LoRaWAN® Gas Meter Retrofit Module

A battery-powered device that clips onto an installed mechanical gas meter, counts the pulses the meter's reed switch produces as gas flows, and sends the consumption over LoRaWAN® to the utility's gateway. The meter is not replaced and its mechanical index stays the legal register. MeterLink Gen-1 adds prepaid credit enforced in the module and an inline shutoff valve.

G1.6 diaphragm meters, the size fitted to most domestic PNG connections, through their reed pulse output. Larger sizes, G2.5, G4 and G6, and ultrasonic meters are confirmed on request; Modbus meters are read through the MacSync LX1 RS485 converter on the same network.

Through the meter's reed pulse output: a magnet on the index drum closes a reed switch once per revolution, and the module counts those pulses and keeps a running total. The pulse weight is set to the meter's output at commissioning and the count is checked against the mechanical index, which remains the legal reading.

No, and it does not need to replace the meter's: the installed meter keeps its register and its approval, and the module reports a count derived from that meter. Macnman claims no metrological or hazardous-area approval for the module; the radio is WPC compliant and the hardware conforms to RoHS.

The module is fitted externally and counts the meter's reed pulse output; the meter's register, seal and approval are meant to stay untouched, and PNGRB's third-party audit checks exactly that approval on sampled domestic meters. Whether a particular meter model's reed output is reachable without disturbing its seal is confirmed per model with the CGD's metrology team before a rollout, not assumed.

The utility sends credit to the module by downlink. The module keeps the balance, decrements it as pulses arrive and closes the inline valve the moment the balance reaches zero, without waiting for the network. A top-up reaches the module at its next uplink and the utility restores supply under its own procedure.

Yes: a secure command from the head-end closes the inline valve for non-payment, maintenance or an emergency. Because the module is a Class A device, the command is executed at its next uplink, which at two uplinks a day may be up to twelve hours later; utilities that need faster disconnection set a faster schedule. Restoring supply follows the CGD's safety procedure.

When prepaid credit reaches zero the inline valve closes at the meter, at whatever hour that is; the consumer recharges, the utility sends the credit, and supply is restored under the CGD's own procedure for re-opening a domestic connection, which includes purging and re-lighting because a closed line holds air. The procedure, and whether a local confirmation is required before re-opening, is the utility's and is agreed at the pilot.

No. The valve is fitted inline at the meter by the utility's authorised technician and driven by the module. Its type and pressure rating are confirmed on the specification sheet; this page does not claim them.

Macnman rates the 6,000 mAh Li-SOCl₂ cell at about ten years at two uplinks a day, the design schedule for billing reads. Faster schedules draw more and are sized per project; the battery level is reported with each uplink so replacement is scheduled, not discovered.

Two reads a day are enough for daily billing, consumption analytics and zero-consumption checks, and they are what the ten-year estimate is based on. The schedule can be faster where a utility wants shorter command latency or hourly analytics, at the cost of battery life, sized per project.

Meters sit in kitchens, meter cabinets and basements, so coverage is a building question more than a distance one. At 23 dBm, an indoor Setu X1 gateway usually serves a block of flats and a rooftop MacLink Gen-2 a colony or part of an area; a pilot in the worst building settles the gateway count before the rollout, and the coverage calculator gives a first estimate.

No. MeterLink runs on LoRaWAN® gateways the utility owns, so there is no SIM and no recurring connectivity charge per meter. The gateways backhaul over the utility's Ethernet, Wi-Fi or a single cellular link per gateway.

Any LoRaWAN® network server: ChirpStack, The Things Network, Orbiwise or the utility's private network server, joining by OTAA with AES encryption. From the network server the readings, valve state and battery alerts reach the head-end, the meter data management system or the billing platform over MQTT or HTTPS; decoding is documented with the product.

Class A: the module listens for a downlink only after each uplink, so a command is executed at the next scheduled uplink, up to twelve hours at two uplinks a day. A faster schedule shortens that at the cost of battery and is sized per project; Class C operation is not stated for this module and is confirmed on request.

Each module ships with pre-loaded OTAA keys; the JoinEUI and key handling are agreed per project with the utility's network server team. Decoding is documented with the product and supplied for ChirpStack, The Things Network or a private network server; The Things Network device repository does not yet list Macnman devices.

