EnvisaLink 4 purchase questions

[wesly]

Hi all,

I just found out about the EnvisaLink and it seems just like the product that I need.
I have a Vista 20p (9.17) and in case of a triggered alarm I would like to receive the "triggered zone" information on my mobile (preferably by SMS as I don't always have a mobile internet connection).

Before I purchase EnvisaLink I do have a few questions:

- I'm from Suriname (a country in South America). Is my carrier (Telesur) supported for sms alerts (I don't know their smsgateway)?

- If no Telesur carrier support, is it possible to use a paid smsgateway (like smsgateway.to or
my-cool-sms )? (i will ofcourse pay for each sent sms)

- Will the sms and email include information about which zone is triggered (eg which door or window etc)?

- Is is possible to get the alarm status (triggered or activated) through the EnvisaLink from a custom script (eg php, java or c++ application)? I want to write a script that can execute certain actions when the alarm is on or triggered (for example start uploading Blue Iris snapshots from the camera to the cloud when the alarm is triggered. Or set a different Blue Iris recording schedule when the alarm is activated. Much like this request).

- I noticed EnvisaLink 4 is a recent update. Is version 4 a different hardware board compared to EnvisaLink 3 or is the update from 3 to 4 just a software update? if so, what are the changes from EnvisaLink 3?

- I also fear that the board is solely dependent on the eyez-on server. What if eyez-on ceases to exist (which nobody wants)? Will that render all functionalities useless?

[GrandWizard]

Hi all,
- I'm from Suriname (a country in South America). Is my carrier (Telesur) supported for sms alerts (I don't know their smsgateway)?

Ask your carrier if they have an email-to-SMS gateway. Typically it would be something like XXXXXXXXX@txt.telesur.sr . You need to ask them.

If they don't have a gateway then just use a gmail (on android) or iCloud (on iPhone) email address for your alerts as both of these support free push notifications which are just as fast, and maybe faster, than SMS alerts.

- Will the sms and email include information about which zone is triggered (eg which door or window etc)?

Zone, Partition, time of event... everything.

- Is is possible to get the alarm status (triggered or activated) through the EnvisaLink from a custom script (eg php, java or c++ application)? I want to write a script that can execute certain actions when the alarm is on or triggered (for example start uploading Blue Iris snapshots from the camera to the cloud when the alarm is triggered. Or set a different Blue Iris recording schedule when the alarm is activated. Much like this request).

There is a built-in TPI (API in normal speak) that you could try and use. I have heard of people using IFFT rules to take gmail events, and then turn on cameras but I know nothing of this.

- I noticed EnvisaLink 4 is a recent update. Is version 4 a different hardware board compared to EnvisaLink 3 or is the update from 3 to 4 just a software update? if so, what are the changes from EnvisaLink 3?

It is a completely new design. There are a few threads on this forum that expain the improvements.

- I also fear that the board is solely dependent on the eyez-on server. What if eyez-on ceases to exist (which nobody wants)? Will that render all functionalities useless?

9 years and counting. We are one of the top three providers of interactive services for DSC systems in the world and the ONLY one to do it with no monthly fees.

We are not going anywhere.

[wesly]

Hi GrandWizard, Thanks or the quick reply (it's appreciated)!

Hi all,
- I'm from Suriname (a country in South America). Is my carrier (Telesur) supported for sms alerts (I don't know their smsgateway)?

Ask your carrier if they have an email-to-SMS gateway. Typically it would be something like XXXXXXXXX@txt.telesur.sr . You need to ask them.

If they don't have a gateway then just use a gmail (on android) or iCloud (on iPhone) email address for your alerts as both of these support free push notifications which are just as fast, and maybe faster, than SMS alerts.

Unfortunately I don't have internet on my mobile phone available all the time (3G deals are still very expensive over here. So I rely mostly on Wifi). Therefor I prefer status updates by sms instead of pushed emails...
Telesur doesn't seem to have a smsgateway available for public. Is it possible to use a paid smsgateway such as http://www.abtxt.com/NetworkPrices.aspx (I would ofcourse pay for each sms through my sms account)?

9 years and counting. We are one of the top three providers of interactive services for DSC systems in the world and the ONLY one to do it with no monthly fees.

We are not going anywhere.

That's great to hear! Keep up the good work!

[wesly]

Now that I think about it, I could register an email address at a paid email2sms service (such as bulksms.com or abtxt.com ) and then configure that email address for use with EnvisaLink.

That way all emails to that address will be forwarded as an SMS to my phone.

This should work right?