Universal Alarm Communicators
If you have an older system that you want to keep using for alarm monitoring service, then it is likely you will need to upgrade the communicator at some point. This is a very important piece of equipment for an alarm system. An alarm system uses its communicator to send out signals to a central monitoring station during alarm events. It may also use a communicator receive commands from an interactive service platform like Total Connect 2.0, Alarm.com, or Telguard HomeControl Flex. Since you need your alarm system to report out reliably, having a good communication path is crucial.
Most alarm communicators are designed for either a specific panel or a very select range of systems from the same manufacturer. But universal alarm communicators are somewhat unique. These communicators tend to ignore system manufacturers and instead work across a very wide range of systems. Often, these systems are from completely different manufacturers. The way that this works is by having the universal alarm communicator connect with alarm panels in a manner that will work with a large variety of totally different systems.
One common way for a universal alarm communicator to work is to takeover the telephone dialer for the security panel. When the system needs to send out a signal, it will think that it is doing so through a phone line. But really, that phone signal is being taken by the communicator so that the signal can be sent out across a completely different path. This alternative communication path is typically more reliable and faster than phone line communication. What the communicator is doing in this case is taking a communication method that works with the panel and allowing it to work across something that is more effective and better-suited for alarm monitoring.
Many older panels have phone dialers. Security systems had to rely on POTS (plain old telephone service) communication before better communication paths like cellular and IP became available. What a universal alarm communicator will do is take the telephone signal and instead transmit it across a cellular network. Cellular communication is known for being extremely reliable, and modern LTE networks are extremely fast. Using a universal alarm communicator to make your system work across cellular is a great way for you to extend the life of your older system.
One example of a universal alarm communicator is the Telguard TG-1 Express. This device will take the phone signal for an older alarm system and have it work across a cellular network. By using the Telguard TG-1 Express, you can have your panel connect with the Telguard HomeControl Flex service. This is an excellent interactive platform for controlling your system remotely. The TG-1 Express is also highly versatile, and it works with most panels that have a phone dialer. There are some older panels that do not support contact ID reporting, which means that they cannot be used with the TG-1.You can always ask us for clarification to see if your older system would work with a TG-1. The TG-1 Express has options for AT&T LTE and Verizon LTE.