Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Concord Express paging Sprint phone

Hi All,

I have a Concord Express system that I inherited with the house that I bought. I have full control over it and I wanted to setup paging so the numeric page will be sent to my Sprint phone. I am aware that it can not be sent directly to the phone (since it is not a pager) so after some search, O found that Sprint has a "pager" number designed for automated systems. The number is 1-888-656-1727 and after connection is established the PIN is my Sprint phone number. I can not figure out the correct way how to enter this into Concord Express setup paging number. Let's say my Sprint number is 555-555-5555. I tried:

188865617275555555555
18886561727**5555555555

I read somewhere that "#2" is used as a "wait for pick up" command in some systems, so I tried:

18886561727#25555555555

And I do not get anything. Any help on how to set it up on Concord Express would be aprpeciated. I saw some previous older posts of people using that system and one recommendation was to use numericpage.com which does not exist anymore (it is some advertising site now). So this is not an option either.

Experts, please help!

Thanks.

Sometimes, the best way to work this kind of thing out, is to try dialing the number yourself from a normal phone, and keep notes of the responses that the system wants. It may be something as simple as instead of a wait for pickup, you need a few seconds delay (that wait for pickup thing is normally for systems that you don't get a normal dialtone until after a external access command is entered), because it has to spit out a recorded prompt before it will take input.

Thanks for your reply. Actually, I tried just that and I think this number is not for that. This number is for TAP interface so when I dial it, I hear a "modem noise" like it is trying to establish connection. I don't think Concord Express uses TAP, it just dials the pager number entered and sends dial-tones. So I guess the only way is to find a service that does just that - accepts this type of call and converts the page to SMS message.

Unfortunately, it looks like it is not a good business since Numericpage.com as well as another alternative that I found by Googling are both out of business. I could not find any other company providing similar service. Anyone knows another one?

Yes, the only thing a panel like this can produce is standard DTMF (touchtone) tones. If this Sprint interface is looking for something more elaborate, like a modem type input, then you are out of luck.

What you can try if there is a direct number for your voice mail. Often, one of the options is to send a page to the number you are trying to reach. That is usually a standard touchtone entry pager interface.

If you are able to find the right service for this, you might want to take a look in programming under "PHONE OPTIONS" then under GLOBAL there is a feature called PAGER DELAY. You can monkey with the delay settings in here....

What you can try if there is a direct number for your voice mail. Often, one of the options is to send a page to the number you are trying to reach. That is usually a standard touchtone entry pager interface.Yea, I thought about that and it would work for me dreat... unfortunately Sprint does not have direct to voicemail number!! I searched high and low and there are some old "backdoor" numbers which are basically a crapshoot. I can't believe it. All other providers seem to have some number you can call so that you go directly into v.mail, but Sprint does not - it will call your number, and then if your phone does not pick up it will go into voice mail. Unbelievable... :wall:

Thanks for the input. Looks like I am SOL on this issue and will have to deal without the paging option. My alarm is monitored by NextAlarm so it was not a must have as in self-monitoring situation... but I still wanted to be notified about open/close events and alarm. Bummer.

Well, problem solved so I just wanted to update the thread in case if anyone else needs this. NextAlarm provides email notification service (free) for all reports. So all I needed to do is enter my Sprint email address and now I get instant text message when any event occurs. It is actually much better then built-in paging since I don't have to decypher pager codes since NextAlarm sends description of the event and all the related info. Very cool!!

Thanks for the update; that _is_ very cool.

I'm looking for new a monitoring service myself. What other goodies do they offer? Can you add/edit your zones online without having to get somebody on the phone? Place the account on test?

Thanks for the update; that _is_ very cool.

I'm looking for new a monitoring service myself. What other goodies do they offer? Can you add/edit your zones online without having to get somebody on the phone? Place the account on test?

Yes to both. So far, I absolutely love the flexibility of NextAlarm. You can add/remove sensors on-line; configure type of sensor and appropriate response per EACH sensor (ex. police, fire, paramedic, log only, etc.) which is very useful. Before I switched from ADT, I added one door sensor and either the door was not closing well (vibrated) or the sensor was not positioned correctly... I had two false alarms in one week with cops showing up. Well, this functionality (to configure response for each sensor) would be VERY useful if I had it then. Now when I switched to NextAlarm, I relocated that sensor and put it to "Log Only" mode on-line temporarily. So now I am monitoring it to make sure it does not triger accidentially and if it does, I will get notification but cops will not be called. All other sensors are armed normally. Once I confirm that I don't get false alarms anymore, I will flip it to normal response.

You can place the system into test mode for various time intervals and it will automatically switch to normal mode after that period expires. Besides the e-mail notifications, they also have voice notifications that you can configure - you would get a voice call in addition to email/text message notification. I don't use it since SMS message is enough for me.

They have a bunch of other features that I have not fully explored yet. You can add cameras if you wish. You can also access status over smart phone / PDA. My Sprint phone is Mogul model and I can access NextAlarm mobile website from anwyhere to check the status, etc.

All that for $11.95/mo vs. $30 that I was paying to ADT that did not have all that functionality. I am happy.

Keep in mind that I know my system very well, I have the installer's manual and I feel very comfortable programming it myself - like adding sensors, configuring reporting, etc. This is important when you use service like NextAlarm since you have control over everything.

Good luck!

Thanks for the detailed response! This was EXACTLY what I've been looking for.

Will be setting up my account on Monday.

Thanks again!

Sure thing. If you have any questions, let me know. I am not an expert by any means, I've only been with them for two weeks or so, but it is very straight forward and I'll be happy to help if I can.

Cheers.