Can a Powerlogic meter, using Modbus RTU or Jbus protocol, communicate over Modems?

Issue
Are Powerlogic meters able to communicate with Modbus or Jbus over modems?

Product Line
Powerlogic Meters

Environment
Communication

Cause
Transmit and receive times over Modbus RTU

Resolution
No, a Modbus RTU or Jbus device will not communicate over Modems. These devices use Modbus RTU as their Transmission Mode. There are 2 different types of Modbus Transmission Modes: RTU and ASCII. Current Powerlogic devices only support the Modbus RTU Transmission Mode. Current Modems are configured for Modbus ASCII transmissions. Due to the character-to-character packet makeup, and due to the transmit and receive response time of Modbus RTU, sending and receiving Modbus RTU data over Modems cannot be accomplished. However, the E-Server can be used with Enercept Meters to bring in logged ASCII information over a modem. The E-server is equipped with a modem as standard and can handle a log of up to 20 parameters (ie., current A-phase from 20 Enercepts or 20 parameters from one Enercept).

Released for: Schneider Electric Canada