Metercat 6.1.1.

0
Release Notes

Metercat™ Style Number format:

• 100G000R26 (unrestricted version)
• 100G000D26 (demo version expiring January 30, 2016)

Installation and Upgrading from Earlier Releases

The Metercat Release 6.1.1 installation will automatically uninstall any earlier version of Metercat.
When installing on Windows 7 or Windows 8 the following error message may be seen. This error will not result
in any Metercat malfunctioning and can be ignored; If this error occurs please click OK and continue the
installation.

New Features
• The “Change Optical Test Source” task has been enhanced to also support the A3 ALPHA and A1800 ALPHA
meter families:
− The task can configure which energy source is output to the optical port LED.
− The Pulse Frequency can also be configured as Standard (Kh) or Fast (2*Ke).
− The configuration is independent for Normal, Alternate and Test modes

• Current Billing, Previous Billing, and Self Reads views can now report the timestamps of the Maximum
Demand values recorded in REX2 meters with firmware version 5.3 and later.

Issues Resolved
• For the IPAxisLink device family, in the Event Notifications component, the standard events Primary Power
Down (1) and Primary Power Up (2) have been renamed as Device Power Down and Device Power Up
respectively.
• The Interval Data (Load Profile) view now correctly timestamps all the intervals when an A3 ALPHA or A1800
ALPHA meter records a power outage or time change during the first minute of the last interval of a four-
hour interval data block.

Elster Solutions
Raleigh, North Carolina
www.elster.com

© 2015 by Elster. All rights reserved.

Metercat 6.1.1.0 2
Release Notes

General Notes
• Metercat 6.1.1 has been tested Windows® 7 and Windows® 8 platforms (32-bit and 64-bit versions).
Metercat 6.1.1 functionality on earlier Windows® versions is not guaranteed.
• For machines without an existing copy of Metercat, the default installation path is C:\Program
Files\Elster\Metercat\. For Metercat upgrades, the installation path will default to wherever the prior
version was installed.
Note: If you do not use the default path when upgrading an existing Metercat installation you will not
have access to the configuration files, readings, and reports of the earlier version unless you manually
move them to the new path after completing the installation.

Known Issues
• same as Metercat 6.1.0.0 – please see Metercat 6.1.0.0 Release Notes

Technical Support
Contact Elster’s Technical Support at +1 800 338 5251 (US Technical Support).
Metercat 6.1.1.0 3
Release Notes

Metercat 6.1.0.0
Release Notes

New Features and Enhancements

Support for REXUniversal meters with wireless C12.22 WAN connectivity
• Program Development has been expanded to support REXUniversal meters with the C12.22 WAN
connectivity option.
− The Event Log Configuration component for the REXUniversal family has been extended for selecting
additional logged events and configuring event-triggered WAN communications.
i) A REXUniversal Connectivity option allows configuring the Event Log Configuration component for
two variants of REXUniversal meters:
• C12.22 WAN connected REXUniversal meters, equipped with an Elster cellular WAN Interface
Card (WIC), intended to be deployed in an Elster Energy Axis system.
• REXUniversal meters intended to be deployed with a Third Party Network

ii) Please note that:

• Event Log Configuration components with Connectivity option configured as “C12.22 WAN
Connected” are only valid for WAN connected REXUniversal meters.
• Event Log Configuration components with the Connectivity option configured as “Third-Party
Network” are not valid for WAN connected REXUniversal meters.
• The compatibility of meter programs with REXUniversal meters variant depends upon the
Connectivity option of the Event Log Configuration component included in the program
.
− A new WAN Configuration component (applicable only for the REXUniversal meter family) is available for
configuring:
i) Access control list, to restrict meter WAN access from selected IP address/mask values.
ii) Check-in messages, periodically generated by the meter’s cellular WAN Interface Card (WIC).
iii) Access Point Names (APN), applicable only to the GSM version of the cellular WAN Interface Card
(WIC).
The WAN Configuration component is optional for REXUniversal meter programs, however programs
with a WAN Configuration component are only applicable to WAN connected REXUniversal meters.

