AlphaMax FAQ
AlphaMax FAQ Answers
| Q. Why am I not receiving pages from Alphamax? |
A. Possible Causes: the following sequence must be completed before a page will be delivered:
Diagnosing Alphamax paging problems: Introduce an alarm and use use your configuration program in monitor mode to confirm that the alarm has been generated and is qualified. A message will appear on the screen when it attempts to deliver a page (because you are using its phone line, it can't actually send it while you are connected). You can also observe light indications on the device to confirm that is has an alarm and is attempting to dial out. In your configuration program, confirm the phone number that has been assigned to the pager, confirm the pager has been assigned to the alarm, and confirm pager usage (primary or secondary) . Be sure this information has actually been written (downloaded) to the device – you can do this by reading (uploading) from the device and viewing the results. Call the paging facility yourself, from any convenient phone, using the phone number programmed into the device. A paging system should answer. If you still have problems, go the location where the device is installed, unplug the phone line from the device, plug in an ordinary analog phone, and call the paging facility using exactly the same number your system is set up to call. A paging system should answer. There is often a problem with forgotton factors such as having to dial 1 first to get an outside line, or being in a different area code than you thought you were, or having a long-distance call-blocker on the line, etc. Also verify that the line sounds clean, with no static, hum, or other noise. If you still have problems, note exactly how the paging facility responds to calls: If delivering a numeric page, there is generally a brief voice message after which the numeric message is entered. To step over this voice message, you should put two commas after the phone number your device dials to deliver a numeric page – each comma represents a 5-second delay before it sends the actual alarm message. Verify that the delay is appropriate for your system.If you still have problems, contact DPS Telecom for further assistance. |
| Q. Periodic Status Report Timing |
| A. You may optionally configure an Alphamax to page you with routine periodic status reports, which tell you the current state of all alarms and relays. These reports are sent at a programmable interval, from once every 15 minutes to once every 10 days, and may be individually enabled or disabled for each pager you have defined. There are several problems you may encounter with periodic status reports: Reports come at an inconvenient time of day: the clock starts ticking at the moment a configuration is written (downloaded) to the Alphamax. If you set it up to report every 24 hours and download it at 3:00 PM, you should get a report every day at 3:00 PM. However, the Alphamax does not have a highly accurate internal clock and this time may drift several minutes per day. If it gets too far off, we recommend connecting at the time of day you wish to receive your reports, reading (uploading) from the Alphamax so you don't inadvertently change its current configuration, and immediately writing the same configuration back to it to reset the clock. You get reports you don't want: reconfigure the Periodic Status Report interval, or turn off periodic status reporting altogether for your pager, and write (download) the revised configuration to the alphamax. Alphamax seems to be busy calling out for extended periods: you may have enabled Periodic Status Reports for an otherwise undefined pager (blank or incorrect dial string, etc). It will repeatedly try to call a number that it obviously can't reach. |
| Q. Trouble connecting to High-Speed Alphamax 82S |
| A. If you are having trouble connecting to an Alphamax 82S with a High-Speed modem installed, confirm that TAlphaW version 2.2D or later is in use. This version adds an Answer Initialization String to Site Definition-Advanced, and changes the usual remote modem initialization string to apply just to dialouts from the Alphamax. The High-Speed modem needs both strings to function correctly. |
| Q. My Alphamax with Ver 2.2B Firmware and 2.2B software for Windows, constantly tries to dial, when either T/MonXM calls to the Alphamax, or when the Alphamax dials to the T/MonXM. What could be my problem? |
| A. Ver 2.2B firmware and software, have potential issues leading to this symptom. Please Contact DPS Telecom with a request for a fix. |
| Q. When I connect to my Alphamax, I hear it answer by reporting back "beep-beep" commands but it doesn't proceed any further and I eventually get either a "Modem Time-Out" or "Unit Wont Answer" error? |
| A. The "beep-beep" commands you are hearing are DTMF commands being sent to the Alphamax via your PC running the Alphamax software. If, after you hear the first set of "beep-beep" responses from the Alphamax, you do not hear anything proceeding, take out the "@" symbol in front of the modem username and password, (i.e. @11#,69#) and replace it with 9-10 commas. (i.e. ,,,,,,,,,11#,69#). Some PC modems are not setup to handle the "@" symbol. Keep in mind the 11# is the default password command for the Alphamax. Yours may differ depending on how you have your pager menus options setup. The 69# is hard coded as a modem initialization command and should not be changed for downloading your configuration into your unit. Refer to the "Setting Up Pagers" option in the manual for more information on users and passwords. |
| Q. My Windows based DPS T/Config application (T/Alpha for Windows) does not show the com port I wish to download with on my laptop. |
| A. Make sure that port is not being used by another application. Palm pilot's and other applications often seize the com resource even when you are not actively using them. |
| Q. Can the AlphaMax send emails or text messages directly? | ||||||
A. No, but you can send text messages via the TAP gateway number available from most wireless carriers. Here are TAP gateways for some of the most popular carriers:
For more details about setting up text message alerts via TAP gateway, please download How to Send Alarms to Your Cell Phone via TAP Gateway in the "How-To" Guides section of MyDPS. Your direct notification options with the AlphaMax include the following:
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| Q. Q: How do you verify an RS-232 port is functioning? |
| A. |
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To find out more about this and other DPS applications, give us a call at our toll-free number and talk to one of our network specialists. They'll help you put together a perfect fit solution for your network!
Sales: 1-800-693-0351 · Fax: 559-454-1688
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