It depends on how the meters are housed, not on the count: an indoor gateway per block of flats and a rooftop gateway per colony is the usual shape, and dense towers with meters in basements need more. A pilot of a few dozen modules in the hardest building, read for two billing cycles, settles the gateway count before the rollout; the coverage calculator gives the first estimate.

Not stated on the current documentation, so this page does not claim over-the-air firmware updates for this module; ask when ordering and we confirm in writing.

IN865 for India and EU868 for export projects. LoRaWAN in India uses the delicensed 865–867 MHz band, so a utility runs its own gateways without a spectrum licence; the module is WPC compliant and RoHS conforming.

The module is a low-power radio and counter mounted on the meter body, fitted by the utility's authorised technician under its safety procedure with the inline valve. Macnman claims no hazardous-area approval for it; where a site's classification requires approved equipment, the utility's rules decide. The valve closes on command and on zero credit, and supply is restored only under the utility's procedure.

No conformity is claimed. PNGRB's April 2026 roadmap defines a smart domestic meter by two-way communication, prepaid functionality and a shut-off valve, and MeterLink adds those three to an installed meter; the T4S regulations and BIS IS 14439 govern the meter and the installation, which the CGD owns. Whether a retrofit satisfies a tender written around the roadmap is the tender's determination; the standards table on this page lists what each document says.

Valve and battery status are reported with every uplink. Tamper and removal detection are confirmed on the specification sheet supplied on request rather than claimed on this page.

Valve state and battery status are reported with every uplink. Magnet, removal, reverse-flow and case-opening detection are not stated on the current documentation, so this page does not claim them; they are confirmed on the specification sheet supplied on request.

The module is rated IP65. Operating temperature, dimensions and weight are not stated on the current documentation, so this page does not claim them; the specification sheet is supplied on request.

MeterLink is built for gas meters. Water and energy meters with a pulse or dry-contact output are read by the MacSync LX1 analog converter, and Modbus meters by the MacSync LX1 RS485 converter, on the same LoRaWAN gateways.

A gas meter module counts consumption through the meter; a gas sensor measures a gas concentration in the air. For hydrogen sulphide, ammonia, oxygen and ethylene monitoring, see the MacSync gas sensors; MeterLink does not detect leaks.

Retrofit where the installed G1.6 meters are sound and have a reed pulse output: the rollout is a clip-on visit per consumer with no meter change and no new certificate. Replace where meters are due anyway, where the size is above G1.6, or where an integrated valve is wanted. Most CGD rollouts mix both, and the LoRaWAN gateways serve both when the new meters are LoRaWAN.

The CGD's authorised technician clips the module onto the meter's reed pulse output and fits the inline valve under the utility's safety procedure. The module joins the network server by OTAA with its pre-loaded keys, is linked to the consumer account, receives its credit by downlink, and its count is recorded beside the mechanical index at installation and at the first billing read.

Yes. MeterLink Gen-1 is designed and manufactured in Pune, Maharashtra. The radio is WPC compliant for the IN865 band and the hardware conforms to RoHS. No metrological, hazardous-area or other approval is claimed for the module.

Four lines, and the module is only one: the number of consumers; prepaid with valve or postpaid reading at each; the gateways, which depend on how the meters are housed and settled by a pilot; and the integration into the head-end or MDM. To quote, send the meter base with makes and sizes, prepaid or postpaid per segment, where the meters sit, the head-end the reads must reach and the command latency you accept. With that we confirm the modules, the gateway plan and the schedule.

Yes, and it is the recommended way in: a few dozen modules on the society or the block that is hardest to cover, one or two gateways, your own network server and head-end, through two billing cycles, with the mechanical index read beside the module each cycle. The rest of the area joins the same gateways afterwards.

MeterLink Gen-1 is supplied as a retrofit module for installed meters. Meter makers who want the radio and the prepaid logic inside a new meter should ask about Macnman's LoRaWAN modules and an OEM arrangement; the reed input, pulse weight and valve drive are agreed per meter design.

The meter base with makes and sizes, prepaid or postpaid per segment, where the meters sit, the head-end or MDM the reads must reach and the command latency you accept. With that we confirm the modules, the gateway plan and the schedule, and quote the system rather than a device in isolation.