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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >Automatic readers??
> I thought walking to the meter was just the way it is done.
> 

Automatic readers.  In the bad old days the reader got out of the truck, 
walked up close enough to see the tiny numbers, and wrote the numbers down on 
a 
clipboard.

Most automaic readers do not use powerlines for transmission.   That's a 
tricksty business.  They transpond to a signal from an FM transmitter in the 
truck.  As the reader drives by an address, the unit in his truck bleeps the 
meter 
which responds with its readout and when that reading is confirmed the truck 
drives on to the next address without having stopped.