NextAlarm ABN

[Digger]

Hi everyone,

Sorry I stopped posting here. The sole reason for that was I never had any updates on our Elk IP support, and since that's what the security forum here is all about, I didn't see a reason to keep posting. I see now that that wasn't the right thing to do, and I'll be around from now on to answer questions. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to let me know.

That said, Elk IP support is still in the pipe, but not near the top. Our video service, the VoIPAlarm receiver (which is of great interest to central stations, probably not as much to people posting here) and a few other things took precedence over it. Our development resources are limited, and while the Osbourne-Hoffman receiver is a great product and an exciting opportunity for us, it doesn't have as broad an appeal as some other things. We have the receiver and we will integrate it into our service, but I can't say exactly when.

Please reply to this thread with any questions or comments. I promise I will read and reply

Hi Dan,

Now that I opened an account I am getting emails replied to. There may be a system glitch that does not allow your CS staff to see non registered email address's etc. since prior to opening an account I never recevied anything but the automated responses.

Anyway.... I found out today from NA CS that if we signup and get the ABN that we can resell it later to get our money back when you add the Osborne-Hoffman receiver. So even if you came out with it in a few months it would not be a loss to us. That is good news.

It looks like the ELK panel will "dial in" to the ABN (you know what I mean) and then the ABN will retransmit to the CS. One advantage of the ELK Ethernet to the CS is speed. By the time the information gets from the ELK to the ABN it could have already been to the CS a few times over. TCP/IP is lightning fast. I tested the Ademco equipment a few years back and I think worst case to the CS was 11 seconds but the average was more like 4 or 5 seconds.

In any case I will probably order an ABN tonight or tomorrow and get up and running next week.

Thanks for spending the time on Cocoontech!

 

[Dan_NA]

Hi Dan,

Now that I opened an account I am getting emails replied to. There may be a system glitch that does not allow your CS staff to see non registered email address's etc. since prior to opening an account I never recevied anything but the automated responses.

Anyway.... I found out today from NA CS that if we signup and get the ABN that we can resell it later to get our money back when you add the Osborne-Hoffman receiver. So even if you came out with it in a few months it would not be a loss to us. That is good news.

It looks like the ELK panel will "dial in" to the ABN (you know what I mean) and then the ABN will retransmit to the CS. One advantage of the ELK Ethernet to the CS is speed. By the time the information gets from the ELK to the ABN it could have already been to the CS a few times over. TCP/IP is lightning fast. I tested the Ademco equipment a few years back and I think worst case to the CS was 11 seconds but the average was more like 4 or 5 seconds.

In any case I will probably order an ABN tonight or tomorrow and get up and running next week.

Thanks for spending the time on Cocoontech!

You own the ABN adapter, and you can do anything you want with it. Sell it, reprovision it for a VoIP service (the hardware is just a standard Linksys PAP2T, no secret there), whatever you like. It does come with an admin password set, but we'll provide it to you on request.

What you said about the Elk or other systems dialing through the adapter is correct. As far as the system knows, it's still connected to a phone line. The signal transmission speed is identical to transmission over a phone line. Direct IP support will definitely be faster.

You can increase the speed on ABN a bit by programming the alarm system with a short phone number (like 1234) and ending it with #. # will tell the adapter to stop listening for DTMF digits and start the call immediately, and since it doesn't matter what number the system dials to reach us, you can speed things up by just having it dial 1234# instead of a long phone number. That's just a little tweak though, it's not required by any means. It will shave 2-3 seconds off the transmission time.

 

[Digger]

Hi Dan,

Now that I opened an account I am getting emails replied to. There may be a system glitch that does not allow your CS staff to see non registered email address's etc. since prior to opening an account I never recevied anything but the automated responses.

Anyway.... I found out today from NA CS that if we signup and get the ABN that we can resell it later to get our money back when you add the Osborne-Hoffman receiver. So even if you came out with it in a few months it would not be a loss to us. That is good news.

It looks like the ELK panel will "dial in" to the ABN (you know what I mean) and then the ABN will retransmit to the CS. One advantage of the ELK Ethernet to the CS is speed. By the time the information gets from the ELK to the ABN it could have already been to the CS a few times over. TCP/IP is lightning fast. I tested the Ademco equipment a few years back and I think worst case to the CS was 11 seconds but the average was more like 4 or 5 seconds.

