FSPWARE programming help.

[Stormsetter4]

Hello guys, I had to recently put In a new FC panel in a federal signal STL-10 because the old one shorted out. When we put the new one in, and the statewide tornado drill came around, the siren did not activate. The siren and panel work fine, but the frequencies do not Match up. After some phone calls, we got ahold of the programming software, FSPWARE. It came with the cable to hook it up to the FC, but being able to plug it in to my laptop is another story. I took some pictures of the cable and the side of my computer:


I need to get answers soon because tornado season has started and we have already had several tornadoes north of us. Once we get this figured out, we will go to the county emergency management office to get the activation codes. Keep in mind that the city is in charge of the sirens and it is the city's responsibility to maintain the sirens. The only thing the county does is activate them. Once again any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

[Stormsetter4]

Accidental Double post. Not sure why the links won't work.

[theroofable]

How are you connecting that to your computer? What does the FC look like? There are different cables for older and newer FC panels. Regardless, they need to be connected to the computer serially, not through the network/ cat5 port. You either need a serial to USB adapter or a computer with a serial port.

How far off are the frequencies?

[Ryan]

Hello guys, I had to recently put In a new FC panel in a federal signal STL-10 because the old one shorted out. When we put the new one in, and the statewide tornado drill came around, the siren did not activate. The siren and panel work fine, but the frequencies do not Match up. After some phone calls, we got ahold of the programming software, FSPWARE. It came with the cable to hook it up to the FC, but being able to plug it in to my laptop is another story. I took some pictures of the cable and the side of my computer:

Cable:

[img]http://s823.photobucket.com/user/cruzne ... sort=1&o=5[/img]

Computer:

[img]http://s823.photobucket.com/user/cruzne ... 24c4092.jp
g.html?filters[user]=139234123&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=7[/img]

Then this happens whenever I open the program:

[img]http://s823.photobucket.com/user/cruzne ... sort=1&o=3[/img]

If you click ok, it takes you to the menu:

[img]http://s823.photobucket.com/user/cruzne ... sort=1&o=2[/img]

I clicked on the FC/FCM link and it does the "unable to connect to com1" thing again:

[img]http://s823.photobucket.com/user/cruzne ... sort=1&o=1[/img]

If you click ok again, it takes you to the programming screen

[img]http://s823.photobucket.com/user/cruzne ... sort=1&o=0[/img]

I need to get answers soon because tornado season has started and we have already had several tornadoes north of us. Once we get this figured out, we will go to the county emergency management office to get the activation codes. Keep in mind that the city is in charge of the sirens and it is the city's responsibility to maintain the sirens. The only thing the county does is activate them. Once again any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

You need to check some documentation for the serial connection settings. A lot of electronics use 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity bits and 1 stop bit. It could also be that some other program could be using that serial port or you need to run that program as an administrator.

[theroofable]

You need to check some documentation for the serial connection settings. A lot of electronics use 9600 baud, 8 data bits, no parity bits and 1 stop bit. It could also be that some other program could be using that serial port or you need to run that program as an administrator.

It looks like he is trying to use the network port as the comport, which will not work.

[murrfarms]

Computer:

The port on your computer that's pictured above appears to be an external monitor port, not a serial port. Is your laptop old enough to have an actual serial port or is it too new to have one? If it doesn't, you can also use a serial adapter card to hook the cable up to; I don't trust the USB-to-serial adapters very much, had bad luck with them in the past. Once you get it set up with a good serial connection, the program should recognize it and it should work once the cable is hooked up to the FC's serial port.

[Stormsetter4]

How are you connecting that to your computer?

I haven't been able to connect it because there is nowhere to plug it in.

What does the FC look like?

I have not gotten a picture yet but it is a newer model.

You either need a serial to USB adapter or a computer with a serial port

I just ordered a 6' usb to serial cable and a female to female adaptor to plug into the FC.

How far off are the frequencies?

I am not sure because I cannot get the frequencies without plugging it in to my laptop.

You need to check some documentation for the serial connection settings.

Does anybody have a manual or something on how to work the software? I know how to change frequencies and change the siren cycles but I am not sure what the specs are. Nobody in the city knows how to work it and I am trying to help figure it out.

Is your laptop old enough to have an actual serial port or is it too new to have one?

I do not think it is old enough to have one. it is relatively new.

I don't trust the USB-to-serial adapters very much, had bad luck with them in the past.

I will try the USB adaptor and if that does not work, I will try the serial card.

Thank you for the advice guys, it has been helpful so far :thup:

[theroofable]

I have a USB to serial adapter, which will read and program the units just fine. Which parameters are you unsure of? The only thing you have to change in the software is the receive frequency. Read the unit first, and then change the frequency to what is needed. Then program to unit.

[Stormsetter4]

I have a USB to serial adapter, which will read and program the units just fine. Which parameters are you unsure of? The only thing you have to change in the software is the receive frequency. Read the unit first, and then change the frequency to what is needed. Then program to unit.

I will change the receive frequency and I am going to also program the unit to run attack on relay 1 and a custom 5 second growl signal on relay 2. I will also program the other 2 sirens the same way also. When the county sends out the activation tones, can they choose what relay engages on each FC unit? Thank you guys for helping me and my community thanks you guys also

[theroofable]

You can change the relays, the timing, anything in there really. You can have all four relays doing four different timing sequences at the same time if your heart desires. They are nice units.