SI1
ADI Is Unable To Send Text Messages To Certain Cell Phone Providers.
This problem is usually a result of restrictions imposed
by the individual provider to help combat online spamming activities. Most providers
do, however, allow verified message senders (such as fire departments) to be placed
on their "white list" which lifts the sending restrictions. Providers
known to FDCMS that restrict inbound text messages are listed below. A White
list Request Form must be filled out and submitted to the provider(s). If your agency
needs assistance in submitting a WRF then we would be glad to help.
Affected Programs : ADI, Rapid Page
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI2
ADI does not automatically print dispatches and closes even though these events
are properly selected and mapped to the correct printer(s).
It is possible that the non-printing is due to the dial-up
modem not being properly configured through ADI. Make sure the make, model and baud
rate of your modem is properly selected on the Reception Properties form.
ADI needs to see the Carrier Detect signal from the modem
drop in order for it to automatically begin processing any received data. Improperly
configured modems may prevent the CD signal from being sent to ADI.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories:
All
Related Service Issues:
SI5
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI3
ADI does not display any installed printers in the pull-down combo boxes when running
in Service mode.
There can be two reasons for this.
1. When ADI is installed as a Windows Service in Windows
2000, by default, it is unable to retrieve the installed printers on that machine.
This is because Windows stores the installed printers list in the User section of
the registry. When ADI is running as a Service, it is forced to look for the
printers in the System hive of the registry.
In order for ADI to see the installed printers list it must be manually moved in
to the System hive of the registry. Microsoft Knowledge Base article #Q184291 addresses exactly how to perform this move.
It is important to know that any time you add or change the name of a printer, this
procedure must be repeated. Notice: Any time you
edit the Registry, you run the risk of corrupting a setting which can potentially
prevent your computer from restarting. Use caution!!!
2. While ADI is running
as a Windows Service, it has no access to any network printers therefore, they are
not listed in the Printing Selector. Windows will only allow ADI to use locally
connected printers, so because of that, only local printers will be displayed in
the ADI Printing Selector.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI4
ADI displays foreign or "garbage" characters on the screen and on the
printouts. Sometimes it is so bad that it even prevents our calls from
being printed or paged.
The cause of this problem is usually caused by noise on
the telephone line between the ADI dial-up modem and the dispatch center.
If the noise is on the dispatch center end then most likely multiple agencies are
seeing the noise. In most cases however, the noise is on your end - either in your
building or outside in the telco's wiring.
The bad connection can disrupt the data coming in to ADI
and can be seen at any point in the transmission. Foreign characters may be seen
before, after and worst yet, in the middle of your data. Noise in the middle of
your transmission is what will cause the most disruption of your received data,
printouts and pages.
Small amounts of telephone line noise do not usually cause
any noticeable disruption of data on territories that use modem error correction.
If there is a noisy line there then the modems will compensate for this and filter
the noise out. However, large amounts of line noise can prevent any data from
coming in.
The solution to this problem is to have all modem line
wiring, jacks and cords checked from the back of your modem to where it enters your
building. Have your telephone company check the outside cables if necessary. Worst
case, the noise could even be coming from inside your modem. It should then be replaced
to eliminate it as a potential source.
Note: Some modems will always generate noise on the screen
at the time the dispatch center disconnects from them. This is normal and is usually
manufacturer-specific. US Robotics seems to be the predominant manufacturer that
exhibits this behavior.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories: Chester PA
Last Reviewed:2/7/10
SI5
What procedure can I perform to reset my modem's settings back to the factory defaults?
When different software applications share a modem, each
app. may try to write a custom initialization string to the modem. In most cases
this is perfectly acceptable. However, all modems expose internal commands
that allow an application to not only change the init. string but to save that string
to the modem. When this happens, turning the modem off and then back on will not
reset the modem's memory. The downside to this is that when another application
must use the modem there may already be settings saved that will conflict with the
proper operation of the second application.
ADI is one application that has the capability of saving
its initialization string to the connected modem. This is ok because ADI shouldn't
be sharing its modem with anything else. It should always be dedicated to
the receipt of incident data and not used for other purposes such as paging, Internet
access, etc. If these functions must be accomplished on the ADI workstation
then it is strongly recommended that a second modem be installed in or attached
to the computer.
Follow these procedures to reset a modem back to the factory
defaults:
- Shut ADI Down so that it no longer has possession
of the modem.
- Start HyperTerminal by clicking Start /
Programs / Accessories / Communications / HyperTerminal.
- In the Connection Description box click Cancel.
- Press the Disconnect button on the tool bar.
- Press the Properties button on the tool bar.
- Select the com port that your modem is connected to
in the Connect Using: box and then click OK.
- In the white terminal window of HyperTerminal, type
AT&F. You should see the reply 'OK'.
- Next, type AT&W. You should again see the
reply 'OK'.
- Finally, click File / Exit / Yes.
Your modem is now defaulted.
- Restart ADI.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI6
My modem seems to only answer every other call?
