Kerbl EquiAlarm User manual

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EN User guide
Thank you for purchasing a EquiAlarm. This is a dependable alarm system for foaling mares. We recommend that
you read this manual carefully prior to use. It is essential that the alarm is fitted and operated properly to ensure that
it works correctly.
Table of contents
1. Introduction 25
2. Package contents 25
3. Preparing for use 26
3.1 First time 26
3.2 Switching on/off 26
4. The EquiAlarm indicators 27
4.1 The status indicator 27
4.2 The GSM indicator 27
5. The interior of the EquiAlarm 28
5.1 Inserting/replacing the batteries 28
5.2 EquiAlarm housing 28
5.3 Inserting the SIM card 28
6. Installing a new SIM card 29
7. Programming telephone numbers 29
7.1 Programming mode 29
7.2 Programming telephone numbers 30
7.2.1 Programming by SMS 31
7.2.2 Direct programming 32
8. Testing 32
9. Fitting on the mare 33
9.1 Fitting under the halter 33
10. Summary and method of use 34
11. Technical information 34

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1. Introduction
Naturally, you want to be there when your mare is about to give birth, so that you can assist her or alert a vet if
there are any complications. Horses and ponies have a tendency to lie down, stretched out on their left or right flank
during the birthing process. This allows them more room during contractions. The EquiAlarm makes clever use of this
phenomenon. By simply fitting the EquiAlarm beneath the halter of your mare (or into an anti-roll girth), it will alert
you when the birth commences.
2. Package contents
1. The EquiAlarm transmitter.
2. The special holder. The EquiAlarm is slotted into this. This holder can be attached under your mare‘s halter, or
into the ring on the anti-roll girth.
3. Cable ties. In order to help you get started, we have supplied a number of cable ties (also referred to as „tie
wraps“). These cable ties are for once-only use, but can easily be obtained from any hardware store.
4. The special screwdriver. Firstly, this can be used to unscrew and open your EquiAlarm (for example when batte-
ries need replacing or when you need to insert/remove the SIM card). The rear of this screwdriver, however, con-
tains a strong magnet. You can use this to operate the EquiAlarm.
5. Documentation. You will find 2 documents enclosed with your EquiAlarm, specifically:
a. Quick start guide (brief, concise manual)
b. Troubleshooter (A checklist for use if you experience problems using the EquiAlarm)

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3. Preparing for use
3.1 First time
The following steps must be performed when using the EquiAlarm for the first time:
•UnscrewtheEquiAlarmandremovetheredlabelfromthepoleofthebattery.Thebatteriesarenowincontact
with the EquiAlarm.
•YouneedtopurchaseandsetuptheSIMyourself.Whenyouhavedonethis,theSIMcardmustbeactivatedand
slotted into the SIM holder. (see 5.3)
•Thesectionentitled“InstallinganewSIMcard”(see6)explainshowyoucansetupandinstallanewlypurchased
SIM card yourself.
Once you have performed these steps on your new EquiAlarm, you can reseal it with the screws and proceed with
the set-up.
If your own mobile telephone has a good reception in the stable or pasture where your
mare is located, we recommend that you purchase a SIM card from the same provider.
3.2 Switching on/off
The EquiAlarm can be switched on/off and operated using the rear end of the special screwdriver that has been
included.
In order to switch the EquiAlarm ON, you must proceed as follows:
•Holdtherearendofthescrewdriveragainstthe symbol on the side of the EquiAlarm.
•Youwillseethestatusindicatorlightupgreen.Youcannowremovethescrewdriver.
•TheEquiAlarmisnowactiveandreadytobeplacedonyourmare.
In order to switch the EquiAlarm OFF, you must proceed as follows:
•Holdtherearendofthescrewdriveragainstthe symbol on the side of the EquiAlarm
again.
•Youwillseethestatusindicatorgored.Youcannowremovethescrewdriver.
•TheEquiAlarmisnowoff.

