Frequently Asked Questions
RFC-1/B Does Not Place Alarm Calls
This discussion assumes a normally working RFC-1/B system. The telephone line is the most likely path for lightning so it is possible and perhaps even likely that a system that will not call has suffered lightning damaged.
This is probably the most frequent tech support issue and the fact is there is no single answer. The RFC-1/B is a very flexible device that can be configured many ways.
From the factory the RFC-1/B is programmed to place voice mode calls for all alarms. This document assumes that this is the desired behavior. If you have a more involved setup then you should be familiar enough with the RFC-1/B to adjust it for the specific behavior required using this document to guide your troubleshooting efforts.
This document is compiled from procedures our tech support staff have used for many years. Issues most likely to occur and easiest to address are presented first. Items that are often overlooked but require more involved procedures to correct appear later in the document.
The only practical way to test the telemetry alarms is to be on site with the RFC-1/B. You cannot adjust the system to an out of tolerance condition from a remote location using the RFC-1/B and then expect it to generate an alarm. If it worked this way you would never be able to shut down your transmitter without generating an alarm.
Please use this resource. Every procedure that we can tell you on the phone is presented here in just enough detail. When you call for support we don't have secret or undocumented codes to solve problems–there are none. This is it. Troubleshooting is a process of elimination. Knowing how to troubleshoot is what makes you the station engineer. We just provide the tools to help.
Testing Procedure
Incorrect testing procedure is the most common issue when testing alarms. Your procedure must mimic how the system works in the real world. Do not get in a rush and make this simple mistake.
- Setup your external device(s) to the normal operating condition–within the alarm limits that are programmed.
- Connect to the system from either the local phone or dial in and gain access past the main security code.
- Enter the hang up command
99. Alarms are not scanned when the RFC-1 is online with a user so you must hang up. - Wait approximately 30 seconds. This is critical! You must give the system time to disconnect and make a baseline scan of the alarm channels in the normally operating condition. The scan is triggered by the previous steps.
- Adjust the device that is being monitored out of tolerance using the controls on the device itself. Here is a hint: a zero voltage condition can be simulated by removing the pluggable connector for the appropriate telemetry source on the RP-8 relay panel.
- Typically the RFC-1 will detect the alarm and begin dialing within several seconds. The number of alarms in use will determine the worst case delay which is 10 seconds per alarm in use. In actual operation this rarely occurs but in testing it might happen. It is best to wait a couple of minutes if several alarms are used.
Perform this procedure exactly as described for every test.
Telemetry Alarm Enable
The telemetry alarms have a master enable/disable setting. This allows you to disable the alarm system without altering the individual alarms. Telemetry alarms must be enabled to work.
To enable the telemetry alarms:
- Connect to the system from either the local or remote phone
- To read and reprogram the telemetry alarm status, enter the command
82 - The RFC-1/B will respond with "telemetry alarm status" followed by a digit
- A reading of 0 indicates the alarms are disabled, 1 indicates they are enabled
- After reading the setting the RFC-1/B will say "press pound to reprogram"
- If you need to enable the alarms, press the pound (#) key
- The RFC-1/B will respond, "enter one digit"
- Press 1 and the RFC-1/B will say "OK"
Telemetry alarms are enabled.
Power Failure Alarm Enable
The power failure alarm has an enable/disable setting just like the telemetry alarms. Assuming other factory settings are intact, enabling the power failure alarm is an easy way to test the ability of the system to make an alarm call without requiring any alarm limits to be programmed.
To enable the power failure alarm:
- Connect to the system from either the local or remote phone
- To read and reprogram the power failure alarm status, enter the command
81 - The RFC-1/B will respond with "power failure alarm status" followed by a digit
- A reading of 0 indicates the alarm is disabled, 1 indicates it is enabled
- After reading the setting the RFC-1/B will say "press pound to reprogram"
- If you need to enable the alarm, press the pound (#) key
- The RFC-1/B will respond, "enter one digit"
- Press 1 and the RFC-1/B will say "OK"
The power failure alarm is enabled. Cycle the power to the system to generate a power failure alarm.
Telephone Numbers
If the phone numbers are not programmed correctly, the system cannot dial them. The RFC-1/B can store up to six telephone numbers.