This problem is associated with some versions of the US
Robotics modem line. What happens is ADI will tell the modem to go into auto-answer
mode. According to the modem's AA indicator, it received this command and is ready
to answer the next call on the first ring. However, the modem may not answer at
all. Usually, if you power the modem off and then on again the modem will answer
as it is supposed to. Obviously, this functionality is unacceptable for a system
that must be running 24 hours per day.
At this time, US Robotics claims the problem does not
exist and therefore they have not issued a fix for the problem. Through our
testing, we have confirmed this problem with the following versions of firmware:
- US Robotics 56K Fax Ext v5.4.62
To view your USR firmware version from ADI perform the
following steps:
- Press F12 to unlock the terminal window.
- Type ATI3 [Enter]. Your firmware version will
display in the terminal window.
- Press F12 again to lock the terminal window.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI7
Is there another way for me to lock the computer without having to log out of the
account each time and have ADI run as a service?
Yes. Install ADI as a normal application (not as a Windows
service) and just lock the computer when you are not using it. To lock the computer
press the
key + "L".
This will lock the computer
and only allow an administrator or the owner of the account that locked it to unlock
it. ADI will function normally while the computer is locked.
Affected Programs :All
Applicable Operating Systems: Windows XP
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI8
Are FDCMS software applications compatible with Windows Vista and
Windows 7?
Alarm Data Interface and
Rapid Page have been found to be compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7 with the following
exception, Alarm Data Interface can not be run as a Windows Service. Running ADI as a normal application however, will work fine.
Fire Station Information Display is not compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7.
Special instructions regarding the installation of ADI on both Windows Vista and
Windows 7 can be found here.
Affected Programs : ADI, Rapid Page, FSID
Applicable Operating Systems: Windows Vista, Windows 7
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI9
ADI does not display any installed printers in the pull-down combo boxes when running
in Service mode.
When ADI is installed as a Windows Service in Windows
2000, by default, it is unable to retrieve the installed printers on that machine.
This is because Windows stores the installed printers list in the User section of
the registry. When ADI is running as a Service, it is forced to look for the
printers in the System hive of the registry.
In order for ADI to see the installed printers list it
must be manually moved in to the System hive of the registry. Microsoft Knowledge
Base article #Q184291 addresses exactly how to perform this move.
It is important to know that any time you add or change the name of a printer, this
procedure must be repeated.
Notice: Any time you edit the Registry, you run the risk
of corrupting a setting which can potentially prevent your computer from restarting.
Use caution!!!
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: Windows 2000
Applicable Territories:
All
Last Reviewed: 5/16/05
SI10
We often see garbage characters come through in the middle of our data received
from the dispatch center.
Extraneous characters in data can cause ADI to misinterpret
what it receives from your dispatch center. This issue can range from strange characters
in your printouts to actually causing your received data to be ignored by ADI, thus
not printing or paging when it should. This is most likely caused by a weak data
radio signal. If you are using a data radio to receive your dispatch information
you may need to either relocate the receiver or add an external antenna. Once the
signal reception has improved your data will be cleaner and ADI will be able to
function properly.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories: Montgomery, PA
Last Reviewed: 11/14/07
SI11
What is the longest cable length that can be used with my LED Sign?
Fire Station Information Display and IDEx
Controller use serial RS-232 to
send data to any connected Alpha LED sign boards. The RS-232 standard was originally
written to allow a cable length of 50' or a length that did not allow the capiciatnce
of the cable to exceed 2500 pF (pico farads). Because the cable that we use has
an inherent low capacitance per foot, we are able to safely exceed the 50' standard.
Our custom made cables are rated at 17 pF per foot, The original RS-232 standard
was based on a maximum Baud rate of 20,000. FSID is only allowed to transmit data
at a maximum Baud rate of 9600 so, at that rate, a cable length of 300' feet is
not out of the question. It should also be noted that as the transmitted Baud rate
is reduced, the cable length can be proportionally increased.
Affected Programs : FSID, IDEx Controller
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories: All
Last Reviewed: 2/7/10
SI12
Printers to avoid with ADI?
We have found that approximately 99% of the Windows compatible
printers that we have tested as well as what our customers use are fully compatible
with ADI. However, we have recently been advised that there are some that are not
100% compatible with ADI. The most obvious symptom of incompatibility is when
the printer ejects either a blank page or a page with just one line of text printed.
The reason for this behavior has not been determined so our recommendation is to
not use the following printers with ADI:
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories: All
Last Reviewed: 1/24/09
SI13
After updating ADI, I am getting a message that says 'A password mismatch was detected'.
This condition is usually the result of ADI's password not being
cleared (reset to blank) prior to upgrading to version 8.xx. Once this happens,
the only option you have is to erase your settings database file. This file is named
'adiSettings.mdb' and is located in in the \Local folder of your application which
is C:\Program Files\FDCMS\Alarm Data Interface\, by default.
After deleting the database file and
re-starting ADI, you will have to re-establish most of your ADI program settings.
There is no way to retrieve the old settings.
Affected Programs : ADI
Applicable Operating Systems: All
Applicable Territories: All
Last Reviewed: 6/2/09