Pima Sentinel Installation guide

SENTINEL Receiver & Decoder PCI Card
PIMAGUARD Configuration Application
Installation and Operating Guide
PIMA Electronic Systems Ltd.
www.pima-alarms.com
P/N 4410051 F1
XX, en (Feb 2011)

2Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 3
Table of contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................... 5
Main Features................................................................................................................................... 5
Benefits ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Smart Repeater ................................................................................................................................ 5
The Product Package ......................................................................................................................... 6
Hardware requirements ..................................................................................................................... 6
Bios configuration .......................................................................................................................... 6
Software requirements ...................................................................................................................... 6
Sentinel Installation ......................................................................................................... 7
Installation Package .......................................................................................................................... 7
Installing a Sentinel card.................................................................................................................... 7
Installing several Sentinels ................................................................................................................. 7
Connecting the cards inputs ............................................................................................................... 7
Setting the card’s address............................................................................................................... 8
Adjusting the transceiver’s output ....................................................................................................... 8
PimaGuard Installation ..................................................................................................... 8
Under Windows XP© ......................................................................................................................... 8
Under Windows 7© ......................................................................................................................... 10
General Description and Interface .................................................................................... 12
The File menu ................................................................................................................................ 12
The Edit menu ................................................................................................................................ 12
Copy/Paste/Clear ......................................................................................................................... 12
General ........................................................................................................................ 13
Configuration ................................................................................................................................. 13
Communication formats ................................................................................................................... 14
Creating a new format.................................................................................................................. 14
Programming ................................................................................................................ 16
Sentinel 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 16
Sentinel configuration................................................................................................................... 16
Line 1 configuration ..................................................................................................................... 16
Radio 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Communication ............................................................................................................. 18
Type ............................................................................................................................................. 19
Mode ......................................................................................................................................... 19
On error switch to ........................................................................................................................... 19
Examples.................................................................................................................................... 19
Format .......................................................................................................................................... 20
ACK timeout ............................................................................................................................... 20
Idle timeout ................................................................................................................................ 20
Port number................................................................................................................................ 20
IP/URL ....................................................................................................................................... 20
Add to account ............................................................................................................................ 20
Route to ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Filters ........................................................................................................................................ 20
Logs ............................................................................................................................ 21
Log file size .................................................................................................................................... 21
Tools ........................................................................................................................... 21
Monitor.......................................................................................................................................... 21
General ...................................................................................................................................... 21
Debug ........................................................................................................................................ 21
Config Analyzer .............................................................................................................................. 22
Oscillograph ...................................................................................................................................22
Firmware...................................................................................................................... 23
Firmware upgrade ........................................................................................................................... 23
Test RAM ....................................................................................................................................... 23
Repeaters ..................................................................................................................... 24
Repeater 1 ..................................................................................................................................... 24
Input ......................................................................................................................................... 24
Output ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Channel...................................................................................................................................... 25
Filters .......................................................................................................................... 25
Account ......................................................................................................................................... 25
Limit List .................................................................................................................................... 25
Event ............................................................................................................................................ 26
Date.............................................................................................................................................. 26
Days ............................................................................................................................................. 26
Time ............................................................................................................................................. 26
Format .......................................................................................................................................... 26
Channel ......................................................................................................................................... 26
Appendix A: Recommended Transceiver Specifications........................................................ 27
Appendix B: Central Station Installation Checklist .............................................................. 27
Radio Transceiver ........................................................................................................................... 27
Antenna & Cable ............................................................................................................................. 27
Appendix C: Fault Codes ................................................................................................. 28
Sentinel status events ..................................................................................................................... 29

4Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
Appendix D: Structured Communication Formats ............................................................... 29
Legend .......................................................................................................................................... 29
Source options examples .............................................................................................................. 30
Structured Formats ......................................................................................................................... 30
Appendix E: Events Conversion Table ............................................................................... 36
NPAF/EPAF ..................................................................................................................................... 40
ELL6 ............................................................................................................................................. 49
CID/PID......................................................................................................................................... 50
SIA ............................................................................................................................................... 55
Appendix F: Programming Line & Radio Formats ................................................................ 60
Line Formats .................................................................................................................................. 60
System ...................................................................................................................................... 60
Flags.......................................................................................................................................... 60
Radio Formats ................................................................................................................................ 60
System ...................................................................................................................................... 60
Flags.......................................................................................................................................... 60
Extra.......................................................................................................................................... 60
Repeater Formats ........................................................................................................................... 61

