# dact



## cda (Aug 10, 2011)

Please read the entire article from the link below, I was only alotted 10000

Demise of the Digital Alarm Communicator Transmitter (DACT)

Development of "Other Technologies"

In 1999, a new section was added to the National Fire Alarm Code titled "Other Transmission Technologies".3 This section was developed by the supervising stations' technical committee after much discussion and committee work and a decision by the committee not to add any more specific technologies. "Other Transmission Technologies" details a number of performance-based design features that any new transmission technology must meet to be listed. If a developer follows this section, then the product can betaken directly to the testing laboratory and get to the market in a timely manner.

The World of Transmission Technologies Prior to 2010

With the addition of "Other Transmission Technologies" in 1999, the lineup of possible technologies in the National Fire Alarm Code included the following:

Active multiplex

Digital alarm communications systems (DACS)

McCulloh systems

Two-way radio frequency multiplex systems

One-way private radio alarm systems

Directly connected non-coded systems

Private microwave radio systems

Other transmission technologies

This lineup provided specific technical requirements for each of the technologies listed, virtually unchanged since they were initially included in the standard.

NFPA 72-2010 Housecleaning Efforts

In 2010, the Technical Committee reexamined each of the transmission technologies in the standard, using the "Other Transmission Technologies" section as a "litmus test" to determine whether the legacy methods could be eliminated. After this examination, the following legacy methods were eliminated from the 2010 edition of the standard:

Active Multiplex

Active multiplex systems (also known as "derived local channel" systems) were developed by Wisconsin Bell in 1983 with the collaboration of several local fire alarm monitoring companies in Wisconsin. The system used a single telephone line, with a unit that split the bandwidth between voice and fire alarm data. Similar to today's DSL units, this was a leap forward for the era. With a single telephone line, one could have an "always on" connection to the fire alarm control panel and still use the telephone line for normal voice communications. Eventually, the specialized equipment required for this system became unavailable, and this method fell into disuse. Since all requirements of "Other Transmission technologies" were met with this method, elimination of this method would not disallow any derived local channel systems still in use.

Directly Connected Non-Coded Systems

Directly connected non-coded systems were developed for use with remote station fire alarm systems. The remote station standard (NFPA72C) was first issued in 1960, when the fire service began monitoring fire alarm systems directly at the fire station or emergency dispatch center. Directly connected non-coded systems used sub-voice grade copper telephone lines, and incorporated a polarity-reversal technique to signal the fire dispatch center. Unfortunately, this system only transmitted a fire alarm signal, not supervisory or trouble signals originating at the fire alarm control panel. Also, since it was a "general" fire alarm signal, annunciator panels were required to be installed at each protected premises to indicate specific zone of initiation. Today, as local telephone companies are removing copper lines, and are not making the series 1000 sub-voice lines available, this technology is out-of-date and was removed from the 2010 edition of the code. In addition, any existing directly connected non-coded systems still meet the requirements of "Other Transmission Technologies."

Private Microwave Radio Systems

Private microwave radio systems were provided by a handful of manufacturers in the early 1980s. Since no private microwave radio systems survive, and the testing labs reported that no private microwave radio systems are currently listed, this technology was removed from the 2010 edition of the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code.

NFPA 72-2010 Organization

With the elimination of the four "legacy" methods, the organization of the transmission technologies section of NFPA 72 was changed to require compliance with "Other Transmission Technologies" (changed in 2010 to "General"), with exceptions for DACS and radio, which were found to be not in compliance with the performance requirements of "Other Transmission Technologies."

If DACS is selected as a transmission technology, the DACS section should be followed. If any listed radio technology is used, the radio sections (one-way and two way) should be consulted for the requirements.

