13
PALS Installation Manual
CRISIS CONTROLLER©™ HARDWARE (continued)
The Serial Receiver connects to a COM port (RS232 serial port) on the
monitoring computer. The Serial Receiver translates digital signals
from the system transmitters into a stream of serial data for the Crisis
Controller©™ software to interpret.
Installation:
The Serial Receiver connects to the PC serial port using a 3-wire serial
cable which has a DB25 or DB9 connector on one end (which is attached
to the PC), and 3 loose connections on the other (which are attached
to the Serial Receiver via its 4-position terminal block). The 3 loose
connections attach as follows, pin 2 from the DB25 or DB9 to Data In,
pin 3 to Data Out, and pin 7 to Ground.
The serial protocols are not true RS232. However, the Serial Receiver will work with
most standard PC serial ports which provide a +12VDC and -12VDC signal.
Once the serial cable has been attached, apply power via the included 12VDC power
source. The Serial Receiver can be placed up to 150 feet from the PC. For greater
distances, serial line drivers can be used. It should be mounted in a vertical position with
antennas upright. It is recommended that the antennas should never come near metal
objects.
Repeaters need to be located for maximum contribution to the
system. They should be located in areas where transmission
strength is marginal. This can be determined by special signal
strength measuring equipment (available through Actall® Corp.)
or using Crisis Controller in “Test Mode”, which displays signal
margin and signal level of each transmitter (see the Actall®
User Manual). Repeater functions are not to be confused with
IR or RF locating devices. Repeaters should be used when signal
strength tests indicate marginal or weak signal conditions, or to
provide redundant transmission pathways in critical sites. The RF
transmission strength throughout any site should be determined
by a site survey. The Repeater will re-transmit incoming weak
signals at a higher strength. They can be used to extend the effective range of transmitters and to permit coverage
of large sites. As many Repeaters as needed may be deployed, as special decoding features prevent “runaway”
repetition of transmissions.
Serial Receiver
Repeaters