XPost: rec.arts.comics.strips   
   From: psperson@old.netcom.invalid   
      
   On Tue, 28 Oct 2025 18:45:48 +1300, Your Name    
   wrote:   
      
   >On 2025-10-28 00:08:37 +0000, Your Name said:   
   >   
   >> On 2025-10-27 23:27:42 +0000, Bobbie Sellers said:   
   >>> On 10/27/25 16:05, Scott Lurndal wrote:   
   >>>> Your Name  writes:   
   >>>>> On 2025-10-27 15:36:44 +0000, Paul S Person said:   
   >>>>>>    
   >>>>>> This is unlikely to happen with water meters -- at least here --   
   >>>>>> because they are mostly buried in the ground and getting a wireless   
   >>>>>> signal out might be difficult.   
   >>>>>    
   >>>>> Most water meters here are in boxes* in the garden (for houses anyway).   
   >>>>> The boxes have an easily removeable lid so the meter reader can quickly   
   >>>>> access them to read the dial numbers. Technically it should be   
   >>>>> relatively easy to either have a cellular / wi-fi meter that can   
   >>>>> connect.   
   >>>>    
   >>>> Technically, such radio device would require power, something that is not   
   >>>> generally present at the water company valve box.   
   >>>    
   >>> 	Easily if expensively remedied with a inline turbine to generate the   
   >>> power to deal with the radio device.   
   >>>    
   >>> 	bliss   
   >>    
   >> Or simply a wire from the house mains supply, appropriately lowered for    
   >> the smart meters' power requirement of course. Power and water services    
   >> (along with ye olde landline phone) are often fairly close together    
   >> anyway to save on digging multiple trenches.   
   >   
   >Or, even easier, just put the smart meter inside the house where the    
   >mains supply enters the building. (External garden taps might be a    
   >problem if the pipes branch off befoer entering the house.)   
      
   Up here, that would rather confuse the distinction between "City   
   Utilities' responsibility" and "homeowner's/landlord's"   
   responsibility.   
      
   Then again, there /is/ a simple shut-down where the water enters our   
   house. For use when needed, obviously.   
   --    
   "Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,   
   Who evil spoke of everyone but God,   
   Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)