Re: Magnum Alert 900 and Touch Tone Dialing

["Bob Worthy" <securinc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Mike" <forest_test@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1128357537.667960.324450@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> I have a Magnum Alert 900 system in my house and just switched to
> Voice-Over-IP service through Optimum Voice (Cablevision).  The system
> will no longer call the central office.  After some testing I found out
> that the alarm box is set for pulse dialing.  The VOIP service that I
> have will not place a pulse call.  Can this system be switched to touch
> tone dialing and if so how?  I tried calling the alarm company and
> getting someone on the phone who knows what they are talking about is
> difficult.
>
> Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

Is this alarm company strictly a monitoring company or do they have local
service representation? If so, they should be able to support your system.
My advice would be to go back to them and get a bottom line answer. If they
cannot support your system, they cannot hold you to any agreement and then
find someone who can support it. Your situation needs to be addressed by a
service technician with the proper tools. Secondly, consider keeping a
basic, no frills regular phone line. There are to many questions about the
reliability of VOIP, when there are security issues, such as power outages,
loss of cable service, phone line configurations, modem relocation, the VOIP
provider periodically downloading new formats and possibly even not being
able to connect to the real "911" emergeny service. When you loose cable,
you will loose telephone, but what the heck, you have a cell so it isn't a
big deal, right? Well, you have lost your security, possibly fire, if you
have smokes attached and medical if there is an elderly person that might
need it. Cable is the last to get back on line in any kind of diaster. Read
your agreement with the provider and notice all of what they are **not**
responsible for, including your security requirements. All I can invision,
when these things pop up, is a bunch of guys sitting around with some new
found technology and all of a sudden six new companys are formed and no one
has considered any of the down sides prior to offering it to the public. I
have yet to see this marketed properly, but they sure spent some money on
the small printed disclaimers to protect themselves against all that isn't
said upfront in their advertising ie: loss of commuication or emergency
service. Keep a land line.