get me some traffic]

Thought RF field strength was an inverse 4th law? Long time since I studied things like that!!

[ACW599]

Originally Posted by Get me some traffic

Thought RF field strength was an inverse 4th law? Long time since I studied things like that!!

It's an inverse square law. For an RF power level P in watts the field strength in free space is 7.02 root P/d V/m.

[Downwind.Maddl-Land]

Originally Posted by Ninthace

For what it is worth, my current supplier, Octopus, has recently managed to connect with my smart meter which was installed by EDF 6 years ago. Since then I have been through to other suppliers. I would say the need to fit a new meter on change of supplier was arrant nonsense.

Ninethace - thanks for that. I concur your final statement! Funnily enough, your current supplier is also my current supplier, may I use your example in my ongoing correspondence with said supplier, please?

[pasta]

Originally Posted by Ninthace

For what it is worth, my current supplier, Octopus...

Do they also supply your voltage?

I'll get my coat.....

[Ninthace]

Originally Posted by Downwind.Maddl-Land

Ninethace - thanks for that. I concur your final statement! Funnily enough, your current supplier is also my current supplier, may I use your example in my ongoing correspondence with said supplier, please?

By all means.

[k3k3]

Ninthace / Downwind.Maddl-Land, similar to my experience, we had a smart meter installed by SSE, then we changed to Tonik until they went bust and we were switched to Scottish Power, neither of which could see our meter but the basic functions of the in home remote display worked, then we moved to Octopus and after a month they connected with the meter.

I still take a photo of the meters on the first of the month though.