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Deploy an Alarm Point Conditioner to Gain Visibility of Non-Standard Alarm Signals

"I was left with a rather primitive temporary solution that only provided a single alarm point to show the position of the automatic transfer switch at each site. Not really what a state of the art network needed for genset monitoring. Enter DPS Telecom's Alarm Point Conditioner device!" Ted Van Tuyl - BBS Tech Leader, Click! Network

4 Burning Questions to Ask Yourself About Monitoring Non-Standard Alarm Signals:

  1. Are you having trouble integrating CMOS, TTL, -Battery, and Bi-Polar signals into your alarm monitoring system?
  2. Do you have complete visibility of your network elements, including those that send non-standard alarm signals?
  3. Are you risking equipment damage by leaving equipment unmonitored?
  4. Have you inherited an in-house cludge of components that you don't know how to use or maintain?
old apc
In the drawing above, your TTL, CMOS, and Bi-Polar devices are unmonitored because your RTU can only accept dry or ground closures.

The 4 Most Common Excuses for Not Monitoring CMOS, TTL, -Battery, and Bi-Polar Signals

  1. "That equipment won't ever fail"
  2. "The cost to add another RTU is not justified for so few alarm points"
  3. "The site isn't very far from the central office"
  4. "We will be replacing that equipment in 2 years anyway"

You can't afford not to monitor a device simply because it doesn't output contact closures. You invested money your equipment, and you should protect your investment with solid monitoring.

How do you effectively gain visibility over all of your devices without busting your budget? You need a device that can convert non-standard signals (TTL, CMOS, -Battery, Bi-Polar) into contact closures. This will allow you to connect currently unmonitored equipment to your existing monitoring system.

The Alarm Point Conditioner, CMOS, TTL, and Bi-Polar signals by converting them into contact closures that your existing dry-closure RTU can receive. This can all be accomplished without creating a hole in your budget.

After APC Deployment - Complete Visibility of All Site Devices

after apc
After deployment of your APC, non-standard signals are converted into contact closures, giving you complete visibility of your remote sites.

The APC can also Duplicate Discrete Alarm Points

The Alarm Point Conditioner also has an additional application for those who need to send contact closures to more than one RTU. Typically, this is an issue when departments need to each see the data in their own "system". This is an incredibly useful function at co-location sites, where alarms must often be reported to multiple masters.

With the APC in alarm-point-duplication mode, 18 alarm inputs are duplicated into two identical sets of 18 contact closures. By wiring each set of 18 closures into a separate RTU, duplicate alarms can be sent to separate monitoring systems. As they are relay-isolated, there won't be any negative system interaction. If you attempt to share alarms without this type of technology, you can easily get unexpected current-flow paths.

apc duplicate
Alarm point duplication allows you to send 16 alarm points two RTUs simultaneously. This is great for co-location sites where you need to have copies of site alarms.

Enhance Your Network Visibility With the Cost-Effective APC

The APC has dual capabilities and offers you two highly valuable functions in a single device. At the flip of a dipswitch, the APC can be configured between alarm-signal-conversion and alarm-point-duplication modes.

There is no excuse for not monitoring your network. The price of efficient monitoring is dwarfed by the revenue it will protect. Invest in high-quality monitoring and enjoy the benefits of heightened network reliability.

For Large Sites, the Alarm Distribution Shelf (ADS) Duplicates Hundreds of Points to Multiple Sites

The APC can replicate up to 18 alarm points to 2 different RTUs. If you need larger capacity and the capability to bring alarms into more than 2 systems, the Alarm Distribution Shelf (ADS) is your solution.