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 5
INTRODUCTION
PimaGuard is PIMA’s configuration application for its Sentinel receiver. The Sentinel receiver solution combines
both 4 PSTN lines with 2 radio channels per device; up to 4 devices can be mounted in one PC.
The application can be used as a receiver and as a repeater; the PimaGuard can handle all communication
requirements for both functions.
PimaGuard is a sophisticated and multiple-function application that includes the following programmable
variables:
• Channel formats configurations;
• Central Monitoring Station format modification;
• Logs management;
• Sophisticated programmable Repeater;
• Advanced debug mode and failure mechanism;
• Sophisticated event filters;
The Sentinel contains radio & telephone receiver. The receiver and the smart Repeater differ only in the
PimaGuard settings.
Main Features
• Expandability: the PimaGuard is an expandable product, allowing customers to start with a single PSTN line
or Radio channel and purchase more as business grows. A PC can have up to 4 Sentinel cards, enabling up
to 16 PSTN lines and 8 Radio channels;
• Each Sentinel card is driven by PIMA's proprietary technology, that enables upgrading and expanding the
number of inputs without any hardware changes;
• Supports multiple formats for each channel: PAF, CID, SIA, KP, DESK, ELL and more;
• Automatic testing of the card and the input channel. Failures and status are reported to the Central
Monitoring Station management application;
• Up to 4 Sentinels;
• Each PSTN line supports up to 4 different ACKs ans 8 formats per ACK;
• Eight communication channels with switching option upon failure;
• Sophisticated debugging mode for failure diagnostics;
• Password protection;
• Time flexible buffer;
• Optional Caller-ID (where supported);
• High Radio signal sensitivity;
• Built-in scope utility for easy tuning of Radio amplifier;
Benefits
• With PimaGuard technology, each card can be expanded to 4 telephone lines and 2 radio-receivers;
• Live monitor of the last 1024 events;
• Bi-directional channel (Repeater to CMS) saves more than 90% of transmission air-time occupancy;
Smart Repeater
The smart repeater utilizes bi-directional communication with the Central Monitoring Station, for sending events
efficiently. The repeater requires no external software for its operation. It operates in dual-mode as a multi-
channel repeater, i.e., it can receive the event in one channel (e.g. Radio) and transmit it via a various media (e.g.
telephone) and vice versa. The most common application is Radio-to-Radio repeater with a telephone or the
network as a backup.
The CMS acknowledges each event sent by the Repeater. Messages are re-sent if an '500 events or event timeout
limit, until 'Acknowledge' is received from the CMS. This sequence guarantees the following:

6Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
A. Transmission time is extremely fast as each transmission is consisted of one frame (contrary to
transmission of 10 frames by customer’s transmitter), thus saving air time. When confirmation is not
received, the Repeater continues to transmit the event until it is acknowledged. While retransmitting an
event, new incoming events are stored in the buffer.
B. Continuous bi-directional monitoring identifies failures in communication and events to the
monitoring station.
The Product Package
The Sentinel package contains the following:
• The Sentinel Card;
• The PimaGuard™ driver installation CD;
• A radio connection cable (P/N 3411055);
• 4 RJ-11 standard telephone cords (P/N 3411046);
• Cross link 9-pin D-type serial communication cable (P/N 3411041);
• This guide;
Hardware requirements
• CPU: Intel Pentium , 233MHz & up processor;
• RS-232 port (optional);
• LAN connection 10/100/1000Mb (optional);
• Hard Drive 1.5 GB;
• Memory card 64Mb & up;
• 4 available USB ports (optional);
• Standard PCI (33 MHz);
• Availabe I/O physical addresses 0C00-FCFF for the sentinel support;
• CD-DVD drive;
• UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) - recommended;
Bios configuration
• On AC Power - Turn On (recommended);
Software requirements
• Operating System: Windows XP Pro©, XP Home©, Win Server 2008©, Vista©, Win7©- All versions ;

