Alarm Lock Tech

Welcome to Tech Corner

The intent of this column is to provide technical product information to help you use, sell and install our door technologies to retail and end-user business segments around the world. Our goal is to provide technical advice in a timely manner and keep you up-to-date as new product tips and tricks become available. Along the right hand side of this page, you will find links to categories that have recently been posted. If you have additional questions on any of the topics that I cover, please e-mail me at bswoope@alarmlock.com. 

Regards,

Bob Swoope, Vice President Sales

2009/2010 Product Catalog Now Available

Our newest product catalog #ALA112M is now available, please feel free to download a copy in PDF format on our web site or contact your local Alarm Lock Representative for a printed copy.  You’ll find it at www.alarmlock.com/support under the heading Catalog and Price Sheets.  This new catalog features our newest product series; Networx on the front cover. 

 

Networx is our new wireless Trilogy product line.  This series of locks does not require you to go to the door to program them; you utilize the customer’s network and our gateways to communicate up to 2,000 locks in a single system.  You also have the ability to lockdown these locks for Intruder Alert in Educational Environments.  We’re very excited about the Networx Product line; please contact your Alarm Lock Representative for more details

 

Please feel free to send you comments to me at Bswoope@alarmlock.com or click here to go to our web site

New Marketing Flyers in PDF format are FREE to you....

We have added 4 new flyers to our web site, under Marketing Materials.  There are two versions of two different flyers in PDF format for you to use and personalize with your company information.  These flyers are targeted to the Education and Healthcare markets.

 

Alarm Lock wants to help our distributors and security professional with tools to promote your company to increase sales and grow your business.   What other category offers such growth potential than the Stand Alone Access Control Category?

 

Those who are driven to succeed can sell our electronic access locks. Alarm Lock’s access control products are required now more than ever before, especially when some are turning to crime in these desperate times. With more disgruntled workers and employee invasions in the workplace, it’s no wonder why so many owners are turning to Alarm Lock for protection.

 

Wire runs and expensive access control equipment do not make sense when `Stand Alone offers similar functionality for a fraction of the cost.  With our keyless access dependability and time-automated security, we can lower maintenance costs while providing businesses with advanced functionality. Start prospecting potential customers and demonstrate how our stand alone access locks can give them the most value for their dollar. Share our story on how end-users can save money without compromising their security with our full line of locks.  

 

Good luck and happy selling! 

 

Please feel free to send you comments to me at Bswoope@alarmlock.com or click here to go to our web site

New Installation Template Available

We have redesigned the cylindrical lock template and you can download a copy from our web site.  This new template feature both a fire rated and non fire rated hole to run the wires thru the door.

 

In case you didn’t know when drilling the fire rated wire hole, our mounting plate actually covers up or blocks most of the hole to pass fire codes.  We have added a ramp on the inside of the plate to help the wires pass thru the hole and plate.

 

When downloading any template, please be aware that not all printers are created equal, so we also provide the dimensions for you to double check before drilling.

 

Please feel free to send you comments to me at Bswoope@alarmlock.com or click here to go to our web site

Fun facts regarding schedules and time zones in DL Windows Software

Here are some basic rules to follow with schedules and how our schedules work in conjunction with our products. There are also different ways to get the same results. 

 

• The lock accepts the user(s) based on how to programmed them, enabled (green) or disabled (red) in the global user screen. 

• Schedules activate (enable) or de-activate (disable) the user(s) or group(s) as it “rolls into” a schedule.  Time zones/schedules are not retro active.  The clock moves forward, never backward.

• If you set a future schedule and send the user/group enabled (green), they will be enabled until the start time of the schedule and from then on the schedule takes over.

• If you set a future schedule and send the user/group disabled (red), they will be disabled until they “roll into” the schedule (start time) and from then on the schedule takes over.

• Example – if you create a schedule for 8am – 5pm Monday thru Friday to enable a group of users and your send group 2 enabled (green) and its 2pm on Wednesday, Group 2 users will be enabled until Thursday at 5pm; because it never rolled into the start time of the schedule.  We call this the 24hr rule.  We recommend that you send programming when possible prior to the start of schedules.

• If you send users disabled without a schedule, they will always be disabled.  However, when you send users/groups disabled (red) and there is a schedule in the future, the schedule will enable the user/group and then will follow the set schedule until a change is made. 

• Many companies put all users in every lock and disable (red) them in the locks they don’t want them to have access to.  This time and date stamps a “user denied access” and allows the company to see where employees are attempting to gain access on the audit log.

• Same goes for a holiday schedule.  We call it a suppression schedule.  If you don’t want users to have access on July 4^thand you have a schedule of 8am – 5pm M-F.  Simply create a conflict for July 4^thon the correct day of the week and set a start time of 8am and make the stop time blank.  By creating a conflict, the locks sees an enable and disable at the exact same start time, disable overrides enable and lock overrides unlock.

