ALARMS AND VoIP

Freddie59

Has anyone manged to install and alrm using VoIP for the monitoring and/or remote access? Have installed a Yale one (which performs well, and good value also). However, it appears that it needs a PSTN line to communicate. Manufacturers aren't much help, quoting VoIP as a'minority technology'.

Anyone able to help?

Thanks.

Freddie.

jimmycrackcorm

All you need for the voip part is an ATA which allows a normal phone connection.

Freddie59

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

All you need for the voip part is an ATA which allows a normal phone connection.

Thanks Jimmy. I have that already and subscribe to Blueface. But no joy. The argument is, apparently, that VoIP can distort the tones used to dial the monitioring station number via the analogue to digital processing. But surely if that's the case normal phone handsets would also be affected?

I suppose it's no harm to highlight it for anyone considering purchasing an alarm, given the current explosion in subscriptions to non-landline based VoIP.

Interestingly when I first looked at an alarm I considered Eircom phonewatch. They were extremely helpful and they also believed that the alarm monitoring would work over VoIP.

I chose the Yale in the end because I was able to purchase a system which included all PIRs, door contacts, and (what I thought) was remote monitoring and remote control of the system via the Internet. It was only €100 extra for this - so it's not too much of a financial loss.

The Yale would have cost around €1000 in Ireland. Delivered from eBay for €660.:)

bullets

Howdy,

Just spotted this post. I'm about to buy one of these Yale alarms with
the autodialer.

Anyone know if this will work through Smart Telecom?
Not sure but I dont think their phone service that comes
with the broadband package is not bog standard and maybe Voip.


~B

cormac_byrne

If the alarm dialer is the type that simply dials a number (e.g. your mobile) and plays a recorded message then it should work with a VoIP system, provided it's plugged into an ATA. (standalone device or ATA port on router)

The dialing tones that it generates would be the same as those from any regular analog phone plugged into that ATA.

The ATA simulates a regular analog line so any device that behaves like a bog standard phone should work (don't try pulse dialing though)

The dialer might fail if it didn't recognise the blueface dialtone as a genuine dialtone, or if there was too much delay after dialing the last digit and blueface connecting the call (these settings can be tweaked afaik)

The "VoIP can distort the tones" problem happens when you try to connect a device like an analog modem or fax machine to an ATA.

If the dialer is trying to make an internet connection (i.e. it contains an analog modem) then those 'buzzes and whistles' that the modem makes can get mangled resulting in a very high error and retry rate or no connection at all.

Setting the modem to the slowest most fault tolerant rate may help.

Fax machines and Sky digiboxes suffer the same type of problems, though some people have reported getting them to work.

bullets

Just an update. The Yale system works fine with Smart Telecom.

~B