Cold temperatures means freezing temperatures and with that usually comes snow which is needed for one of my favorite winter activities: snowmobiling!

I picked up my iPhone and checked out how the office was doing.

Isn’t technology today with smart phones amazing.  Above you can see our cameras, zoom in, check the humidity sensors, water detectors, outstanding alarms and more all with one thumb.

We of course setup the above system to give customer demonstrations.  Call us to check out our security monitoring solution.

I also learned that the LUX rating is extremely important when choosing a night vision camera.  The lower to zero the better. In other words, .001 is extremely good night vision. Configuration of the security dashboard is also important.  I was able to setup a security map which listed where I had placed our temperature monitors, humidity monitors, security cameras, water sensors, air flow sensors, smoke, dry contact and DC voltage sensors.  I got it all setup before I finished my morning coffee.

Believe it or not, dry contact sensors are popular especially in data room temperature monitoring.  The techs love the Security web interface.

If you want to learn more about the process I went through to set up our security monitoring system, give us a call.

We got ours setup and attached a few cameras that we had laying around the office.  The web dashboard allowed me the select the most important cameras as well as view the log of environmental events that may end up triggering notifications.  All of this functionality in a single appliance.

One securityProbe can be used to connect several different cameras and at the same time provide ports for environmental sensors such as water leaks, temperature, humidity, smoke, power outages and more. This hardware provides one of the best low cost environmental, power and security monitoring solutions available on the net.

Nationally, the USA is not seeing a big increase in crime, however this is best measured locally according to the Bureau of Justice.  Is crime on the increase in your area?

What is interesting about this solution is that it doesn’t involve multiple monitor spread out over a wall with 1-2 people watching for problems (or sleeping).

Our solution is a dashboard that allows you to have cameras from different vendors in the same web interface.  You can place a gadget using any 3rd party URL into the mashup. I should be able to put some NetFlow probes  in here as well.

I can’t wait to start testing the playback features:

I should be able to post some details over the coming months.  I’ll even have some night vision cameras with inferred technology to tinker with.  I can’t wait!

The picture that looks like a car vending machine is Volkswagen’s new car storage facility in Wolfsburg, Germany. I bet they must have to make sure the whole facility is kept at an optimal temperature and humidity level at all time. They must have some way to be notified if said temperature and humidity drops below a certain threshold. Now you can do that too.

You  can use a temperature and humidity monitoring sensor to keep tabs of the environment in a local car storage facilities or even your own garage. This way when the temperature and humidity reaches a certain threshold you can be notified via SNMP.

For an added measure you can even put a water sensor in your storage facility to ensure that cherished vehicles are not water damaged. The water sensor is a rope that is placed throughout a facility. When water is detected along it’s length you can also be notifies via SNMP.

As we see the future of cars evolve so must the methods of storing them.

In an expensive and extensive data center you would want to know when a door is being opened or your windows being shut, right? The Security Sensor will help you keep track of this. It is a sensor that has either an on or off mode to it that is triggered by a current when the two points of the device meet. You set it above or below your door or window and when the two ends meet they connect to form a current and alerts your Security Probe 5E (and you) that the door is closed. In most cases Security Sensors are not enough to keep a data room completely safe.

Motion Detectors are another great way to stay secure in a growing data enriched world. Motion Detectors use an infrared motion detecting system to detect and movement within their sights. This can also be configured with the Security Probe 5E or BitSight probes.

The most important staple for security is The Smoke Detector. This is something that not only every house hold should have but also every data center. A smoke detector can sense any smoke in the room and alert you and others that there is smoke in the vicinity. What is great about this smoke detector is that it is connected to your network so you can be notified through your mobile temperature monitoring device if anything happens plus it does not require batteries.

Of course you will need all of the above security sensors to send an audio and visual alarm. This is where the Siren and Strobe Lights come into play. The sensors can be triggered manually or configured to turn on in congruence with any other security or environmental sensor.

And now it’s even easier to trap trigger a relay across the internet using the using the securityProbe 5E.

The set-up procedure has been simplified.  Here is a summary:
• The SNMP Trap Receiver is turned on in the Virtual Sensor portion of the SecurityProbe’s web interface.
• The SecurityProbe can receive an SNMP trap from another device, such as a BitSight2.
• The Trap received can be used to trigger a relay to turn on and off other sensors, send alerts from the SecurityProbe unit, and perform other actions.