How DACS Work

A digital alarm communicator transmitter (DACT) is required to be connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) ahead of any customer-owned equipment. The connection needs to be on loop-start POTS telephone lines. (POTS is a telephone company acronym meaning "plain old telephone service"; i.e., standard telephone numbers.) DACTs are required to seize the telephone line and disconnect any other use of the line using a RJ-31X jack provided by the telephone company. DACTs cannot be connected to party lines or pay-phone lines. DACTs need to get a dial tone, dial the digital alarm communicator receiver (DACR) at the supervising station, get verification that the DACR is ready to receive, transmit the signal, and receive acknowledgement that the DACR has received and understood the signal.

Originally, the requirement for a DACS was that two telephone lines needed to be used. However, by 1996, the technical committee had changed that requirement so that only the primary means of communication needed to be a POTS loop-start telephone line. The secondary means of communication could be another phone line, a cellular phone, a one-way radio system, a derived local channel, a one-way private radio system, a private microwave radio system, or a two-way RF multiplex radio system.4

With telephone companies in the United States rapidly replacing copper telephone lines with fiber optic lines, the infrastructure that existed when DACS were originally approved has changed. Use of telephone company fiber optic lines should cause no technical problems with signal transmission, but there is one drawback â€” secondary power. Where standard copper telephone lines are powered by the telephone company central office (at least 96 hours of standby backed up by storage batteries, generators and sufficient diesel fuel supply), telephone fiber optic lines are powered by eight-hour standby batteries located in the field (on the poles or in the street pedestals), which is a problem because the telephone lines are only verified by the fire alarm control panel at 24-hour intervals.

Since then, the major cable providers have modified their software to emulate the telephone company, so from a technical transmission viewpoint, there is no significant difference. The issues involved with cable company telephone service are essentially those of standby power. Like the telephone company fiber optic service, cable company standby power supplies are in the street pedestals, and are only sized for eight hours of service, so the line verification issues are the same. The added problem with cable company telephones, however, is that there is a cable box located at the protected premises that requires building power to operate. The loss of AC power at the protected premises may de-energize the cable box, leaving no telephone service. If there is a UPS connected to the box, the UPS is generally sized for less than eight hours of service, which exacerbates the line verification issue. In addition, there is a single point of failure between the cable box and the point of demarcation to the cable company, which, if compromised, takes out both telephone lines provided by the cable company.

Figure 3 shows the typical installation of a cable telephone connection to the fire alarm control panel. There are two issues not present with the traditional telephone company installations. First, there is a power requirement for the cable box. Additionally, there is a single point of failure between the cable box and the demarcation to the cable company.

Radio

There are currently several communication technologies listed to either the one-way or two-way radio legacy methods in NFPA 72.1 The most promising of these radio methods uses one of two technologies, which have been shown to be reliable and, since they provide "heartbeats" on a regular basis, will indicate loss of channel immediately. The two technologies are mesh radio and GSM cellular radio.

The Future of Fire Alarm Communications

There were no changes in technology incorporated into the 2010 edition of NFPA 72. The changes in this edition were housekeeping in nature, removing obsolete technologies and reorganization of the remaining technologies.

In January 2011, the NFPA Technical Committee for Supervising Stations Fire Alarm Systems approved two proposals that, if they are accepted through the NFPA process, will also have an impact on the future of the DACT. First, there was a proposal to drop the requirement for a second telephone line, making the "alternate" communications method another technology. This will essentially kill the DACT, since all other communications methods in the standard are stand-alone methods. Second, another proposal will change the timer test for DACTs from 24 hours to six hours, to compensate for the change to an eight-hour standby power supply.

http://fpemag.com/archives/article.asp?issue_id=59&i=514


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## FM William Burns (Aug 10, 2011)

Yea...I'll miss seeing the old reference to the McCulloh system also.  Whireless baby...whireless


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## TJacobs (Aug 11, 2011)

The FPD here went wireless to their 911 center.


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## TimNY (Aug 11, 2011)

Does anybody allow VOIP / cable for the primary line?


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## cda (Aug 12, 2011)

Yes

If you have a target in your city they may be doing it


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