In any case I will probably order an ABN tonight or tomorrow and get up and running next week.

Thanks for spending the time on Cocoontech!

You own the ABN adapter, and you can do anything you want with it. Sell it, reprovision it for a VoIP service (the hardware is just a standard Linksys PAP2T, no secret there), whatever you like. It does come with an admin password set, but we'll provide it to you on request.

What you said about the Elk or other systems dialing through the adapter is correct. As far as the system knows, it's still connected to a phone line. The signal transmission speed is identical to transmission over a phone line. Direct IP support will definitely be faster.

You can increase the speed on ABN a bit by programming the alarm system with a short phone number (like 1234) and ending it with #. # will tell the adapter to stop listening for DTMF digits and start the call immediately, and since it doesn't matter what number the system dials to reach us, you can speed things up by just having it dial 1234# instead of a long phone number. That's just a little tweak though, it's not required by any means. It will shave 2-3 seconds off the transmission time.

I ordered an ABN as you were replying

 

[Boomer]

I too have been waiting for direct IP monitoring but signed up using an ABN a couple months ago and I have been very happy with the communication time & response. I have had a couple accidental false alarms and the response from Nextalarm via the ABN was very fast. I think both cases I got a verification call within 30-45 seconds of the alarm. While direct IP would be faster, I can't really say the current response from Nextalarm is anything to complain about. My ABN is connected via FIOS.

I have been using the full phone number as well but will be changing to the short format Dan suggested.

 

[brotsten]

Is there something special about the PAP2T? I already have a SPA2102 for VOIP, is it possible to use that?

Brian

 

[Dan_NA]

Is there something special about the PAP2T? I already have a SPA2102 for VOIP, is it possible to use that?

Brian

The 2102 will work, except with the newer DSC systems. When you ask for the settings to enter into the adapter, be sure to specify that it is a 2102 since there are a couple of extra settings that need to go in.

 

[sunknee]

I too am waiting for the Osborne-Hoffman receiver. I'm just about ready to signup. Is there any great advantage of getting the ABN or can I just use my plain old telephone line for now until the Osborne-Hoffman receiver is available?

 

[Dan_NA]

I too am waiting for the Osborne-Hoffman receiver. I'm just about ready to signup. Is there any great advantage of getting the ABN or can I just use my plain old telephone line for now until the Osborne-Hoffman receiver is available?

If you have a standard phone line, there's no reason to not just use that. The only advantages of the ABN adapter are that it doesn't tie up your phone, and that we poll the adapter every few minutes and can tell you if it goes offline.

 

[Digger]

I got my ABN today. It only took a few minutes to set up (about 10) and I was already sending signals. I am waiting for my account to be activated. I believe I will get a few months of free service since I bought the ABN. If those few months go well (and I am pretty sure they will) I will sign up for the 2 year locked in rate.

I actually might sign up as a reseller since I know a lot of people I could convert over for them and maintain their systems.

 

[sunknee]

I too am waiting for the Osborne-Hoffman receiver. I'm just about ready to signup. Is there any great advantage of getting the ABN or can I just use my plain old telephone line for now until the Osborne-Hoffman receiver is available?

If you have a standard phone line, there's no reason to not just use that. The only advantages of the ABN adapter are that it doesn't tie up your phone, and that we poll the adapter every few minutes and can tell you if it goes offline.

Thanks Dan, I will use the phone line for now.

 

[Digger]

So far this is great..... about 10 mins to set up. I then sent a test signal and requested my account to be activated. It took only about an hour for the activation (pretty impressive). I tripped a zone and watched it dial out. Takes about 10 to 15 seconds since it is basically dialing into the ABN. The alarm was visable online pretty much immediatly.

Trying to upgrade to a full dispatch but its not letting me. Probably something I am missing.

 

[Digger]

So far this is great..... about 10 mins to set up. I then sent a test signal and requested my account to be activated. It took only about an hour for the activation (pretty impressive). I tripped a zone and watched it dial out. Takes about 10 to 15 seconds since it is basically dialing into the ABN. The alarm was visable online pretty much immediatly.

Trying to upgrade to a full dispatch but its not letting me. Probably something I am missing.

Customer Service took care of it ........ so far A+++++++

 

[Digger]

I have to say that so far everything has been great. I did a lot of testing and it seems to be working perfectly. Also the customer service responses have been very timely.