Smart meters page 2

[RitaRose]

I was listening to an interview of a doctor famous for his work in EMF on the human body and he said that if you go outside and bash the thing in, the electric company will come back and install another one once its discovered its broken. You can claim vandalism. After 3 times of bashing the thing in, they will install the old type again. Apparently this has been the only solution to the problem in that city. (not sure where...Seattle?)

I, personally, would not try this. The power company is not stupid. It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't start charging you for the new meter plus installation labor, and that's not going to be cheap. Since the meters are technically company property (you may own the house but you don't own the meter), you could be liable for vandalism and destruction of property, not to mention fraud and tampering.

Where I live, that can easily be a felony.

Most areas have some kind of an "opt-out" program. Some are better than others, and some are pretty much useless. I would investigate that avenue first, as opposed to others that could get you a criminal record.

[Nicator]

Around here the the smart meter radio transponders are inactive 99% of the time...take a look at the the meter to see who makes it and get some facts. Or are you going to go around smashing wifi hotspots and routers too?

[peril]

I work for a mobile phone company that provides services to an electricity company for smart meters. From the traffic profile, my guess is that the meters are each making one call to report their data per day. It is in the small hours. The impact has to be negligible. YMMV but think about it - the electricity companies aren't going to pay for any more phone calls than they need to, even at a negotiated discount rate, and the phone companies aren't going to support a large volume of traffic from the meters at their peak time without charging appropriately

We all have much bigger issues

[Alex Good]

When they come to install it just keep the door closed and say "fuck off".

[Blackcatbone]

Two words: Faraday cage.

Can they be made of tin foil?

[RitaRose]

I work for a mobile phone company that provides services to an electricity company for smart meters. From the traffic profile, my guess is that the meters are each making one call to report their data per day. It is in the small hours. The impact has to be negligible. YMMV but think about it - the electricity companies aren't going to pay for any more phone calls than they need to, even at a negotiated discount rate, and the phone companies aren't going to support a large volume of traffic from the meters at their peak time without charging appropriately

We all have much bigger issues

The ones here in Nevada trasmit individually in a burst about every 15 minutes to a kind of "collector", then along phone lines to the company.

Yeah, it would cost a crapload of money to be constantly transmitting. To be honest, I think one of the scariest things in the average home is the cordless phone, though I'm still hating on the smart meters for my own reasons.

[RitaRose]

When they come to install it just keep the door closed and say "fuck off".

Sadly, out here we have contracted out for the majority of the residential work. I've heard stories from homeowners of telling the installers "no", then finding one the next day when they come home from work. Not cool. It's better to call and get put on a list if they'll let you do that. Then you can call and get it removed. Though telling them to fuck off could be gratifying too.

You should see the extremes people go to, though. I've seen people literally build iron cages around their meters, and I've seen it more than once. They REALLY don't want them.

[Alex Good]

"Trespassers will be eviscerated"?

[RitaRose]

"Trespassers will be eviscerated"?

I saw one handwritten sign (which somehow made it creepier) that said "You are on camera and will be shot" in both English and Spanish. Makes you think twice.

[Alex Good]

Meh, I've been stabbed in the heart so I'm not too scared.