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 7
SENTINEL INSTALLATION
Installation Package
The installation package includes the following files:
1. Sentinel.sys: a driver for Windows©XP;
2. SIS.exe: the application file;
3. *.bs1: configuration file;
4. Sentinel7.sys: Windows© 7 & Vista driver;
5. CARD.S19: Sentinel’s firmware file;
6. English.lng: interface language file. The application’s default language is English;
7. *.inf: Sentinel’s hardware installation file;
8. English.evnm: Structured protocols conversion tables for monitoring & logging;
Installing a Sentinel card
1. Turn off the PC and unplug it from mains. Any attempt to install the card otherwise would damage it and
the PC.
Figure 1. Installing a Sentinel card
2. Open the PC case and insert the Sentinel card to the first available standard PCI slot1
3. If you install more than one Sentinel, insert the others too (max. 4 cards).
4. Close the PC case, plug it and turn it on.
Installing several Sentinels
When you install several Sentinels (up to 4), the procedure is as folllows:
1. Insert the cards to the slots;
2. Reboot the PC;
3. Install the cards drivers via Windows ‘Device Manager’ or ‘New Hardware Wizard’. This also automatically
installs the PimaGuard files under ‘C\Program Files\Common Files\SIS;
4. Reboot the PC;
Connecting the cards inputs
The Sentinel has 4 PSTN and 2 radio inputs. The next figure shows how these inputs are connected.
Figure 2. Connecting the radio channels and telephone lines
1. Connect the supplied telephone cords to the Sentinel in the order the PimaGuard will later be
programmed;
2. Connect the supplied radio cable (P/N 3411055): connect one cable to transceiver #1 and the other to
transceiver #2. The wiring should be done according to the following table:
1. See, for example: http://video.about.com/pcsupport/PCIcard-mov.htm
SW2
Channel #1
Sentry/
Sentinel
PSTN
#1
#2
#3
#4
Channel #2
Radio
Line

8Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
3. Adjust the transceiver’s output, as described on page 27
Setting the card’s address
The Sentinel’s address is set by a 4-pin dip-switch, located on the PCB.
Figure 3. The card’s address setting dip-switch
The address options are as follows:
Adjusting the transceiver’s output
When connecting a transceiver to the Sentinel, the following should be adjusted:
1. The receiver’s output signal should not exceed 2 Vp-p (Peak-to-peak Voltage). When the 2 Vp-p limit
cannot be met, contact your vendor for support;
2. The receiver’s squelch control should be turned off, i.e., reception signal is not interrupted by the
squelch filter;
PIMAGUARD INSTALLATION
Under Windows XP©
After installing the Sentinel, when Windows boots up, the ‘Add New Hardware Wizard’ should start running
automatically. If not, go to ‘Start’ -> ‘Control Panel’ and double-click the ‘Add Hardware’ icon, or open the
‘Device Manager’ (‘Start’ -> ‘Control Panel’ -> ‘System’ -> ‘Device Manager’), right-click the device with the
yellow question mark and click ‘Update Driver...’.
Figure 4. The Sentinel as appears in the Device Manager before installing its driver
Color Description Transceiver
Red PTT -
White Sentinel DATA Out Audio input
Green Sentinel DATA In Audio output
Black Volume Volume control
Yellow Shield (GND) Ground
The availabe I/O physical addresses for the sentinel support are: 0C00-FCFF
Two Sentinels cannot have the same address

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 9
1. In the wizard’s first screen, click ‘Next’; Windows will now search for the newly installed Sentine hardware.
2. In the next screen, after the Sentinel was identified by Windows, select ‘No, not this time’ and
click ‘Next’.
3. Select ‘Install from a list or specific location’ and click ‘Next’.
4. Select ‘Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install’ and click ‘Next’.
5. Press ‘Have Disk’. If the PimaGuard was previously intalled on the PC, disregard the driver
installation history as seen in the image.
6. Browse to the folder where the PimaGuard installation files are located. Click the folder and click ‘OK’.
7. The Sentinel will now appear on the window.
8. Press ‘Next’. The PimaGuard driver will now be installed.

10 Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
9. In the wizard’s final screen; press ‘Finish’.
10. When the installation is finished, you should see the installed Sentinel in the ‘Device Driver’ window,
under ‘CMS.’
11. Reboot the PC. The PimaGuard runs automatically after the reboot.
Under Windows 7©
To install the Sentinel under Windows 7©follow the next steps. See the note at the end of this section:
1. On the desktop, right-click the ‘My Computer’ icon and select ‘Manage’. In the window that pops up, click
‘Device Manager’ on the left pane.
2. Right-click the first ‘Network Controller’ and select ‘Update Driver Software...’.
3. In the next window click the option “Browse for driver software on your computer”.
4. In the “Select your device’s type from the list below” window click the option ”show all devices” and
click ‘Next’.
• When installing several Sentinels, you might need to reboot the PC
between each installation.
• If the newly installed sentinel doesn’t appear in the ‘Device Manager’
window, contact PIMA support team.