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4. The EquiAlarm indicators
4.1 The status indicator
The status indicator is the outermost light on the side of the EquiAlarm. The status
indicator is a special light that can light up in 3 different colours: blue, green and red.
You can read the status of the EquiAlarm via the status indicator flash sequence. For
example, if the light is flashing Green, the EquiAlarm is OK. On the contrary, when the
status indicator is flashing red, the battery needs replacing.
The status indicator also displays further information when the EquiAlarm is making a
call. If the light is flashing blue and red alternatingly, this means that the signal recep-
tion is poor. If the light alternates between yellow/blue or green/blue, then the recep-
tion is fair or good! You can read what the standard light patterns mean below.
LED light pattern Meaning
Stand-by, Battery OK
Stand-by, Battery low
GSM active, Establishing a connection
GSM active, Network reception is poor
GSM active, Network reception is fair
GSM active, Network reception is good
Fig1. : Standard light patterns of the status indicator
4.2 The GSM indicator
Alongside the status indicator on the side of the EquiAlarm, you will also find a light
with the inscription “GSM”. This indicator only lights up amber. It is directly linked with
the EquiAlarm‘s internal GSM and will only light up when the internal GSM is active.
There are, in a nutshell, 3 possible situations in the case of the GSM indicator:
•TheGSMisseekinganetworkconnection(lightashesrapidly)
•TheGSMhasanetworkconnection(lightashesslowly)
•TheGSMiscurrentlymakingacall(lightiscontinuouslylitthroughoutthecall)
The GSM Indicator is only for support. As a general rule, you will mostly use the status indicator.

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5. The interior of the EquiAlarm
When you unscrew and open the EquiAlarm,
you will see the following major components:
1. Batteries
2. SIM card / SIM card holder
3. Status indicator
4. GSM indicator
5.1 Inserting/replacing the batteries
When replacing the batteries for your EquiAlarm, you must always use alkaline batteries (preferably “Duracell” or
“Panasonic”) Use of rechargeable batteries is not recommended. Always replace all 3 batteries simultaneously! A
small screwdriver may be used to carefully remove the batteries, if you are unable to do this with your fingers.
The batteries must be inserted so that the negative pole of the battery is placed on the spring.
Always use new batteries at the start of the foaling season!
When the EquiAlarm will not be used for a longer period of time, for example after the
foaling season, you should remove the batteries to prevent leaking that will damage your
EquiAlarm.
5.2 EquiAlarm housing
The housing of the EquiAlarm has been designed so that it can only be screwed shut in one way. This ensures that
the status and GSM indicators are visible.
5.3 Inserting the SIM card
The SIM card must be slotted into the EquiAlarm with the chip facing downwards. Note also the diagonal side of the
SIM card. This should be to the front when the SIM card is inserted.
Push the SIM card into the holder until you hear a click. You can then release the SIM card. The SIM card is now
sitting in the holder and the EquiAlarm is ready for use. When you want to remove the SIM card from the holder,
carefully push on the SIM card until you hear a click. If you now release the SIM card, the SIM card will come for-
ward so that you can easily remove it.

