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I am Mr. Trunk Slammer

Today for a time I was feeling like I was Mr. Trunk Slammer. I am standing by to do a download of a DSC 1864 for a takeover of a Moose Z1100. I am happy that at least the Z1100 is going. So a tech says can you download the panel via an Uplink. Well of course I can't. Well get a laptop and get over here and program it since there is a ton of custom text and we are going on overtime. So I go to the laptops. Acer? Nope, no serial port and I don't want to fool around with a USB to serial adapter. IBM stink Pad? Serial port available but the battery isn't charged. Yes! Brand new Dell 820 with a serial port and good battery. Okay! So I download the DLS software, install it, and then try to find a PC-Link. Well for some reason there are none to be found. Off to the parts house I go. Get the PC-Link, and off to the customer. I hook up the laptop. I (try) to connect the PC to the PC-Link panel adapter. It won't go on the panel. I am pushing as hard as I dare. It still won't work! I give up and call tech support feeling like an idiot. Why can't I do something this simple? I talk to tech support and tell them this item is brand new out of box and yet it appears there are pins inside the adapter that look snapped off and appear to be blocking the male pins on the PC-1864 board. Let me put you on hold Pedro the tech support guy says. Then He comes back and says "what you have is a manufacturing defect." "The panel adapter portion was put on backwards." "We thought we got them all, but one or two must have slipped by." I have been in the business long enough to know when I am being lied to. I knew he was lying. The Richard M. Nixon lie. The "It's your baby" lie. I called the parts house. It is getting near closing time. They say they will put a new one for me outside if they leave before I get there. I say fine. However I said before I take the time to drive over there please check your stock to see if they are bad too. Well, all of the dozen or so PC-Links he had in stock all were bad save one. I got the one good one. If it was Bosch instead of DSC I would have seen a tech bulletin, probably got $75 bucks and maybe a new panel or two for my trouble. DSC's idea is you're damn lucky we gave you a new part without checking the manufacturing date, even though we just gave it to you. DSC is cheap and available, but still does everything it can factory wise to make dead certain it stays at the bottom of the heap. Time after time DSC seems bent on making the installer look foolish by being forced to disappoint the customer by missing the time widow for installation, thus taking the customers time and the installers time and puting the profit for the job in the tank. I guess that is one way to know you putting out garbage at everyone's expense except yours. Many installers like DSC because they know it. This may be the last straw for DSC here. We don't move enough DSC for them to gave a rat's ass, but if you drop enough dealers one by one DSC could join the likes of Franklin, Vertex, Sescoa etc. Some of us can hope.

Reply to
Roland
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Stop whining. You could have keypad programmed that puppy in about 20 minutes, including the custom text. js

Reply to
alarman

See what happens when people get too comfortable with downloading? They fall apart when they can't do it

Reply to
Mark Leuck

Can you error check the program from the keypad? I thought not. I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE PROGRAM FROM THE KEYPAD FROM SCRATCH THAT DID NOT GENERATE AT LEST ONE ERROR FLAG WHEN UPLOADED AND CHECKED. It might be a trivial error. Like I forgot to set the monthly test timer time. I didn't set the daylight saving parameters. I didn't put the customers name in the keypad. I set the back up phone number, but forgot to turn on the dial 3rd number option. I left the download code at default. You guys are not any different. Check you work, you'll find errors. Your pride will tell you they're too trivial and don't count. But they do count and they are errors. It is not being addicted to downloading. The panel was actually programmed from the keypad and is working. No one "fell apart". However that is not good enough. We have a policy to QC any program and to have a copy of the program written in the customer folder and electronically stored and backed up on the server. His time was scheduled so that programming was not one of his work elements. While he was keypad programming, he was doing added work that wasn't scheduled for him to do and threw it into overtime. I went there to do the panel programming that was scheduled to be downloaded, QC'd and the rest.

Sure you could. Let me see about 50 zones (and up 32 characters of text per zone - remember they're PK 5500s not LCD 5500s). And all the other modules that need programming? Cough.........Bullshit........cough.

Reply to
Roland

On a DSC? yea it would be a trivial error

Neither is life threatening

To be honest none of these things are bad and nobody said you couldn't call back later and check programming via downloader, my complaint is many people get so into downloading they forget how to program by the keypad

You specified alpha text and 20 minutes on a DSC panel is in the ballpark for that many zones, it's not like the crappy way the AT&T 8300's did it, look how long it took to try getting that laptop working...

Reply to
Mark Leuck

Here's a tip: wait until AFTER you program before your spark up that doobie. js

Reply to
alarman

If you say so. I was being liberal with the 20 minutes because you seem inexperienced. js

Reply to
alarman

Reply to
Roland Moore

Jeeeeze. It' s funny how that applies to keypad programing and not to CID.

Huh! ........ strange how these things are different.

Reply to
Jim

Error checked?? DSC panels are programmed with defaults out of the box. Very few changes need to be made; add the CS phone and account #, zone descriptions, toggle a few options, test, and go. But if you're so concerned about your inability to do this properly, just connect to it later via phone and do your error check.

Never cared for Kool Aid. I'm a Diet Pepsi man myself. js

Reply to
alarman

Jeeeeze. It' s funny how that applies to keypad programing and not to CID.

Huh! ........ strange how these things are different.

I admit you could have a point here

Reply to
Mark Leuck

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