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 11
5. In the device list window, click ‘Have Disk’. If the PimaGuard was previously intalled on the PC, disregard
the driver installation history.
6. Browse to the PimaGuard folder and select it.
7. The Sentinel will now appear in the Update driver software window. Click Next.
8. If a warning pops up, click ‘Yes’.
9. In the Windows Security window click ‘Install this driver software anyway’.’
10. Wait for the installation to end with the message “Windows has successfully updated your driver software”
and click ‘Close’.
.
When Working under Windows 7, the UAC (User Account Control) notifications feature
needs to be disabled. To do that:
1. Go to ‘Start’ -> Control Panel’, change the ‘View by’ (on the upper right) to large
or small icons, and click the User Accounts icon
2. Click ‘Change User Account Control Settings’ and place the bar down at "Never
Notify" (see the next image).
3. Press OK, then Yes in the warning massage, and exit the ‘Control Panel’ menu.

12 Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
GENERAL DESCRIPTION AND INTERFACE
Figure 5. The Sentinel & PimaGuard operating scheme
The PimaGuard includes a Kernel mode driver for the Sentinel and a GUI (Graphic User Interface) for configuring
it. The application’s window is divided into 2 panes:
• The left pane displays the root menus: General, Sentinels, Communication, Logs, Repeaters and Tools;
• The right pane displays a list of parameters and their values.
Double-clicking an item on the menu tree and on some parameters on the right pane (e.g. Format) opens a
separate configuration window. After setting the parameters in the window and closing it, the list on the right pane
displays the configured information. For example, in the next screen capture, the settings of Filter 1, Format 1
and some other parameters are displayed.
Figure 6. PimaGuard’s main window
The File menu
The ‘File’ menu contains these PimaGuard commands:
The Edit menu
The next commands are available at most levels of the menu and for all parameters and text fields.
Copy/Paste/Clear
Formats, filters, ACKs and other parameters can be copied by using the Copy command on the main menu. Pasting
the copied information onto parameter of the same sort, copies its information. For example, in the next screen
capture, ‘Format 2’ was set by copy-pasting ‘Format 1’.
Copy/paste operations are also available by standard Windows shortcuts: Ctrl+C & Ctrl+V.
To clear information, click the parameter/row from the parameter list of the root menu, and select ‘Clear’ from the
application menu, or press the Delete key.
Central Monitoring Station
TCP/IP
Radio
Radio
Sentinel & PimaGuard
RS-232
PSTN
• Three stars (***) next to application’s logo indicates that data was changed but not
saved yet.
• If a Sentinel/COM/Log etc. fails to load, the application’s icon in the menu is grayed.
Save Save current configuration
Discard Changes Undo modifications
Export Export the configurations to a CSV or text file
Upgrade/Restore Load upgrade file or restore your configurations from a file
Reset Cards Slots Run this command when you install several Sentinel cards, after each card’s
installation and PC reboot

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 13
GENERAL
Figure 7. The PimaGuard interface
Configuration
1. On the left pane, double-click ‘General’, than double-click ‘Configuration’, or double-click any parameter on
the right pane.
2. In the Configuration window that pops up, fill in the next CMS details:.
Figure 8. The configuration window
A. CMS name: the Cental Monitoring Station or the customer’s name.
B. Note (here and everywhere else): free text for the customer’s use.
C. Password: protect the installation package and any future change by a password. If left blank, the
PimaGuard will not be protected against fraud. The password can have up to 9 characters and is case
sensitive.
D. Create date: the date the PimaGuard was created. Read only field. Create version: the PimaGuard version
file (‘bs1’) version. Read only field. if the PimaGuard is upgraded, the ‘bs1’ file and the PimaGuard might
have different versions.
E. Configuration file path: the location of the ‘bs1’ configuration file (automatic).
F. Account: a fault account (8000 in most cases). This PimaGuard self account/fault event is sent to the
Central Monitoring Station via all the modules, each in its own protocol. If you don’t set any event, the
PimaGuard will not report any fault.
The event transmission and reset are indicated by Windows ‘Exclamation’ tone, set in the Sounds
Control Panel. See the Faults appendix on page 28.
G. Event timeout: Set a time in minutes for the PimaGuard to keep events in a buffer, if transmission is
delayed (unless incoming events fill up the buffer before).
H. Run delay: set a timeout in seconds for the PimaGuard application to wait after reboot and
before running.
I. At first run: set commands to run when the PimaGuard application starts running. To insert a command:
enter the command and press the Insert key; to erase a command: choose it and press Delete.
J. Language: select the interface language.
K. Beep time: set the error beep length in seconds. The beep can be temporarily stopped, by resetting the
error or clicking anyway in the application window. If the error is not resetted, the beep will be sound
hourly, even if it was temporarily stopped.
The ‘Run delay’ timeout, if set, precedes the execution of the ‘At first run’ file.