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6. Installing a new SIM card
Purchase a prepaid SIM card from your mobile specialist. You should preferably choose a provider that you know
offers good coverage in the location where you want to use the EquiAlarm.
Once you have purchased a SIM card, you need to activate it. You do this as follows:
•InsertthenewlypurchasedSIMcardintoyourownhandset.
•IfyourtelephoneasksforaPIN-codeafterbeingswitchedon,inputthecode.ThePINwillbestatedinthebooklet
or on the letter supplied with your SIM card. In most cases, the PIN is „0000“.
•Nowattempttomakeacallusingthetelephone.Youmayhearsomeformofwelcomemessagefromyourprovider
before the telephone connects the call, because this is the first time you are using the SIM. Listen to the message
in full.
•YoumustnowcheckwhetherthevoicemailfortheSIMcardisswitchedoff.Youcandosobycallingthenumber
of the SIM card from another telephone. If, after a while, you are transferred to a voicemail service, this means that
the voicemail for the SIM card is switched on. If this is the case, you must personally deactivate the voicemail
service by calling the provider‘s customer services department, or by inputting a certain deactivation code. The
procedure for deactivating the voicemail service differs for each provider and will be stated in the instructions for
your SIM card.
•IfyouareaskedtoinputaPINcodewhenyouswitchonthehandset,thisPINsecurityfeaturemustbeswitched
off. Consult the manual for your handset for instructions on how to do this.
•CheckhowmuchcreditisontheSIMcard.Youcandothisbycallingthecredit/top-upservicelineforyourprovi-
der. Make sure there is at least € 10 on the card. If the amount of credit is insucient, you must purchase a top-up
card (from a post oce or supermarket).
When you have performed all of these steps, the new SIM card will be ready for installation and use in the Equi-
Alarm. (see 5.3)
7. Programming telephone numbers
In order to change the settings of your EquiAlarm, you must put the device into programming mode.
7.1 Programming mode
In order to programme the EquiAlarm directly, you must proceed as follows:
•Holdtherearendofthescrewdrivertothe symbol on the side of the box for several seconds
•Whilstyouaredoingthis,thestatusindicatorwillrstashgreen3times,thenblue.
•Whenthestatusindicatorturnsblue,youcanremovethescrewdriver.
•TheEquiAlarmisnowinprogrammingmode.
When you are finished with programming wait 2-3 minutes, the EquiAlarm will automati-
cally exit the programming mode and return to normal mode. The EquiAlarm is now on
and ready for use.

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7.2 Programming telephone numbers
•ActivatetheEquiAlarm‘s“Programmingmode”(see7.1).WaituntiltheStatusindicatorisashing1xblue,
1 x green alternatingly.
•NowcalltheEquiAlarmwithyour(preferablymobile)telephone.
•TheEquiAlarmwillnowreceiveyourcallandprogrammeyourtelephonenumberinthememory.
•TheEquiAlarmwillnowcallyoubacktoconrmthenumber.Allowyourtelephoneringout(i.e.donotanswer
and do not divert).
You are now in fact finished with programming. The EquiAlarm now knows your number
and will call you when the birth is occurring. Now wait 2-3 minutes. The EquiAlarm will
automatically exit programming mode. The EquiAlarm is now ready for use.
Should you wish to pre-programme a second number, please follow the steps below.
•WaituntiltheEquiAlarmisashing1xblue,2xgreen.
•NowcalltheEquiAlarmwiththe2ndtelephoneyouwishtobecalledon(thismayalsobealandlinetelephone).
•TheEquiAlarmwillalsoreceivethiscallandwillprogrammeyourtelephonenumberinthememory.
•TheEquiAlarmwillalsocallyouonthistelephonetoconrmthenumber.Allowyourtelephonetoringoutanddo
not respond.
Fig2: status indicator light patterns during programming
LED light pattern Meaning
The EquiAlarm is ready for the first call
The EquiAlarm is ready for the second call
You can determine which number you are programming by the number of green flashes on
the EquiAlarm. For instance 1x blue and 2x green means that you are programming the
second telephone number.

