Local Alert: About
The ALTA Wireless Local Alert provides three additional ways to receive critical notifications and sensor readings from iMonnit. The Local Alert flashes a red LED, sounds an audible alarm, and displays the important message upon receiving a notification. The Local Alert can also be used to display sensor readings from any sensor on the same account.
INSIDE THE BOX
You should find the following items in the box:
- ALTA Wireless Local Alert
- Antenna
- 5V Power Supply
- Four AA Batteries
- Mounting Screws
ALTA WIRELESS LOCAL ALERT QUICK START
1. Create an iMonnit user account as shown here.
2. Add wireless gateway(s) and sensor(s) to the network, as shown here.
3. Add the Local Alert device to the sensor network.
4. Power on the gateway and verify it checks into iMonnit.
5. Power on the sensors.
6. Power on the Local Alert (batteries or line power).
7. Set up notifications to use the Local Alert.
8. Test the Local Alert by triggering a notification.
1. Backlit LCD shows sensor readings, notifications, and status
2. Red LED for visual alerts
3. Speaker for audible alerts
4. Control button for viewing/deleting messages
5. Power on/off switch
6. SMA antenna port
7. Line-power supply port
8. Battery compartment (four 1.5V AA type batteries)
9. Screw slots for wall mounting
THE LOCAL ALERT INTERFACE
ALTA WIRELESS LOCAL ALERT FEATURES
- Three alarm types: Flashing red LED, alarm tones, and custom message display
- Sounds a unique alarm tone sequence when it receives multiple notifications
- Each alarm setting is configurable in iMonnit.
- The LCD shows device name, custom message or sensor reading, and notification time
- Stores up to 10 notifications/readings
- Reports the number of notifications and sensor readings saved on the Local Alert to iMonnit
- Battery-powered, line-powered, or both
- Configurable alarm and snooze intervals
- Configurable Heartbeat and Poll Rate (how often the Local Alert checks the gateway for notifications)
- Displays the status bar while on line power
- Instantly receives notifications from the gateway when using line power and in a sleep state
- Power-saving features automatically enabled to extend battery life
- Wireless range of 1,200+ feet through 12+ walls 1
- Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
- Best-in-class interference immunity
- Best-in-class power management for longer battery life 2
- Encrypt-RF® Security (Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange + AES-128 CBC for sensor data messages)
- Data logs 2000 to 4000 readings if the gateway connection is lost (non-volatile flash, persists through the power cycle):
- 10-minute heartbeats = ~ 22 days
- 2-hour heartbeats = ~ 266 days
- Over-the-air updates (future-proof)
- Free iMonnit Basic Online Wireless Sensor Monitoring and Notification System to configure sensors, view data, and set alerts to be sent via SMS text, email, or call.
1 Actual range may vary depending on the environment.
2 Battery life is determined by the sensor reporting frequency and other variables. Other power options are also available.
LOCAL ALERT - PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
The ALTA Wireless Local Alert device receives messages (notifications and sensor readings) from iMonnit and delivers alarms via a flashing red LED, tones, and LCD. The Local Alert receives messages, generated in iMonnit, wirelessly through a gateway connected to the iMonnit server, so notifications can be received locally where someone is most capable of responding to a critical condition.
The Local Alert displays notifications and sensor messages. Notifications are messages generated by iMonnit's notification system when a sensor sends data through an ALTA Gateway after it detects a change to a user-defined condition. Notifications can be triggered by sensor specific conditions or even conditions in the iMonnit system. Sensor messages are sensor data messages forwarded from iMonnit to the Local Alert through the Local Alert's gateway. These sensor messages can be generated when data from any ALTA Sensor is received in iMonnit.
When the Local Alert receives a notification, it can set off an audio-visual alarm comprised of a loud 85 dB buzzer, an ultra-bright red flashing LED, and an LCD displaying a custom message to alert the user of a critical condition in their sensor network. After the alarm sounds, with a press of the button, the user can clear the alarm, view a custom notification, the time the notification was sent, and which device detected the critical condition. The button can also be used to clear notifications and reset the device.
When notifications are cleared on the Local Alert an acknowledgment message is also sent from the Local Alert to iMonnit through the Local Alert's gateway. Be aware that acknowledging/clearing notifications in iMonnit will not clear notifications already received on the Local Alert. Messages already received can only be removed from the Local Alert by button holds, resetting the Local Alert, power cycling, or being overridden by more recent messages.
The Local Alert can be set as a device to receive notifications using iMonnit's standard notification interface. Within this interface the Local Alert's specific alarms (LED, buzzer, scrolling message, backlight) can be set along with all of the other standard notification features already available. The Local Alert can also be set up to display sensor messages from other sensors on your iMonnit account. The Local Alert does not communicate directly with sensors. The Local Alert receives all messages (notifications and sensor messages) from iMonnit.
When the Local Alert hasn't received any notifications and is on line power, it will display the status bar indicating the state of the Local Alert and the local time in military format. The Local Alert can also display sensor readings from any sensor on the same account. Sensor readings, unlike notifications, do not cause alarms to trigger, do not display automatically, and can't override notifications already saved in memory. To view and scroll through sensor readings the user must press the button.
The Local Alert can save up to 10 messages in memory at any given time. If it exceeds 10 messages, the oldest message is deleted. Notifications take priority over sensor readings in the memory, so when the memory is full and a new notification is received, sensor readings are deleted before deleting notifications. If the memory is full of notifications sensor readings will be ignored until there is an unoccupied memory slot or a slot with an older sensor reading. The Local Alert can be reset by pressing and holding the button for 10 seconds. This is the preferred reset method because this will send a clear-all message to the server prior to the reset. Turning the switch off only clears messages locally, thus the messages on the server may remain unacknowledged.