14 Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
Communication formats
Figure 9. Communication formats window. The selected format is FBI External
The Communication formats window is made of the next parts:
1. The upper part is where the Format and its ACK and Idle patterns are selelcted. The format drop-list
contains structured formats (see "Structured Communication Formats" on page 29 for the full format
list) and is also used for defining new formats. All the fields of the structured formats are part of the
format ans cannot be modified. If you do change anything, the PimaGuard will not save it. The only way
to change a parameter is to create a new format;
2. ‘Structures’ is where the incoming and outgoing Serial format trransmissions are set. There are four
optional structures.
3. ’Formats’ reffer to the incoming transmissions, i.e., in which format the incoming transmission is expected.
There are four options: PAF/NPAF/EPAF, SIA, CID (Contact ID), PID and 4X2, which stands for all other
formats: DTMF, pulses, etc..
4. Special: this feature enables you to utilize built-in conditions in the protocol’s pattern, by using the
character [S]. See Appendix D, page 29.
5. The Pattern refers to the format group that is selected in the Structure. If the selected formats are CID and
SIA, the pattern should fit to information data received from both
6. The ‘Event Conversion’ enables you to convert events from within the transmission itself, from one format
to another, to match the pattern. For example CID event 130 (Burglary) can be converted to ‘Hex 2 digits’
and be sent as ‘82’. The full event conversion table is in Appendix E, page 36.
A legend of the characters of the Formats page is located on page 29.
Creating a new format
There are two ways to create a new format:
• Create a modified format, by changing the name of one of the structured formats in the list;
• Create a new format from scratch;
Create a new format based on existing one
To create a new format based on existing (structured) one, you only need to change the name of a format from
the formats list. After saving the new format, it will be added on the end of the list. For example: to create a new
format based on the SURGARD format, add "_sample" to the format name; a new format called
‘SURGARD_sample’ will be created. Now you can change any parameter: in the next example (see next screen
capture), we’ve changed the 0 to 1 and \40 to \43 in refer to the Idle (special conditions and legends do not apply
to ACK and Idle patterns).
The output account can be changed to Hexa. In this example, we switched 'A’ with 'L' in ‘Structure 1’, i.e., only
incoming accounts from 4x2 input transmissions will be converted or calculated as Hexa.
Groups of input transmissions can also be distinguished, by creating a new pattern for each group. In this
example, PAF group & pattern were added to ‘Structure 4’. In such a case, the PAF structure must be deselected
from the first group; see the previous warning.
In ‘Structure 4’, the ‘Special’ is "Format"; this means that [S] in the incoming format group (PAF in this case) will
be replaced by information received from the control panel’s Siren and Key status, in PAF.
The same incoming format can only be used once for each struchture

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 15
Figure 10. Formats page with a new, manually set format
Another issue which is demonstrated here, is the ‘Event Conversion’, which can be implemented in any of the
structure’s patterns differently. In this example, CID/PID events will be converted to Hex 2-Digit format (see the
conversion table on page 40). If, for example, event #130 (Burglary) is received, it will be converted to 82. The
first ‘E’ in the ContactID event is to be replaced by '0'; this is optional only: 'E' or any other information can also
be used.
After pressing OK, the format will be saved and appear at the end of the list; it will
be available in the communication channels formats list.