When an event occurs, the SecurityProbe 5E can send SNMP traps, email, SMS, MMS, make a telephone call, and make an audio alert.  These alert messages are customizable and can include a picture of the event.  Besides notification alerts, event information is stored in a nonvolatile flash memory.  The SecurityProbe 5E has a battery-backed time-of-day clock to facilitate accurate record keeping.

In order to prevent false alarms, the SecurityProbe 5E provides an extensive filtering of events.  You can limit events based on time of day or day of the week.  This is especially useful with equipment such as the motion detector, where you may want to process an event only when the business is closed.

Call Ravica at 207-324-8173 for more information about the SecurityProbe 5E and our other products designed to keep your data and facilities safe.

~Angela
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Check out our online demo to see some features of the BitSight2 environmental monitoring system.  See the parameters we have selected for use in our own data room.  These parameters are easily customizable to accommodate your specific environmental needs.

This sensor probe works with every intelligent sensor in the Ravica family.  You can connect any of our sensors in any combination to monitor temperature, humidity, water leakage, and airflow including long term graphing, security, detect AC Power Line Voltage, Measure Digital Voltmeter, control relays, and many more.  Our sensors include an integrated data collection and graphing package to spot trends in the airflow, temperature, and humidity.

Dry contacts and drivers are available for monitoring UPS status, security systems, and air conditioning status.

Every sensor comes with our unique autosense feature. Whenever a new type of sensor is plugged in, the autosense will recognize it and reconfigure the BS2 to begin monitoring it. In the event of an alarm or temperature / humidity threshold being exceeded, it has the ability to send alert notifications using Email, SMS (via an email-to-SMS gateway) and SNMP Traps.

From anywhere in the world, you can view your data center’s status via the web interface.  Also, view your data center with the integrated security cameras.

You can map the location of the probes in your data center or facility.  You can integrate this map into your own management applications.

The Ravica line of environmental sensors and products is versatile and reliable.  Feel free to play with the online demo to see some of the available features.  If you have further questions, give us a call any time.

~Angela
207-324-8173
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For traditional residential smoke detectors, the National Fire Protection Association recommends that you “change your battery when you change your clock” (twice yearly).  They also recommend that you also test the smoke detectors monthly.

According to the United States Fire Administration, household detectors should be placed in or near each sleeping area, on each floor, and not within four inches of where walls meet ceilings.

In the workplace, employers should have written and oral fire prevention plans in place which are readily available for all employees.  According to the United States Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), a building’s alarm system should provide instant notification of potential threats and should provide alarming in a variety of ways to alert employees.  For example, the alarm “shall be capable of being perceived above ambient noise or light levels.”

Ravica’s sirens and lights do just that and more.  To protect people and property, Ravica offers devices that can notify you instantly of possible threats, even if you aren’t on-site.  Ravica’s SensorProbes environmental monitors can notify you of hazards in remote locations, such as a second home or an unmanned facility.  You can be virtually anywhere in the world and still receive alerts through texts, Skype, and email.  During your vacation in Maine, you can feel confident that your Ravica SensorProbe will notify you of any potential water leaks, humidity, power outages, temperature fluctuations, unauthorized access, and smoke.

During this National Fire Prevention Month, please take a few moments to review your smoke and fire warning devices and your escape routes.  Early detections can save lives, data, and dollars.

~Angela
207-324-8173
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Albeit gorgeous, the home features glass exterior walls, allowing the occupant to be “one with nature.”  But it also seems to allow the occupant to be “one with everyone else who is standing outside the house.”

This takes the concept of “neighborhood watch” to a new level. 

But it did get me thinking…  Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to allow your neighbors direct views into your home.  For example, if neighbors should see smoke in the home, they could alert the fire department.  Should neighbors notice a water leak, they could contact the proper resources.  Should they observe an intruder, police could be summoned.  So, for the minuscule price of $35 million, you could have a home with these security features.

Out of your price range?  Then I’d like to suggest a simpler and more cost effective solution to monitoring your home or business.  A Ravica environmental monitoring device is a multipurpose solution to notify you of environmental hazards in your home, data center, or business.  Get instant alerts about smoke, humidity, power outages, and so much more.  Protect your assets and infrastructure against total damage.   Our sensorProbe unit is fully SNMP enabled, allowing for easy integration into many existing monitoring systems.

If you want to keep your surroundings safe from humidity damage, smoke, or temperature fluctuations, give us a call.  We are here to help.  And we won’t charge $35 million.

~Angela
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