*******************
lock out codes
******************
Ken,
     Thanks for the great forum presented for dealers who care to go that extra mile to learn about the industry.
    Regarding lockout codes, I use them (plural).  My unlock policy is simple; the communication data is mine, Mr. Customer acknowledged that by signing the "ALL IN ONE" and the dealer code is never revealed.  If a customer properly cancels (liabilities again), we will then contact them to remove the data and return the code to factory default at no charge.  If they owe me money, (and that includes any extra I spend on trying to get my money), it is retained until the account is satisfied.  I've done my best operate ethically In the 35+ years I've been in the industry, so I do not have too many good things to say about those dealers who refuse to unlock a panel or will only unlock it for a fee if they have no actual rights to it.
    Way back in the early days, the lockout feature was sold primarily to help a dealer retain a customer.  Strong-arm methods?  Probably so, but it obviously worked and worked well.  It was simple economics that faced a customer looking to save $2.00 a month by switching.  The lockout codes are still being used primarily for customer retention but many dealers overlook the most obvious benefit and the one that should be staunchly used when defending their practices.  Tampering and liabilities!  Forget about your competition and the few bucks you could lose.  What will those extra 2000 phone calls add to your toll-free phone bill when the panel sends undefined signal?  How much will your rates rise after the insurance company spends $30K on attorneys defending you when "your" alarm didn't function?  (You know the customer would never admit to changing the system around.)  How will you (and the industry) look to the responders when they're sent rolling on false dispatches?  All very possible due to tampering?
    I am beginning to see a trend where customers experiment with all their electronic devices, expecting the security system to react to their own personal logic.  Consumers are becoming more savvy and brave, and to some, the mystery of electronics and programming have been put aside.  Installation and programming instructions are as easy to find as typing in GOOGLE and as such empowers the experimenting consumer with the ability to make changes.  Company lockout codes are not far behind and I'll bet I can find a few out there if I had the desire and time.  Of mention also is the fact that parts are readily available via the web and since the consumer can buy a wireless smoke detector for a third of what they need to pay you, it's elementary.  What about the side job technicians out there?  Want to monitor fire connected to a residential panel at that restaurant?  Ask yourself what can happen when a customer downloads the installation and programming instructions for his alarm system and starts changing the parameters mistakenly thinking he knows better than the alarm dealer.  I can list a bucketful of negative answers and they all affect YOU and your bottom line.
Al DeMarzo
DFW ALARM
******************
question re AlarmPath
******************
Ken:
    Does AlarmPath make a hardwired version of the AP-D200?
John Mathis
*****************
Response
******************
    I'll need RIchard Moreau to respond to this question [and how about the questions I raised in my article on August 15, 2012 - Does this wireless device satisfy UL for certified systems?  AHJs?  Fire fire alarms?  How about in NYC fire?]
******************  
more comment on the AlarmPath product
*****************
    Devices that divert the central station reporting path from one central station  to another solve only a portion of the lockout code issue.  They allow an alarm company to move the account to their own centrals station.  However the dealer is still locked out of being able to program the panel.  This means that in a wireless system should a transmitter fail, a new device will not be able to be enrolled as a replacement nor will a new one be able to be added for system expansion.  Changing of features will not be possible, Even getting a full listing of all reporting codes will be locked out, which is important in systems that transmit in older formats such as 4x2.
          The CRN device is not a NRTL listed device for protective signaling and should not be used for the transmission of commercial burglar or fire alarms.
Mark S. Fischer
www.systemssupportspecialists.com
*******************
Keep Your IP
******************
Ken
    Everyday POT's (Plain Old Telephone) lines are getting phased out, just like in the late 70's the alarm industry is in a transition, back then it was from copper
telephone circuits to 800 dial up, today it's from dial up to IP (Internet Protocol)
So whether its transmission medium is over copper, Fiber/Ethernet or using a
cellular radios its still IP signaling.
    When the digital dialer was introduced to the central stations and alarm dealers started using toll free numbers (800's) for the panels to dial, this was for 2 reasons, the first was so that the subscribers didn't incur the cost of the phone
calls but more importantly so that the dealer or central station could easily move
the termination point for the call very quickly.
    When toll free portability was easily accomplished it changed the way the alarm industry worked. It allowed not only for disaster recovery and other redundancy plans but it also drastically altered the way accounts were bought and sold.  Now for a dealer to purchase another they could transfer the accounts in a very short amount of time to anywhere with very little technical effort.  
    Now with new Technology advancements today, it's a different story.  Many of the IP based alarm panels and radios transmit to the central station receivers using a fixed or static IP address, this certainly is the best, most secure, and direct method but it also doesn't allow a dealer to transfer their accounts in the event of a sale or in the need to move central stations because the static IP address is controlled by central station through their ISP (Internet Service Provider).  IP addresses ARE NOT PORTABLE and will never be according to ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers) a non - profit organization that controls all IP addresses in the world.
    This is where KeepYouIP comes in, what we do is rent the dealer or central station static IP's of their own. We have the ability to route the IP signaling to any
central station monitoring center in the world.  KeepYourIP has a direct
relationship & partnership with ARIN to provide IP addresses to our clients.
    For smaller central stations this gives them the flexibility to use any ISP
(Internet Service Provider) they want because the IP addresses from KeepYouIP can be routed to any static IP without the need to use BGP (Border Gateway Protocol).
For the alarm dealers, this means that once again they now can be independent and can sell accounts or move central stations without having to reprogram all the panels in the field.
    KeepYouIP has 3 data centers, one on each coast, it's recommended that you always rent 2 for redundancy, that way if there is ever an outage you always have two independent routes already in place.  Visit us at www.keepyourip.com to learn more on how you can start taking control of your IP alarm signals.
Davin Roos
www.keepyourip.com
**************