16 Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
PROGRAMMING
Sentinel 1
Sentinel configuration
1. IO Range: enter the physical address of the first card. For example: 1C00, 3C00, 5C00 (see page 8).
2. Click OK; to set other Sentinels, repeat the process from step #6, with each Sentinel.
Line 1 configuration
3. Double-click ‘Line 1’. The Line configuration window pops up;
Figure 11. Line 1 configuration windows
4. Caller ID: is used mainly for repeating calls that contain no valid information, because of either a fault
or a deliberate communication interference. When this happens, the PimaGuard sends a fault report in
4X2 format with the code ‘7D’ and the caller ID. The caller ID number is written to the log, even if the
line protocol does not support this feature.
5. Test time: set the line testing interval. The Sentinel will perform 3 tests during every interval, and only if the
3 fail, a report will be generated. See Appendix C, page 28.
6. Click OK. The pop-up window is shut down and the ‘Line’ settings are displayed in the PimaGuard
window.
7. On the right pane, double-click ‘ACK 1’ and select the first opening ACK from the drop-down list.
8. Set a delay (in 1/7 of a second; 7=one second) if needed and Click OK.
Formats
Figure 12. Line formats window
9. Double-click ‘Format 1’.
10. Format: select the format from the drop-down list. Press ‘Convert’ if you need the PIMA format style in
order to program a PIMA alarm system.
11. System: enter the system number as a Hexadecimal number. See Appendix F, page 60.
12. Flag: do not change the data in this field unless instructed otherwise by PIMA. See "Programming Line &
Radio Formats" on page 60
13. Close ACK: change the default ACK only if the alarm system uses a non-default closing ACK itself.
• The Sentinel’s faults are reported by a 2 byte number. See "Fault Codes" on
page 28
We recommend to consult our support team, before changing the default ACK, Flag or System.

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 17
14. PIMA style: this part is only to help you configuring the protocol, if you don’t know the format and the
system number: enter the protocol as it programmed in the PIMA alarm system (in the Control Panel’s
‘Communication’ menu, under ‘CMS 1 Options’) and press ‘Convert’.
15. Add to Account: enter a number that will be added to the account number. For example, if you enter 1500
and your account number is 7850, the updated account number will be 9350. This feature is for
distinguishing between accounts from different stations/regions that have the same number.
16. Route to: set where events in the selected protocol will be routed to. There are many possible routing
combinations for the logs, the communication channels and the repaeters. The numbers bellow ‘Route
to’ refers to the logs, the communication channels and the reapeaters. The options are:
• Log: the events will be logged in the respective log file. Up to 4 log files can be set. (see "Logs"
on page 21);
• Comm: the events will be routed to the respective communication channel (up to 8). The
selected channel must be in ‘Software’ mode;
• Repeater: the events will be routed to the respective logical repeater and use the selected
format, out of the 32 optional repeater’s formats (the ‘Format’ field cannot be left blank). The
selected repeater must be in ‘Output’ mode (see "Structured Communication Formats" on
page 29)
Examples for the Format as displayed on the main window
If the format follows Pima control panel programming pattern, the letter ‘P’ will be displayed with its value. Else,
the structured format will be displayed as followed: S=System, F=Flag, E=Extra.
Other information will follow: Filters, Add to Account, Structure (PLS and DTMF only), ‘Route to’ table. After saving
the format it appears as a "short line view" under its channel.
Example 1
• NPAF - the format;
• P=137 133 - Pima programming style (low\high byte);
• Route to: Comm 05 Log 01 Repeater 18 (8,12) - all incoming events will be routed to communications
channels #1 and #3 (0x05 h=101 bin), to log #1 and to repeaters #4 and #5 (0x18 h=11000 bin). The
numbers 8,12 are the formats positions, as programmed in the repeaters. Repeater #4 format is #8 and
repeater #5 format is #12.
Example 2
PLS P=1 193 4(3)x2 + 3x1 CS Route to: Log 01
• PLS - the format;
• P=1 193 - Pima programming style (low\high byte);
• 4(3)x2 + 3x1 CS - added structure
Example 3
SIA S=00 F=00 Account 100-500, 0-0, List 0 Add to Account 1000 Route to: Comm C2 Log 01
• SIA S=00 F=00 - the format. In this case SIA is programmed under a non-SIA open ACK. If PIMA control
panel programming cannot be assigned, the System & Flag data will be displayed.
• Account 100-500 - an account number filter;
• Add to Account 1000 - a number arithmeticaly added to any account number, e.g. 1563=>2563;
• Route to: Comm C2 - the transmissions will be routed to communication channels #2, #7 and #8 (0xC2 h=
11000010 bin);
• Log 01 - the log number (#1);
Example 4
DESK S=32 F=00 E=00 Route to: Repeater 02 (5)
• DESK - the format; ‘E’ serves as extra indicator;
Example 5
"SIA S=00 F=A8 Route to: Comm 01 (69) Log 01
• Decoder ID - (69) short view follows communication channels, if these exist.
PIMA style is a format conversion tool only! The PimaGuard doesn’t save its information.
The limit number is either 65535, or the outgoing format limit.