• Reading and reporting has been expanded to support REXUniversal meters with the C12.22 WAN
connectivity option:
− The Conditions and Security tabs of the Status View have been expanded to report information from the
communication (Comms) processor of REXUniversal meters.
− The Event Log Data View now provides an integrated listing of the events from both the communication
(Comms) and metrology processor of REXUniversal meters.
− A new WAN Configuration view displays cellular provider information, wireless network status and
statistics.
− The WAN Configuration view has been added to the “REXUniversal Long Diagnostic” and “REXUniversal
Program Configuration” viewsets.

• Tasks have been enhanced to support REXUniversal meters with the C12.22 WAN connectivity option:
− The “Replace Configuration” task for REXUniversal meters has been enhanced to update the WAN
Configuration in REXUniversal meters with the C12.22 WAN connectivity option.
Metercat 6.1.1.0 4
Release Notes

− The following Metercat tasks have been updated so that they can be executed over a TCP/IP C12.22
connection for REXUniversal meters with the C12.22 WAN connectivity option
• Activate C12.22 WAN Factory Key
• Billing Read
• Change Optical Test Source
• Change Seed Set
• Change Time
• Clear Data
• Clear Event Log
• Clear Status Flags
• Connect Service
• Demand Reset
• Diagnostic Read
• Disable Optical Port
• Disconnect Service
• Enable Optical Port
• Fast Demand Test
• Poll Instrumentation
• Program
• Replace Configuration
• Test Mode Off
• Test Mode On
− A “Confirm Factory Unrestricted Seed” task is now available for WAN-connected REXUniversal meters to
allow restoring Metercat communications in the event of your Metercat database with REXUniversal
seeds is irretrievably lost.

Support for the new features in REX2 meters with firmware version 5.0 and greater
• The Current and Previous Billing views display summation data for up to 4 energy sources.
− Energy source 3 and 4 are configured in the Second set of the Interval Data configuration (refer to the
REX2 Programming Form).
• The Current Billing view displays the meter date/time of reading and a warning in case the meter has
relative time.
• The Previous Billing view displays the meter date/time when the last demand reset was executed.
• The Current and Previous Billing views display the temperature of the meter at the time the data was read.
• The Self Read view has been added to the REX Data viewset.
• The Self Read view displays a snapshot of summation data, for the configured energy sources, taken at the
last midnight crossing.
• The Interval Data (Load Profile) views has a new “EOI and Midnight Snapshots” tab which displays:
− The snapshot of the meter summation data (total value only) for any non-Net configured energy source,
taken at the time the last Load profile interval was closed.
− The snapshot of the meter summation data (total value only) for any non-Net configured energy source,
taken at the last midnight crossing.
• The Display View for REX meters supports the new “Third Data” and “Fourth Data” display items introduced
in REX2 firmware 5.1.
• The Change Time task has been extended to support REX2 meters. As timekeeping in REX2 meters is meant
to be controlled by an EA_MS system, the new Change Time functionality is only recommended for the
meter shop and installations outside of EA_MS deployments.

Support for Loss Compensation in A3 and A1800 ALPHA meters

• A new “Loss Compensation” component type is available for A3 and A1800 ALPHA meters.
− The component is optional for meter programs.
Metercat 6.1.1.0 5
Release Notes

− The component allows calculating the parameters that the meter uses for compensating Transformer
and Line losses.
• A “Replace Loss Compensation” task is available for configuring a selected Loss Compensation component
in A3 and A1800 ALPHA meters.
− The task allows the reconfiguration of the Loss Compensation parameters without full reprogramming
of the meter.
• “Turn Loss Compensation On” and “Turn Loss Compensation Off” tasks are available for A3 and A1800
ALPHA meters.
• A “Loss Compensation” view is available and added to the Long Diagnostic Viewset.
− The view displays the status of loss compensation (on/off) and the loss compensation parameters in
the meter.