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7.2.1 Programming by SMS
You can also programme the EquiAlarm by sending an SMS. In order to do this, you should proceed as follows:
•Onyourownmobiletelephone,composeaSMSwiththefollowingtext:“M1:” (Note! use a capital letter M)
immediately followed by the desired first number. The table below shows an example of a how to compose the SMS
in your country.
Country Country
code
Example mobile number: Example of the SMS to be composed:
(Note! Use a capital “M” and type everything
without spaces)
Niederlande (NL) [phone] M1:[phone]
Belgien (BE) [phone] M1:[phone]
Frankreich (FR) [phone] M1:[phone]
Schweiz (CH) [phone] M1:[phone]
Österreich (AT) [phone] M1:[phone]
England (UK) [phone] M1:[phone]
Schweden (SE) [phone] M1:[phone]
Deutschland (DE) [phone] M1:[phone]
As shown in the table, the number should be programmed using the country in place of
the first “0” that would normally be input when dialling a mobile number.
•ActivatetheEquiAlarm‘s“Programmingmode”(see7.1).WaituntiltheStatusindicatorisashing1xblue,1x
green alternatingly.
•NowsendtheSMSyouhavejustcomposedtothemobilenumberfortheEquiAlarm.
•YouwillshortlyreceiveareplySMSfromtheEquiAlarminconrmation.Thiswillshowthenumberyouhave
programmed, preceded by M1:
You can of course also programme M2 in the same way. You can easily programme both numbers at the same time
in a single SMS. Simply start a new line for each number in your SMS message.
We strongly recommend that you programme a mobile number as the first number (M1). If
you do this, the EquiAlarm can send you SMS messages and receive SMS messages from
you.
You can also programme the numbers via SMS when testing the EquiAlarm (see 8). When
the GSM indicator on the EquiAlarm is flashing steadily, you can send an SMS with tele-
phone number(s) or new settings and the EquiAlarm can process these.

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7.2.2 Direct programming
There is always the option of programming the EquiAlarm by temporarily inserting the EquiAlarm‘s SIM card into your
or another person‘s mobile telephone and saving the numbers on the SIM card via the telephone in question. However,
this is usually the most complex method. In order to programme the SIM card directly, you should proceed as follows:
•TaketheSIMcardoutoftheEquiAlarm‘sSIMcardholder.(see5.3)
•NowinserttheSIMcardintoadifferentmobiletelephone.
•Turnonthemobiletelephone.
•NowprogrammethenamesM1andM2intomemoryslots11and12ontheSIMcard.Youwillndtheprocedure
for doing this in the manual for the mobile telephone. Take care to ensure that you do not programme the num-
bers into the main memory of the telephone.
•ProgrambothnumbersontheSIMcard.Ifyoudonotwantoneofthememoryslotstobecalled,savethefol-
lowing as the telephone number: “+1111”.
8. Testing
Before you start using the EquiAlarm, it is essential that you first test it to ensure that it is operating correctly. You
can easily test the alarm yourself.
•PreferablyvisitthelocationwhereyourmareislocatedwiththeEquiAlarm.
•TaketheEquiAlarminyourhandsandswitchiton,sothatthestatusindicatorashesgreenonceevery8seconds.
•NowturntheEquiAlarm90degrees,sothatthestatusindicatorisfacingupwards.
•Thestatusindicatorwillnowashmorerapidlyandwillturnorange.
•Afterafewseconds,thestatusindicatorwillturnblueandtheGSMLEDwilllightupalso.
•TheEquiAlarmwillnowshortlybegindiallingthenumberprogrammedunder“M1”.
•Donotanswerthiscalland,similarly,donotrejectitbypushingtheredbutton.Simplyallowthetelephonetoring
out.
•TheEquiAlarmwillceasecallingautomaticallyafterafewseconds.
•YoucannowstoptheEquiAlarmbysimplycallingit.TheEquiAlarmwillansweryourcallandyouwillhear3tones
as confirmation that you have deactivated the EquiAlarm. The EquiAlarm will then dial no further numbers until it
is once again turned 90° after a few minutes.
If the test proved successful, you can now install the EquiAlarm on your mare.
If you encounter any problems, please use the enclosed “Troubleshooter”.
You can programme the mobile phone number of the EquiAlarm in your phone, using a
name like “Mare” or “Birth”. You will now be able to see on the display when the
EquiAlarm calls.
When you the EquiAlarm calls you (whether it is a birth alarm or a programming call),
never answer the call. When you answer it is basically a conversation and you will be
charged so. Never decline (push the red button) a call either, because the call may be
diverted to your voicemail.

