Innovative Design Yields Powerful New Broadband Network Fire Alarm Evacuation System!

Fire Control Instruments (FCI) has announced the release of their latest fire alarm product, NetSOLO ® BROADBAND, the future of distributed audio. This innovative fire alarm system consists of three main units, which are networked together to form an intelligent, feature packed, state-of–the–art emergency evacuation audio system. The units consist of the Intelligent Network Command Center (INCC), Intelligent Network 7100 Fire Alarm Control Panel (INI-7100), and the Intelligent Network [audio] Transponder (INX). The overall system can range from a minimum of two, to a maximum of sixty-four components. Any combination of these units can be used depending upon the application.

The Intelligent Network Command Center (INCC) is the main control center and human interface for the system. It provides for manual control of system resources for voice instructions from Firefighter personnel and control outputs for a building’s system functions such as; elevator or access door controls, visual indication of system trouble and alarm status, and the location of an emergency condition within the building.

The Intelligent Network 7100 Fire Alarm Control Panel (INI-7100) is the traditional fire alarm portion of the network fire alarm system, which operates Notification Appliance Circuits (NAC’s) and initiation devices. As part of the network, it reports all of the alarm or trouble status to the rest of the system, while monitoring the status reports from all the other members on the network. Because it monitors conditions throughout the entire network, it can be programmed to react appropriately to any given condition.

The Intelligent Network [audio] Transponder (INX) primarily handles the audio output functions for the NetSOLO ® BROADBAND system. It provides three 50-Watt audio amplifiers with a fourth 50-Watt backup amplifier for emergency audio message output. It stores up to sixteen separate recorded messages, and can be programmed to select and play the correct message or combination of messages depending upon the nature or location of the emergency. The INX can also provide control (switch) input, Firefighter telephone, and live voice message broadcasting or paging.

NetSOLO ® BROADBAND is the first networked audio fire alarm system to be based extensively on the use of Digital Signal Processors (DSP), instead of microcontroller technology. This same technology used in digital audio CD’s and DVD’s provides NetSOLO ® BROADBAND with exceptional audio reproduction quality. While it does contain all of the control and data information normally found in a network system, NetSOLO ® BROADBAND also boasts live and recorded audio messages, stored and transmitted in a digital format through the network connection.

There is no longer a need for separate wiring for the audio channel (per floor or zone) and separate wiring for control and data network. NetSOLO ® BROADBAND only needs two wires or fiber optic connections to communicate to the various network components. The distribution of amplifiers and digitally recorded messages are contained in the INX network nodes and can be located throughout the building. This insures the evacuation message is delivered to every part of the building and consequently results in a large reduction in wiring costs.

This innovative technology further extends in the creation of “CAMS” (Conditional Action Module Software), the operation and configuration software for NetSOLO ® BROADBAND. The use of logic evaluation is used to decide exactly how to respond to any given emergency condition, a manual input command, or a partial failure to the system. The CAMS continuously monitor the entire state of the network in order to insure that it is prepared for any event. Recognized as a FIRST within the industry, NetSOLO ® Broadband offers an innovative and cost effective solution.