elk + voip

[jduncc]

Is anyone out there using their elk m1 system with VOIP instead of a traditional land line? I'm using Vonage, and it appears the elk system can't communicate with the remote monitoring site. Out of about 10 attemps, only one successfully went through.


Any ideas would be appreciated.


Also, Elk's technical support is closed this week, argh!

 

[Squintz]

I read an article in a magazine about this. It seems that its not the elk that is the issue but it is the voip. I can't remeber the details but a search for something like VOIP and Alarm Monitoring should provide you with details.

I think there are some monitoring services that use the internet instead of a phone service. Does elk support something like this?

Check the bottom of this article for resources:
http://www.securityinfowatch.com/article/a...ion=434&id=2538

 

[WayneW]

try https://nextalarm.com/index.jsp and https://nextalarm.com/abn.jsp for more info.

Elk is working on adding native TCP/IP monitoring support to the XEP, but it also requires matching up with what the central stations are doing & supporting, so Elk cannot fix this on their own.

 

[Mike]

I'm not sure on the details, but there is also a setting that is applied when the VOIP is installed, if it will be used with an alarm system. I don't know exactly what it does though. Could just be for record keeping?

At least this is how it was done with my cable company (I got mine direct rather than from Vonage). I have not hooked mine up so I can't say more (I was considering the internet connection, either waiting for it to be supported in the M1XEP or using the proprietary adapter if required.

Hope this helps.

 

[dwalder]

I have vonage along with an elk m1gold....I had to call vonage and tell them I was going to use the phone line for alarm montoring. At that point they changed the configuration for my ATA device and pushed it through. I believe it had to do with packet size or priority. After that I was able to connect to the monitoring station. Also you may want to check at what baud rate the elk is trying to connect to the station. It may need to be scaled back a bit.

.D

 

[jduncc]

Does anyone on this board have experience using nextalarm.com?

If so, how has their service worked for you so far? And how long have you used it?

 

[Mike]

I haven't used them, but I was planning on trying them once I got my system completed.

 

[Spanky]

I have had Vonage working with the ELK M1 in my house for over a year. Just hooked it up and it worked. I used the Contact ID format which is a touch tone transmission protocol. No problem.

We are also testing the Ethernet Central Station Reporting with the M1XEP into the GE Osborne Hoffman receiver. Very fast, supervised, and works great. You get a keypad alert if the Internet goes down.


The only problem I have had is when I installed a Skype phone on my computer, it makes the Vonage lockup about every 4 hours. In this case when the Vonage Locks up, the M1 lets you know that the telephone is out. I turned the Skype phone off and everything is back to normal. Weird!


FYI: Because of the Vonage lockup problems and total lack of technical support out of Vonage, I am going back to Bell South and a hard phone line. I liked the Vonage price, but not the service.

 

[AutomatedOutlet]

I use Vonage with both of my Elk panels I have installed but am not doing any monitoring. I'll probably try this soon.

As far as the internet going down, in the office, our Verizon DSL line will lock up from time to time (about 2-4 times a day). I have the Elk monitor the phone line to see when it goes down. If it goes down, the Elk will turn off the power to the routers and then power them up 3 seconds later. I use a simple appliance module for this and it works great. We never even notice when the internet goes down anymore!