Custom 'Others' Events...

As we move along, we just finished a modification that allows the users to generate an alarm at certain time/day out of any panel. This type of event is called “Others” and it can be used in countless scenarios. Before we go in deep, let’s first discuss some minor changes on the Events screen.

First, the Type selection has been changed to a drop/down list (rather than a radio group). This will save form space, keep simplicity and allow us to add more types. Also the ‘Other’ type has been added.

Second, the day selection has been changed to a drop down. This will save form space while keeping consistency with CSID Zone Overrides day selection.

Third, the ‘Others settings’ has been added.

The ‘Other’ type… This type allows the users to setup the software to generate an alarm at a certain schedule. When ‘Others’ is selected, the software will generate an alarm based on the Signal (and/or Zone)… at this stage the software does not know/care if this alarm will be displayed to the operator or not. This setup will still be on Panel Zone/CSID Zone and can be affected by the overrides.

Usage…

1. Keep my operators up at midnight… Simply setup an alarm at 2 am, another at 4am… give it a low priority (8 or 9), if there is a real alarm it will take priority over this one, otherwise this alarm will ensure they are there… if they don’t acknowledge, then ‘Unattended Alarm’ will be generated
2. Panels that generate test events per hour (only when panel is armed)… some panels have the capability to send test package in small gabs when the panel is armed (mostly banks) in this case we can setup a test event with a start and end condition, and setup 2 ‘Other’ signals to be generated to trigger those conditions.
3. Remote Guards trigger… in a soon to be released version, the central station can generate alarms that will allow the operator to connect to a remote premise and glance around the cameras (in an automated way). In this scenario the signal should be setup to generate a ‘GT*’ (Guard Tour)
4. Just wake me up!!!! Generate a passive signal that has a record on the notification list (Communication Module), the software will generate the alarm and send the email, all in a totally automated way.