Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with meter

How to long until we hit 1.21 gigawatts?

advicepig — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 08:03:57 -0800

How can we present instantaneous stats on our energy consumption and generation in a site with a windmill and possibly other forms of energy generation? We have a number of sites where we're going to install windmills, solar, and other green bits. We'd like to have the meters attached to these sites continuously report how much energy they are drawing from the grid, putting on the grid, and how much is being generated by each device.

We were using a meter that I'll choose not to slander here. According to spec, we should be able to get this data, but we found its serial modbus connection to be lacking. Ideally, the equipment on site would be internet connected and not rely on a server at the site, but relay data to a central server under our control.

pinless moisture meters with drywall

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:18:54 -0800

How accurate are the pinless moisture meters when used on drywall? We are contemplating buying an older house (1900's) in the Pacific Northwest with a finished basement. We realize moisture could be a problem and would like to purchase a moisture meter to keep an eye on it.

The meters with pins seem to work really well, but if we want to test the moisture in the basement often, then we would end up with little holes all over the drywall.

From google, it seems the more common use of moisture meters is for wood, not drywall, so it wasn't clear (to me), if a pinless one would give accurate results with drywall.

Does anyone have any first-hand experience using the pin meters vs pinless meters? How accurate are they in general? With drywall? Why wouldn't you purchase a pinless one vs. one with pins if they were equivalent?

Any other information about monitoring moisture inside of a finished basement would be greatly appreciated!

certified hug specialist needs tools

diode — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 11:12:02 -0800

I'm building a bit of performance art that involves testing people for their hug level. I need some kind of funky device that I can use to 'test' people for this. Okay, so this is a game to play with people. I need some kind of toy or device that looks a bit absurd that I can wave around people and test their hug level. Hopefully it makes a noise and blinks or something. It needs to have a level I can set to 'low' so the testee evidently needs a hug.
The more ridiculous, the better. I'm thinking there is some kind of device that measures skin resistance or proximity that I can repurpose to look like a 'hug' meter, relabel the dials and so forth.
Toys that can re-purposed, or inexpensive electronic kits would be good for this.
Those metal detector wands at airport security are something like what I need but are probably beyond my budget.

What are the best options to measure the electricity usage of common area in a condo?

coust — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:32:47 -0800

What are the best options to measure the electricity usage of common area in a condo? We installed 2 electric heaters in the crawl space below the house to help reduce humidity and alleviate problems we had with fungus forming on the wooden beams supporting the house. The electrician who did this hooked them up to the circuit of the owner of the 1st floor. Since this benefits all tenants we'd like to share the cost of this electricity. Which bring us to the problem of measuring it. We've contacted the power company about installing a new meter and then having an electrician hook the heaters to the new meter but I feel the cost of really too high (~1400 CAD total) compared to what we'll be measuring and splitting.

So does anybody knows of a better (and cheaper) way to do this?

The heaters aren't plugged on a socket so I can't use a device like a kill-a-watt. We'd also like the device to not lose track of power usage after a power outage. And it's a bonus if I don't have to go in the crawl space every 6 months to take a reading (but I'm willing to do it).

Help me find a bandwidth monitor.

griphus — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:51:50 -0800

I'm looking for a freeware Windows bandwidth monitor that can be minimized to an icon sitting in the taskbar that displays a graph (think Process Explorer-style) of the up/down bandwidth. There's a whole lot of these out there, so if the HiveMind can help me sort through the crap, I'd be thankful. My Google-fu fails me on this, but I remember using one that did this that had a crippling bug in it that would cause it to just stop working, reinstalls be damned. I neither remember the name, nor can I find it again, nor can I find anything nearly as useful.

Nonprofit mailing: Correct way to bulk mail at the nonprofit rate

mac-way — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 07:37:40 -0800

I understand that there are three different ways to adhere postage for bulk nonprofit mailings. Permit imprint, pre-canceled stamps or a postage meter. However we are getting conflicting information from our local post office and the USPS. Can we print postage with the meter at the non-profit rate and not use the permit imprint number? We have a postage meter that we would like to use. It my understanding that for a bulk nonprofit mailing it possible to use the meter as long as it prints the nonprofit slug, the correct bulk postage and no date.

The local post office says we need to use the permit imprint number (#1438) even if we are printing postage on the meter. The meter (Neopost) has no way to print this number. The USPS website is not the helpful.

Also, who can we talk to at the USPS to get the correct info? Thanks!

Wanted: inverter that will drain a battery all the way?

croutonsupafreak — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 00:53:47 -0800

My brother is looking for an inverter to use with a deep cycle battery while camping. He says:

I use a 12v DC -> 120v AC power inverter hooked up to a deep cycle
battery while camping. Unfortunately the inverter I use emits a high
pitch whine when the output from the battery falls too low, presumably
as a warning. Eventually the inverter shuts off and the camp goes
dark. When I recharge the battery my meter indicates that it's still
got about a 60% charge remaining. The point of the deep cycle battery
(as opposed to a regular car battery) is that it can be fully
discharged without damaging it. Does anyone know of an inverter which
will let me use more than 40% of the battery's capacity and which
won't make an annoying noise when it gets low?