 

Please feel free to send you comments to me at Bswoope@alarmlock.com or click here to go to our web site

Prox - Less Prox Lock....sounds interesting

 

• Alarm Lock offers a product called the DL3200, it features:
  • 2,000 users
  • 40,000 event audit log
  • 500 schedules
• Its nickname is a Prox-less Prox Lock.  Same features as the PDL3000 without the HID Prox reader
• It also comes standard WP and has been around for over two years
• Now you can get 2,000 users on a Digital Lock.  This also completes the 2,000 user lock family, cylindrical, mortise, exit, keypad, narrow stile, & double-sided
• You can clone it to anything except
  • DL2800
  • DL3000
  • DL3500
• The list price is $1065, $15 more than the DL3000WP and $50 more than the DL3000
• This is a great value and the next time your customers asks for a DL3000, take the time to review the DL3200 with them.  The customer will appreciate it.

 

Want new business, sales slow…Try our FREE Marketing Flyers

Alarm Lock wants to help you grow your business in these hard economic times. We have created several marketing deployments that you can use for this sole purpose. Over the past several years, we have launched our Profit Center Program, Seminar & Certification Courses and most recently Marketing Flyers to help boost your sales efforts.

We now have nine (9) full color flyers available for download in PDF format. Distributors and locksmiths are encouraged to use our flyers to prospect a variety of prosperous end-user markets. At the bottom of each flyer, you can add your contact info, company stamp, affix your business card or personalize them with Adobe Acrobat software in the blank space. Feel free to send these flyers out as mailers, envelope stuffers, handouts and/or e-mail campaigns.

Alarm Lock is confident that our flyers should strengthen your sales and help you seal the deal. In these trying times, our advanced stand alone access control security solutions are offered at less than half the price of wired systems. Many end-users are turning to Alarm Lock’s stand alone locks because they easily retrofit to any lockset, eliminate the need for keys, complex user training and the arduous task of running wires. 

You may download our flyers by clicking here and looking under the heading “Marketing Materials”. Feel free to e-mail me at: bswoope@alarmlock.com with any questions on these flyers or other programs that are currently offered.

DL2800 & DL3000 programming made easy

When programming the DL2800 and DL3000 series products, your must first change the mastercode manually before doing any other program commands and using our DL Windows Software.  If you’re using our DL Windows software, make sure the mastercode you manually changed at the keypad is also changed in the software.

For PC Programming following these easy steps:

Ø       Open the lock data screen in DL Windows Software

Ø       Click on the send/receive button, choose send or receive

Ø       Using the default mastercode, put the lock into program mode, change to your new mastercode

Ø       While still in program mode, plug in the laptop, enter the program command AL58* on the keypad

Ø       When finished, press any button on the keypad to exit programming mode

Ø       Test a few of the new user codes

Ø       If you’re going to be creating schedules, click here to download out easy to follow time zone set up instructions. You'll find it listed under Trilogy DL Programming Manuals

 

Please email me at bswoope@alarmlock.com with any questions

January 1, 2009 price book now available

The new January 1, 2009 price book is now available on our web site.  You may download the new price book by clicking here and looking under the heading “Catalog and Price Sheets”. Feel free to e-mail me at: bswoope@alarmlock.com with any questions.

Using Vista OS?

We have recently created two new Tech Notes for those Vista

users installing our DL Windows software.  These two new Tech Notes are very informative and can be found on our web site.  These will also be added to the CD Rom version of DL Windows in the near future.  

Please click here to go to our web site and down load these new tech tips.  

You’ll find them listed as:

1. Download How to run DL-Windows in XP Compatibility Mode on Windows Vista
2. Download How to turn off User Access Control (UAC) in Windows Vista

  

Should you experience any issues with Vista, please email me at bswoope@alarmlock.com and provide me with screen shots of the error messages.

Holiday Schedules – DL Windows

In recent weeks, we have shown you how to create schedules to restrict access and make our locks unlock/relock during the course of a day and/or week. Now, let me explain how you program your locks to prevent them from unlocking while your office is closed for a holiday. Pre-programmed schedules in which you deny building access to employees during days off are called “Holiday Schedules”. This feature must be activated in order to prevent employees from gaining access to your facilities during closed business hours.

A schedule is comprised of two events, a start time and a stop time (plus the days of the week you want the schedule to remain active). A Holiday Event is somewhat different and requires only one event. We achieve this by creating a conflict or suppression schedule with the start time of the event we want to suppress. Leaving the stop time blank creates a Holiday Schedule.

In the example below, we will create a Holiday Schedule for Labor Day (September 1, 2008)

Creating a Holiday

Schedule for a group of users that have access from 7:00a.m – 6:00pm (Monday – Friday)

1. Double-click the lock you want this schedule to be active on
2. Click the “Schedule” icon on the top of the tool bar
3. Add a new time zone
4. Put 7:00a.m.in the start time field and delete the stop time in the Monday field
5. Make sure ONLY Monday, September 1^st is enabled with a check mark (double-click those days not included)
6. The bottom half of the screen is where you schedule the time zone
7. Write in a description, in the “User or Group” column, select the individual user or group number and choose the correct time zone that you created
8. Click the “Switch to Schedule” button. This will combine the two screens into one and allows you to check if you have the correct schedule/time zone
9. Create a Holidayschedule for each pre-set schedule for the entire year at one time. When the next year begins, go to each of these Holiday Schedules and simply update your holiday dates.

Following these simple steps helps you create any type of schedule to open/close your lock and provide access to an individual user or group. Feel free to e-mail with any questions you may have at bswoope@alarmlock.com

Click here to go to our web site