Fill the telephone numbers in order, first, second, third, etc. The RFC-1/B dials the available telephone numbers in a loop. The dialing loop stops when a blank number is encountered. If the first number is left blank, no dialing occurs.
Follow the appropriate link in the "Links" section (above and right) for instructions to program telephone numbers.
Testing the Dialing Capability
It is easy to test the RFC-1/B dialing ability using the power failure alarm. Program the first telephone number, enable the telemetry alarm and cycle power to the RFC-1/B. The system should begin dialing several seconds after power is applied.
If the test succeeds, the RFC-1 can dial the numbers when appropriate conditions exist. You can skip down to the discussion on alarm settings.
If the test fails, there is either a hardware problem or a more involved programming issue.
Dialing Method (Pulse/Tone)
The default dialing method for the RFC-1 is pulse dialing. It may seem strange but pulse dialing has been around a long time and it is very effective. For services that do not respond to pulse dialing tone dialing can be enabled.
Follow the appropriate link in the "Links" section (above and right) for instructions to adjust the dialing method.
Overview of the Alarm System
When the RFC-1 is shipped from the factory all alarms–including the power failure alarm–are set to trigger action sequence 1 when tripped. An "action sequence" is what we call a stored series of instructions in the RFC-1/B.
Action sequences perform the programmed task when triggered by an alarm (or by the clock & calendar). In the factory settings, action sequence 1 has one instruction: call all available telephone numbers. All other action sequences are blank.
Using this information we can see that when an alarm occurs, action sequence 1 triggers which causes the RFC-1/B to call the telephone numbers. So if action sequence 1 is accidently changed the system may not be able to make alarm calls.
Reprogramming Action Sequence 1
In the steps above we have already covered making sure that the telephone numbers are programmed and that the alarms are enabled. If the power failure alarm test described above fails, the most likely problem is that action sequence 1 has been changed and it no longer contains the dialing instruction.
Please be aware that we have no idea what programming changes have been made in your specific system. This procedure may solve the immediate problem but if, against recommendations in our manuals and online help, action sequence 1 has been programmed to perform another task in your system, there may be side effects that we have no way to predict.
For example, suppose a station uses the RFC-1/B to perform automatic power changes. If action sequence 1 has been programmed to perform a power change then following this procedure will eliminate that behavior and replace it with telephone calls triggered by the clock when the power change should occur.
Make sure you understand the possible consequences of your actions before following this procedure. By following this procedure you accept full responsibility for your actions including any unexpected system changes and resulting behavioral changes that may occur.
These instructions will reset action sequence 1 to contain only the factory default dialing instruction.
Use the programming security code from your system when prompted at line 3.
- Connect to the RFC-1/B from either the local phone or a remote call.
- Once you have access to the system, enter programming mode:
80 - The RFC-1/B will prompt for the advanced programming security code:
4150 - The RFC-1/B will prompt for a four digit address:
0724 - The RFC-1/B will repeat the address and wait for a command.
- Enter the first digit of the action sequence:
9 - Press the pound key to write the data at the address:
# - Enter the second digit of the action sequence:
0 - Press the pound key to write the data at the address:
# - Enter the third digit of the action sequence:
15 - Press the pound key to write the data at the address:
# - Exit the programming mode immediately by pressing the star key:
*
It is important to press * and exit programming mode after the final value is entered.
The third digit blanks out the first digit of the next instruction to make sure the sequence terminates after dialing.
Retry the power failure test it failed earlier. If it fails again the problem is most likely a result of hardware failure.
Alarm Settings
At this point you should have positive indication that the system is capable of dialing the telephone using the power failure alarm test. If that is true then the only remaining items are the telemetry alarm settings.
The easiest way to read and program alarm settings is to use prompted programming commands 90 through 97. Each command reads and optionally allows reprogramming of one of the alarms, A-H. Command 90 controls alarm A; command 91 alarm B, command 92 alarm C, etc. The commands should be self-explanatory.
The telemetry alarms can be used in any order and any alarm can be used to monitor any physical channel.
Channel Number
When reading the alarm settings, if the channel is set to 64 then that alarm is not being used. Channel 64 cannot exist therefore it is used to disable an alarm.
Alarm Limits
A very common error is to program the alarm with improper limits for the channel. When programming upper and lower limits all four digits are critical.