Canon A-1 metering problem.

Venadium — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:45:10 -0800

Does anyone have any experience with the Canon A-1 (or other Canon A-series SLRs)? I just picked up a used but in very good cosmetic condition Canon A-1. Everything seems to be in perfect working order except for the camera's meter, which is underexposing by about 2 stops. The strange thing is that it seems to vary in how much it wants to underexpose, and sometimes it even gives accurate readings. Turning the Exposure Compensation dial to 4 seems to solve the problem for the most part. My question is whether this could be caused by a dying battery, or does the meter need to be recalibrated? I've heard that these old Canons drained the battery even when the circuitry was switched off, and when I received the A-1 in the mail this morning the switch was set to 'A' (on), and had been that way since being shipped to me Friday morning, possibly longer.

Tenant/Landlord: Shared Metering

NYScott — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 04:42:48 -0800

I just found out that I'm paying for another tenant's electricity usage (and have been for the last 4 years). What now? Yesterday, the local power company sent a rep. to the 2-family building where I live. She was looking for the upstairs tenant, who was not available. The rep. told me the power to the 2nd floor was shut off 2 months ago (presumably for non-payment), and the tenant did not complain.

Last night, I saw light coming from the 2nd floor, as well as the sound of a TV. Obviously, there is electricity getting to the apartment even though the power was shut off at the meter. Being just 2 electric meter in the basement, it's clear the power is coming through my meter...

Here's the problem: I know this condition is called "shared metering," and there are clear laws concerning this type of situation, with the full responsibility & costs associated with the rectification placed squarely upon the landlord. I like my landlord, and he gives me a good deal on the rent because I'm a friend-of-a-friend. However, I've lived here for 4 years, and apparently I've been paying a large portion of the electrical usage of the other tenant for the entire time. I was aware of the lack of a "house meter" (I am paying for external lights & lights in common areas), but I had no problem with that, since those lights are either in my control and/or are attached to motion sensors, so the costs associated are negligible.

My options: grin & bear it (and continue to pay for the other tenant's electrical usage); get the power corp. involved in an investigation (which would cause my landlord to incur the expenses of probably rewiring the entire house, as well as all the penalties & fees associated with the shared metering condition); come to an agreement with the landlord (and I have *no* idea what would be a fair & equitable solution).

Any ideas??

Thanks in advance!

I'm quaveringly staring at your crotchet: 3/4 vs. 6/8 time signatures in music

goodnewsfortheinsane — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 08:27:56 -0800

Yeah, but what's the real difference between 3/4 and 6/8 time? I've sort of developed my own theory, but I still use the terms interchangably in some instances.

I'm wondering whether there is a be-all-end-all way to determine if a piece of music is in 3/4 or 6/8 meter, or whether it's more a matter of personal interpration.

The Meter numbers in church songs?

drezdn — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:34:16 -0800

In church Hymnals what do the numbers below the title mean? They are usually written like 11 11 14 or 87 88 87. The best I've been able to figure out is that it has something to do with the meter, but I'm not sure what.

How do electric meters work?

willnot — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 13:22:04 -0800

How do electric meters work? How do they measure the amount of charge you used? I suspect they must know the amount of charge that enters the home, and then they have some way to measure the amount of charge that leaves the house, but I'm really not sure. More broadly, since the more I think about it, the more I realize I don't really understand it. How is electricity even converted into mechanical energy like in a motor? Is it all done with magnets or is there some other method at work there?

Applause-O-Meter

prettyboyfloyd — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 16:54:25 -0800

Make/Buy an Applause-O-Meter? My friend runs a comedy showcase competition and I was thinking it would be great to set him up with an applause-o-meter. You know, the kind with the big red arrow that tells you who's getting the most applause. (Maybe a laugh-o-meter would be more appropriate?)

Does any one know anything about ____-o-meters? How to make one? Where to buy one? Have googled some, but to no avail. You guys are smarter than that google company anyways.

Can I milk the parking ticket I already have?

pwally — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 07:22:33 -0800

I got a ticket this morning on my car in Boston on Newbury Street. Do I have to keep paying the meter all day or does the ticket allow me to just keep my car there for as long as I need to? It's 25 bucks for another ticket, and its 25 cents for 15 minutes on the meter. Im out of quarters, im lazy, and I want to go back to bed.

Who was written in sprung rhythm?

rockstar — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 14:40:27 -0800

Today, in my graduate linguistics class, we studied Gerard Manley Hopkins' "sprung rhythm." It seems an interesting experiment, but I'm now curious: do any metafilter literary types know if a poet (or poets) since Hopkins has used sprung rhythm in poetry?

History of Poetry

nebulawindphone — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 10:36:49 -0800

How did people learn how to write poetry back in the days when rhyme and meter were standard? [mi]

Recommend musicians whose songs are in odd time signatures

trharlan — Sat, 17 Jan 2004 13:32:27 -0800

Dave Brubeck, Radiohead, Juliana Hatfield, Weezer, and Ben Folds write music in a variety of odd time signatures-- 3/4, 5/4, 7/8, etc-- and are some of my most favorite acts. Can anyone introduce me to some new music that also features songs written in odd times?