Miscellaneous enhancements
• When a function is executed (e.g. Diagnostic Read) Metercat records a log entry in the Windows Event
Viewer. The Source of the event is Metercat and the event code is 500. Details of the target meter, Metercat
user, and specific function parameters are captured in the details of the log. Metercat events can be filtered
in the Windows Event Viewer by source.
• When a user closes and re-launches Metercat, Metercat attempts to restore itself to the screen position and
size it had when most recently closed.
• The Connections menu now allows a user to open a connection without manually closing any connection
already open.
• When Help | Function Shortcuts is checked, the main window will list any Function shortcuts defined for
whatever Connection bar is open. This option is persisted for each Windows™ user. Use Tools | Function
Management to define the shortcuts themselves.
• Tree-view, rather than cascading tabs, is now the default display mode for Viewsets (and Program
Development). Each Windows™ user can select their own preference by clicking the icon on the left side of
the title bar of any open Viewset.
• The order of the Views displayed for Long Diagnostic and all other Viewsets can now be more easily sorted
alphabetically:
− In Tools | Viewset Management, choose the desired Viewset and click Edit.
− Use the “A to Z”, “Move Up” and “Move Down” buttons to create the desired order then click OK to save
your changes.
• Tools | Update Network Storage now produces an HTML report listing the programs exported, programs not
needing exported, and any problems encountered.
• Because the “Activate C12.22 WAN Factory Key” task can only be executed via an optical probe for A3
ALPHA, A1800 ALPHA and REXUniversal meters, the “Activate C12.22 WAN Factory Key - IPAL" version of
the task has been introduced for IPAxisLink devices that have no optical probe port.
• For Metercat readings performed on an Energy Axis Gatekeeper or Node meter, the Energy Axis tab of the
Status view now displays the firmware version of the radio processor.
• The following additional Gatekeeper specific events are available for selection in the Exception Notification
Configurations section of the Special Option Board component:
― LANOB Data Read complete
― LANOB Profile Schedule 1 Complete
― LANOB Profile Schedule 2 Complete
• In the Check-in call configuration section of the Special Option Board component (applicable to A3 ALPHA
Wireless WIC modules) the default value of the Call-in Delay (sec) parameter is now 3600 seconds
(increased from 1 second).
• The Meter Time Zone information has been added to the Time tab of the Status view for A3 ALPHA and
A1800 ALPHA meters.
• For A3 ALPHA and A1800 ALPHA readings, the Current Billing view now displays the meter Date/Time when
the billing data was read.
Metercat 6.1.1.0 6
Release Notes

Additional details about all these enhancements are available in the online help and Metercat User Guide.

Additional Changes
• The openSSL version used by Metercat has been upgraded to 1.0.0m as recommended by the OpenSSL
Security Advisory dated 05 Jun 2014

Limitations
• When the “Replace Configuration” task is executed on WAN connected REXUniversal meters, the option to
perform a Self Read is not allowed.

