Patent ID: 7830874

Claim:
A utility meter endpoint for use in an encoder-receiver-transmitter (ERT)-compatible automatic meter reading (AMR) system, comprising: a utility meter interface that receives utility meter information from a utility meter; a radio that communicates with the AMR system; a processor operatively coupled with the utility meter interface and with the radio, wherein the processor converts the utility meter information into packets for transmission by the radio, wherein the packets include a first type of packet that has: a packet preamble portion that has a frame synchronization bit sequence, a packet type identifier field, and a packet length field, wherein the frame synchronization bit sequence is recognizable by an AMR system receiver that detects a preamble having a value of 0x16A3; a packet body portion that includes at least an endpoint serial number field and a message; and a packet validation portion; wherein the packet body portion has a length that is variable by the processor and the packet length field is set by the processor to represent the length, and the packet preamble portion is preceded by a training sequence having a repeating bit pattern of 01.