Processing gain for wireless communication, such as in automatic data collection systems for public utility data collection

1. A wireless communication system for processing utility consumption data, the system comprising:

multiple transmitting nodes, each configured to wirelessly transmit a substantially similar message multiple times and according to one of multiple different frequency hopping tables, wherein each of the transmitting nodes receives utility consumption data from an associated utility meter; and

a mobile receiving node configured to wirelessly receive at least one of the transmitted messages on one frequency from one of the transmitting nodes, and to perform a first routine at least twice to determine which one of the multiple different frequency hopping tables the one transmitting node is employing, wherein the routine includes:

guessing a next frequency on which the one transmitting node will next transmit a message, and

listening at the next frequency for the next transmission of a message, and

wherein the mobile receiving node wirelessly receives and stores at least two of the transmitted messages after determining the one frequency hopping table employed by the one transmitting node, and wherein the receiving node performs a second routine to decode the at least two received and stored messages, wherein the second routine comprises:

applying a mathematical operation to the two received and stored messages to produce an improved message, and

decoding at least a portion of the improved message.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile receiving node performs a third routine, before the second routine, wherein the third routine comprises:

determining a time gap between pairs of received messages to determine at least first and second differing time gaps;

comparing the first and second differing time gaps to multiple time dithering tables to identify one of the tables having the first and second differing time gaps; and

identifying the one transmitting node, at least in part, on the identified table.

3. A wireless communication method between a transmitting node and a receiving node, the method comprising:

at the transmitting node, wirelessly transmitting messages according to one of multiple different frequency hopping tables, wherein the transmitting node is associated with a utility meter for gathering data associated with consumption of a utility, and wherein at least some of the transmitted messages contain data associated with consumption of a utility; and

at the receiving node, wirelessly receiving at least one of the transmitted messages on one frequency and performing a routine at least twice to determine which of the multiple different frequency hopping tables the transmitting node is employing, wherein the routine includes:

guessing a next frequency on which the transmitting node will next transmit a message, and

listening at the next frequency for the next transmission of a message to determine which of the multiple different frequency hopping tables the transmitting node is employing.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising listening on a hailing channel before guessing the next frequency.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the receiving node includes a multi-channel receiver, and wherein the method further comprises wirelessly receiving signals on multiple frequencies substantially simultaneously.

6. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining a time gap between pairs of received messages to determine at least first and second differing time gaps;

comparing the first and second differing time gaps to multiple time dithering tables to identify one of the tables having the first and second differing time gaps; and

identifying the transmitting node, at least in part, on the identified table.

7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining first and second time differences between two different pairs of received messages; and

identifying the transmitting node, at least in part, on the determined first and second time differences.

8. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause at least one mobile wireless receiver to perform a method to determine an identity of one of multiple transmitting nodes, and wherein each of the multiple transmitting nodes wirelessly transmit messages according to one of multiple different frequency hopping tables, the method comprising:

wirelessly receiving at least one of the transmitted messages on one frequency and performing a routine at least twice to determine which of the multiple different frequency hopping tables the one transmitting node is employing, wherein each of the multiple transmitting nodes are associated with a respective one utility meter that gathers utility consumption data, and wherein at least some of the transmitted messages contain utility consumption data;

guessing a next frequency on which the one transmitting node will next transmit a message; and

listening at the next frequency for the next transmission of a message to determine the identity of the one transmitting nodes from an identified one of multiple different frequency hopping tables the one transmitting node is employing.

9. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a mobile wireless utility data collection device.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium is a logical node in a computer network receiving the contents.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium is a computer-readable disk.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium is a data transmission medium carrying a generated data signal containing the contents.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computer system.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining first and second time differences between two different pairs of received messages; and

identifying the transmitting node, at least in part, on the determined first and second time differences.