Electronic Alarms and Home Security Devices - Brinks 3000 CP error

our system started a cp alert a few weeks ago, my wife called brinks and they could not figure the problem out...my wife told me it sounded like a fax machine was running in the background.

I called last week, turns out the problem has to do with system not properly taking the telephone line and calling out if the phone is in use. So it tested fine if no one was on the phone, but wont test if there is (thus the dialing noise my wife heard...)

can anyone tell me how to correct this with out having a brinks tech coming to my house?

Does it work like a modem where I can set a dip (or reset) to perform the ATH command?

Thanks

Did you by chance change phone providers? Often when switching to "digital" phone service, the cable technician will simply plug the modem/ata into a nearby telephone jack, backfeeding the signal:madhell: . The problem is this allows dial tone to the incoming phones before the alarm system. To correct this, you will have to rewire the phones to ensure that the alarm system gets the dial tone before the house phones.


Good luck

did not switch. We have had voip (vonage) since we've had the alarm, (2 years) this just started happening. I swapped the lines that run from the vonage router to the brinks box and phone line, but still have the same error. the brinks computer is not sending the dialtone reset before dialing.

I'm wondering if it might be a setting in my phone that is ignoring the reset request...

It is weird that this would just start happening. Are you sure that this is just not the first time you have noticed it?

Here is a diagram showing how your RJ31X should be wired:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinders/2960375896/

When was the last time you had a signal come through correctly?

VOIP as sole communication for alarms systems is shaky at best, you need a cellular or IP communicator.

This is how brinks would fix it if you call for a technician

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinders/2960490996/

cant get to the flickr site...

just queried my wife again. the original problem was noticed when she was on the phone and heard the system trying to dial out (alarm not on set) very peculiar.

i'm thinking the odds of the phone being in use and the need for the system needing to activate are pretty remote, but i hate bugs like this.

Thanks.

Fixed the flickr site.


Here's what I think happened:


Your wife was on the phone at the same time the alarm tried to dial out for it's scheduled timer test. Apparently your alarm is not wired for line seizure so the alarm was not able to take the line, causing the CP error.

You need to get this resolved, just imagine what could have happend:

Wife is on the phone, alarm is set and somebody breaks in. She drops the phone and the alarm is never able to dial out....let your imagination finish the story:eek:

I have a POTS line, which is more reliable than VoIP, but I know it is not secure enough, which is why I use a cellular/IP backup.

Security is not something you should skimp on. Do it right.

thanks,

I'll look at the rj31x wiring, but as I mentioned there havent been any changes and this jump started happening out of hte blue.

one thing I failed to mention was that when the line dialed out with my wife on the phone, she was on the line with brinks, they had her run a cp test, and as you note the line seizure did not work.

Assuming the rj is wired correctkly, what else might cause the line seizure not to work?

If you are sure that there have been no changes since you had the alarm installed, then either Brink's wired the phone connection wrong (although they probally wired to the outside NID--which is correct with POTS) or you may have a bad RJ31X. Had you ever tested for line seizure before and had it work correctly?

I'm not aware of any test for line seizure ever being performed.

thh rj31x looks to be wired correctly so, maybe its bad.

Simple test:

Take the cover off the jack. Remove either of the two wires next to the plug. If the house phones lose dial tone, and the alarm still has a dial tone, then the jack is wired correctly.

If dial tone remains on the house lines, then the point where the wires are tied into the house lines was done wrong.