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9. Fitting on the mare
In order to be able to use the EquiAlarm in a girth or under the halter, it must be secured in the supplied holder. You
can do this as follows:
•SlidetheEquiAlarmintotheholdercarefully,asshowninthephotobelow.
•Makesurethatbothindicatorsarevisibleontheside.
•Next,closetheapusingtheclipprovided.
9.1 Fitting under the halter
If you wish to use the EquiAlarm under a halter, it
should be fitted as shown below, using 3 cable
ties.

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10. Summary and method of use
Below is a brief description of how the EquiAlarm works and how it should be used. We advise you to read this text.
The EquiAlarm checks the position of your mare once every 8 seconds. During the intervals, the EquiAlarm will switch to an energy-ecient
mode, so that your battery is not being used. When your mare starts having contractions and lays down outstretched as a result, the
EquiAlarm will call your mobile telephone. The telephone number of the EquiAlarm will then be displayed on the screen of your mobile
telephone. If you store this number in the contact list of your mobile telephone with a name such as „EquiAlarm“ or „Mare“, this name will
also be displayed on the screen of your telephone. You will now know that the EquiAlarm is calling you. In contrast to what you would
normally do, do not answer the phone in this instance! This will ensure that you do not start a „conversation“ and the report to you will be
entirely free of charge. After a few seconds, the EquiAlarm will stop calling automatically. You can then call back the EquiAlarm (this is also
free of charge). This will let the EquiAlarm know that you have heard its call and the device will stop dialling. The EquiAlarm will only
reactivate if the horse lies down again.
If you do not call back the EquiAlarm within approximately one minute, the EquiAlarm will call the second number in its memory (if a
second number has been programmed) and will then once again wait approximately one minute for confirmation. If the EquiAlarm has
called both numbers once without either number having responded, the EquiAlarm will redial the first number and then redial the 2nd
number. The EquiAlarm will then cease calling automatically.
It should be noted that calling a landline connection (your home telephone) presents no problem for the EquiAlarm. If your landline tele-
phone is equipped with number recognition, you can see in advance whether it is the EquiAlarm calling you. If your landline telephone does
not have number recognition, you are forced to answer every call. In such instances, you will hear a bleep that enables you to identify the
EquiAlarm. In this instance, however, you do establish a call connection with the EquiAlarm and a small amount of credit will be deducted
from the prepaid card of the EquiAlarm. We recommend that you check the credit regularly should you wish to use the EquiAlarm in this
way. Make sure that this remains above € 10 at all times.
The system can generally operate for at least one month on a set of alkaline batteries. We strongly advise against the use of rechargeable or
cheaper zinc-carbon batteries.
11. Technical information
Supply voltage 4.5V (3xAA Alkaline)
Power consumption 130uA average (1,3A peak)
GSM Module Dual band GSM-900/1800 MHZ
Memory slots 2
Sleep mode No
Detection angle Adjustable 65-80°
Notification types Phone calls / SMS
Guarantee Card
Based on our General Terms and Conditions we provide a 2-YEAR GUARANTEE for this product for the resolution of damage caused by
defective materials or manufacturing defects. The guarantee term is valid from the date of purchase.
The guarantee does not cover:
1. Damage caused by natural wear and tear (wearing parts, sliding parts), overloading or incorrect operation.
2. Damaged caused by an Act of God or during transportation.
3. Damage to rubber parts, e.g. on connection wires. Guarantee repairs are only carried out at the manufacturing works or an authorised
repair shop! The manufacturer reserves the right to refuse any guarantee claim in cases of non-compliance.
For this purpose the equipment must be returned to the point of sale in one piece, packaged and postage paid with the original invoice and
the guarantee card. Please give details of the nature of your complaint. The owner of the equipment will carry costs that arise from unjusti-
fied complaints.