To determine limits correctly, take a reading on the channel that the alarm monitors. Ignore any decimal point. If the reading is not four digits long, pad the left side of the reading with zeros until the number is four digits long. Generate your upper and lower limits using this number as the basis.
For example, if a channel reads "100.0 percent" all four digits are accounted for so just drop the decimal. However, if a channel reads "100 percent" then the leading zero has been suppressed and the actual reading for alarm purposes is "0100 percent".
Alarm Action Sequence Setting
At this point you have a choice. If you are comfortable with advanced programming mode in the RFC-1/B then you can continue troubleshooting through the next sections without much difficulty.
If you are not familiar with advanced programming mode then it may be easier to just reprogram your alarms using the pages in the support area that generate step-by-step programming instructions.
This section describes the link between an alarm and an action sequence. It is difficult only in that it is a little abstract.
Each of the alarms A-H is linked to a corresponding action sequence 1-8. As discussed earlier, the default setting is for all alarms to trigger action sequence 1 which holds the dialing instruction.
Any alarm can be programmed to trigger any action sequence. Furthermore, the action sequence can contain any valid instructions to generate a specific behavior. Alarms do not have to generate phone calls but this is typically the desired behavior.
The action sequence settings for each alarm can only be accessed in advanced programming mode. These settings are hidden when using the basic programming commands 90-97 described above to prevent casual users from changing them.
From the programming address table in the RFC-1/B manual we can find the address at which the alarms are stored. Within each alarm we find an address that stores the action sequence that is called when the alarm trips.
- The action sequence triggered by alarm A is stored at address 0855
- The action sequence triggered by alarm B is stored at address 0867
- The action sequence triggered by alarm C is stored at address 0879
- The action sequence triggered by alarm D is stored at address 0891
- The action sequence triggered by alarm E is stored at address 0903
- The action sequence triggered by alarm F is stored at address 0915
- The action sequence triggered by alarm G is stored at address 0927
- The action sequence triggered by alarm H is stored at address 0939
An example is the best way to illustrate this adjustment. Suppose alarm A monitors output power and it needs to be set so that it triggers action sequence 1. Look up the address for the action sequence of alarm A in the list above–0855.
Use the programming security code from your system when prompted at line 3.
- Connect to the RFC-1/B from either the local phone or a remote call.
- Once you have access to the system, enter programming mode:
80 - The RFC-1/B will prompt for the advanced programming security code:
4150 - The RFC-1/B will prompt for a four digit address:
0855 - The RFC-1/B will repeat the address and wait for a command.
- Enter the number of the action sequence to trigger:
1 - Press the pound key to write the data at the address:
# - Exit the programming mode immediately by pressing the star key:
*
Telephone Number Call Mode (Voice/Data)
We have nearly exhausted all options. A minor point that can cause dialing failure is to program a telephone number to be dialed using a data connection with a voice mode call is intended.
Each telephone number A-F has an individually programmable dialing mode. Typically this should be set to 0 to indicate a voice mode call.
- the call mode for telephone number A is stored at address 0652
- the call mode for telephone number B is stored at address 0666
- the call mode for telephone number C is stored at address 0680
- the call mode for telephone number D is stored at address 0694
- the call mode for telephone number E is stored at address 0708
- the call mode for telephone number F is stored at address 0722
Again, an example is the best way to illustrate this adjustment. Suppose that telephone number A should be set to call in voice mode. Look up the address for the call mode for telephone number A in the list above–0652.
Use the programming security code from your system when prompted at line 3.
- Connect to the RFC-1/B from either the local phone or a remote call.
- Once you have access to the system, enter programming mode:
80 - The RFC-1/B will prompt for the advanced programming security code:
4150 - The RFC-1/B will prompt for a four digit address:
0652 - The RFC-1/B will repeat the address and wait for a command.
- Enter the setting for dialing in voice mode:
0 - Press the pound key to write the data at the address:
# - Exit the programming mode immediately by pressing the star key:
*
Conclusion
At this point all of the topics involved in repairing bad programming for the alarm system have been addressed. If the system is still not operating properly, either the hardware is damaged or the programming is terribly scrambled.
There are a couple of remaining options. The programming pages in the support area of the web site can generate step-by-step programming instructions for most common tasks.
The final option is to send the system for service. We can remove the main processor and reprogram it with the factory default settings for a clean start.