Issues Resolved
• In the Special Option Board component, the format and length of the ANSI C12.22 APTitle fields in “Check-in
calls configuration” are validated at component creation time. Also the length of the APTitle fields in
“Exception Notification Configuration” is validated at component creation time. In earlier versions of
Metercat the validation was performed at programming time.
• In the Special Option Board component Metercat does not allow the user to input and save a 0.0.0.0 IP
address for Exception Notifications and Check-in configurations.
• For Metercat readings performed on A3 ALPHA meters, the Security tab of the Status view now displays the
Total Power Outage Count value. The field was incorrectly removed in Metercat 5.0.0.
• The Event Log view shows the correct description “Metrology Firmware Changed” for the corresponding
event (applicable to A3 ALPHA with firmware version 5.0 and higher). This event was incorrectly displayed as
“Read without Power” In Metercat 5.0 and 5.1.
• Metercat no longer generates an error in the Status view when opening a reading from a REX2 meter with
firmware version 1.1.
• The visibility of labels in the Day Types view and the Billing views (Current Billing, Previous Billing, etc.) has
been improved.
• When Metercat synchronizes with a third-party server (Tools > Server Synchronization) the Read-only
password of the meters is now correctly retrieved and stored in the database.
• When performing a synchronization with a third-party server (Tools > Server Synchronization) Metercat no
longer fails when the response from the server contains a large number of meter records.
• For A1800 ALPHA meters with Load Profile configured to record data in Engineering Units, an issue has
been resolved that might prevent exporting Interval Data (Load Profile) in “HHF for MV-90” format.
• Functions containing a Demand Reset task are available not only for Optical Probe and TCP/IP C12.22
connections, but also for TCP/IP C12.21 connections.

General Notes
• Metercat 6.1.0 has been tested on Windows® Vista, Windows 7 and Windows® 8 platforms. Metercat 6.1.0
functionality on earlier Windows® versions is not guaranteed.
• For machines without an existing copy of Metercat, the default installation path is C:\Program
Files\Elster\Metercat\. For Metercat upgrades, the installation path will default to wherever the prior
version was installed.
Note: If you do not use the default path when upgrading an existing Metercat installation you will not
have access to the configuration files, readings, and reports of the earlier version unless you manually
move them to the new path after completing the installation.
Metercat 6.1.1.0 7
Release Notes

Known Issues
• Attempting to edit or view more than six programs simultaneously causes serious demands on operating
system and database resources and may result in error messages such as “General SQL Error: Cannot open
any more tables.”
• In User Management, when authorizing programs for user groups, even programs for families and types
disabled through System Preferences are visible.
• When communicating over C12.21, the programming of a meter equipped with an ICP module version 2.x
may fail if the Metercat program contains a Special Option Board component.
− The recommended workaround is to execute the full meter programming in two steps: First, remove the
Special Option Board component from the program and execute the program task. Then program the
ICP module by executing the ‘Configure Special Option Board’ task with the desired component.
• When the Interval Data of REX2 meters with firmware version 4.0 is configured to record “events only”
(order form configuration) the power outage/restoration and time change events are not displayed in the
Event Log Data view. The events are correctly displayed in the Event Log Data view in the case of REX2
meters with firmware 3.x.
• When Google Chrome and Metercat are installed on the same computer an “R6030: CRT not initialized at
launch” error may occur when starting Metercat. The workaround is to close Google Chrome or uninstall it if
closing is not sufficient. The same error may be observed when certain search plug-ins (Dealio, Widgi, etc.)
are installed in Internet Explorer and Firefox or when launching Metercat during a Cisco Webex session
when the desktop is shared. The workaround in these cases is to uninstall the search plug-ins and close the
Cisco Webex session. In certain cases launching Metercat before opening the Cisco Webex session may be
sufficient.
• When launching Alpha Keys (Tools > Launch Alpha Keys) an error may occur if there is a Modem connection
defined in the list of available Connections. The workaround is to delete the modem connection from list of
available ones and launch Alpha Keys again.
• When editing a Metering component, Metercat may not refresh the Display List configuration when the
Quantities configuration is changed and show in this case, an empty Display List. The workaround is to
configure Quantities before the Display List. If further changes are required in Quantities after the Display
List has been entered, then the user should review the Display List to ensure it is correct before saving the
component.
• For A3 ALPHA and A1800 ALPHA meters, Metercat may incorrectly timestamp some of the intervals
recorded before and after a Power Outage or a Time Change events if these events occurs during the first
minute of the last interval of a block, where a block is defined according to the load profile table definitions
in the ANSI C12.19 specification.

Technical support
Contact Elster’s technical support at +1 800 338 5251 (US technical support).