Are you paying for the dedicated phone line too? I imagine the phone
line at your shop is dependent on the existing phone line, and it's
using a modem to call up a pre-programmed phone number and yell.
So the alarm is calling some phone line, transmitting dtmf pulses
(not an active modem or fax) and you can replace this pager box with
something else? Not sure I follow your topology, and it's not really
like any of the alarm systems I've played with, but will try to give
this a shot.
IF the system is like above, and transmitting DTMF:
IF your modem port is dtmf compatible, meaning that it can read/send
dtmf codes on demand, then you could open up the modem port like a
serial port, and look for key words like Ringing, answer it, then the
serial port would hand you back the dtmf codes that it receives.
Depends on your modem, and you'll have to brush up on your Hayes AT
commands.
Second way to do this, is buying a dtmf line decoder. There are
tons, just google. But basically it's a board that a phone line
plugs into, it auto answers, decodes the dtmf pulses, can send dtmf
pulses. Usually it has a digital output or an rs-232 output. From
there you interface to the computer (if digital and not rs-232,
pickup an analog to digital converter like http://www.sensyr.com/
TNG-3B.html
Although the dtmf decoder has more parts than the modem, depending on
what modem you have in the box, and the fact that the code will only
be transportable to modems that have dtmf decode ability, the
external box would provide a constant, only requiring a serial or usb-
serial port.
Disclaimer, keep in mind the severity of this. If the pagers provide
a critical function, make sure your code is solid. 20/month isn't
much relative to the potential loss for any store owner.
Good luck
tim
On Mar 17, 2006, at 2:41 PM, Thom McGrath wrote:
For our growing network of stores, our alarm systems page us on
standard beepers with any event (panic, arm, disarm, etc...) but
I'm trying to improve the system. Because each beeper costs about
$20 a month, our expenses keep growing as our network grows.
So I want to purchase a cheap computer and a dedicated line and
ditch the beepers. This computer would be running a program I write
which would answer the phone and interpret the numbers coming from
the alarm. From there, I can do anything, such as have it send an e-
mail.
I have much experience in everything required except the task of
actually interpret the tones and such. Can somebody point me in the
right direction. Also, this is intended to be deployed on Windows
XP though I develop on OS X.
--
Thom McGrath, <http://www.thezaz.com/>
"You don't need eyes to see, you need vision" - Maxi Jazz in
"Reverence" by Faithless
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