Tag Archives: DualCom

Upgrading from Redcare or downgrading your insurance? that is the question?

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The BSIA has recently become involved in the row regarding the swapping out of Redcare units for other products such as Emizon and Dual-com. So why is there a problem? Well some installers have taken it upon themselves to swap out the communicator used to send signals through to the central station without the knowledge of their own customers. The reason for this is simple , the margins are greater for the installer and both Emizon and Dual-com do exactly the same job so why not. Well essentially its a technicality. Its all down to the grading. Redcare is a grade 4 product and the monitoring price reflects this. Emizon and Dualcom can be either grade 2,3 or 4. The problem does not lie with the manufacturers but with the alarm installers . Some have tried to maximise profits during hard times by putting in grade 2 communicators where previously they were grade 4 and this has given the insurance companies the opportunity to wriggle out of claims if they so chose. Of course the buck will stop with the installer in the end as the loss adjusters come after them and a large claim could put him out of business , but in many cases they were going to the wall anyway and by adding monitoring income to the balance sheets they have been able to keep their heads above water.

So what is the answer. Well both Emizon and Dual-com are as good as Redcare, the simple fact is that the installer must keep their customer informed and the customer must inform their insurance company and in truth the installer should pass some of the savings back to the customer, but in this day and age will they?.

Policed intruder alarms

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Most insurance companies insist on an intruder alarm that is policed. This is obviously to minimise their risk and ensure that the end user installs a system that is from an accredited company such as an NSI installer.

The Police however have had a gutful of of call outs that have been generated as a result of false alarms and have therefore insisted on strict critera before they will attend any alarm call.

Confirmation is the main item they insist on and this can take one of 3 formats

Sequential confirmation

Audible confirmation

Or visual confirmation

Each of the above use a technique that ensures there are two factors involved in the process of signalling before the police can be called.

By far the most common form of of confirmation is sequential.This is a method whereby the alarm panel will need to process two signals from two separate devices within the building before sending a code to the central station that confirms movement in the premises .The number of  false policed alarms has reduced dramatically since this technique has been enforced.

Another factor insurance companies look for is secure  dual path signalling. This is where the panel is connected to a Dualcom or Redcare or Emizon. These signalling devices provide two paths to the central station the first over the phone line the second over GPRS or GSM. Each of the above have their own particular features but in essence all provide the dual path signalling that insurance companies insist upon.

If a premises loses policing or has not had policing in the six month previous a new application to the police must be sought .This often causes problems as many systems will need an upgrade to the latest European regs  in order to comply .

So if your premises requires a policed response please contact us and we can fill you in on all the critiera you will need to ensure you can get police cover.

Panels that are commonly used to ensure a policed response incude

Risco

Castle

Galaxy

Pyronix

Europlex

CCTV Solutions

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Here at Integrated CCTV we are striving to bring you the latest CCTV news from the industry . New products can be found on this site including the latest offerings from:

Avigilon

Arecont

Alhua Technology

360 vision technology

Basler

Axis IP camera

Bosch,

Brickcom

Cisco,

Custodian monitoring

Dual com,

VCL Dome camera,

Dallmeier

FLIR

HD CCTV

Milestone,

Maxxess

March networks,

motobotix,

Mayflex

Panasonic

Paxton

Redcare,

Risco

Siemans

Samsung

Sony

Vicon,

Videx,

Videcon,

veracity UK ltd

Xtralis

Plenty to look at search the site to find blogs and updates on all the CCTV products in the news.

DualCom GPRS

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CSL DualCom GPRS.

CSL have always actively challenged Redcare when it comes to dual path signalling solutions. With Dualcom GPRS they have produced a hardware platform that can monitor any grade of security installation. Each grade has a sliding scale of charges to ensure you only pay for the monitoring you need depending on the grade of install.

Vodaphone.

The dualCom uses the Vodaphone network in conjunction with the main telephone path to transmit alarm signals. This is the case even if the the telephone path is IP. Many customers find much comfort in dual path signalling and most insurance companies insist on it , whats more it helps confirm alarms in the event that one of the signalling paths is deliberately attacked. This technology has been continuously improved since its development in 1996.

Partnership.

DualCom formed a strong partnership with Vodaphone because of its reliability , speed and above all its integrity. Other benefits include a fixed tariff so this allows unlimited transmissions from either path but with no additional cost. It is not beholden to the BT network so it can be used on any line providers signalling path. If there is no phone line on site the GPRS can be deployed to at least give one route to the central station.

Can it share lines with existing communication equipment?

It can share existing telephone lines with no interference to the operation of other signalling or communication equipment. All in all DualCom has become recognised as a very stable and cost effective solution for alarm signalling to your central station.

Conclusion.

With insurance companies now fully on-board and DualComs reliability accepted as second to none, the product will continue to challenge in the monitoring market place very strongly.