18 Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
Radio 1
1. Double-click ‘Radio 1’ under ‘Sentinel 1’. In the ‘Radio’ popup window, select ‘Active’ from the drop-down
list and click ‘OK’.
Figure 13. Radio 1 configuration window
2. Test time: set a period of time in minutes, that if no valid report has been received during it, a fault report
is sent to the Central Monitoring Station. See Appendix C, page 28.
3. Transmit delay: 1-255; a delay added to the default delay (in 50 ms skips), to enable the de-
synchronization of two synchronized output repeaters.
4. Warm time: set a period of time in milliseconds, to enable the full charging of the transmitter, after pushing
PTT before transmitting a report. Empty=180 ms min: 80 max: 640.
5. Press OK.
Radio format
The Radio format window is the same as the Line format one, except the PIMA style and Extra parts. For the
Filters, see page 25.
Figure 14. Radio formats window
COMMUNICATION
Set the PimaGuard optional communication channels. For each, set the type, the mode and the relating
parameters and you also set where to route the transmissions.
1. On the left pane, double-click ‘Communications’.
2. Double-click ‘Comm 1’.
Figure 15. Comm. window
A. The options must be set consecutively, without skipping a format.
B. When selecting the DESK format, no other format can be set on the same radio channel
or the same line ACK.

Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide 19
Type
3. In the ‘Comm’ popup window, select the (communication) Type. There are 3 options: SERIAL, TCP & UDP:
a. Serial: select this type when the PimaGuard communicates via one of the COM ports;
b. TCP: select this type when the PimaGuard communicates via Ethernet in TCP protocol;
c. UDP: select this protocol when the PimaGuard is communicating via the Ethernet, using the
UDP protocol;
Mode
4. Select the ‘Mode’ of the PimaGuard: Software, Repeater or External:
a. Software: the PimaGuard sends the events to the Central Monitoring Station management application,
e.g. Andromeda, Computure, etc;
b. Repeater: the channel serves as a repeater; note that the same communication channel cannot be used
for outgoing & incomming repeater together;
c. External: the PimaGuard recieves events from other decoders. When selecting this option, the "route to"
table is enabled in the Communication window. Double-click it and select the routing configuration.
When routed to a repeater, it is required to fill all the optional formats routing numbers.
Figure 16. Comm. roter
In this example, all the events are routed to ‘Log 1’, ‘Comm. 1’ and ‘Repeater 3’. If the input event source is
CID, the event will be sent by the 6th format number, configured in repeater #3. In these cases, it is
recommended not to use a repeater in "DOS Compatible" mode (it supports all format types). See the
repeaters on page page 25.
On error switch to
Select the communication channel to which the output transmissions will be switched, when an error occurs in the
Software type. This serves as a backup channel. Programming a loop is recommended. If the ‘On error switch to’
is inactive and the channel is not available, the PimaGuard tries to resend the report within the timeout.
For the switching to work, an ACK must be set.
If a report is routed to two channels on the same loop, it will be sent to both channels. If one channel is faulty, a
duplicate event will be created.
Examples
Example 1: Loop, 2 channels
Comm. 1: Software mode, ACK & Idle are set, "On error switch to" is set to Comm. 2.
Comm. 2: Software mode, ACK is set, "On error switch to" is set to Comm. 1.
If Comm. 1 channel fails, events will be transmitted via Comm.n 2 channel. If Comm. 1 is restored by Idle's ACK,
the events will be transmitted back to Comm. 1. If both channels fail, the events will be transmitted between the
two in a loop, until timeout is over or transmission successes.
Example 2: Error loop
Comm. 1: Software mode, ACK & Idle are set, “On error switch to” is set to Comm. 2.
Comm. 2: Software mode, ACK & Idle are set, “On error switch to” is set to Comm. 3.
Comm. 3: Repeater/External mode.
Every TCP/UDP channel requires a separate port.
If the IP/URL field is left blank, the PimaGuard will accept transmissions from
any IP that is directed to the PimaGuard’s Port number.
Do not leave any format blank or zero.

20 Sentinel & PimaGuard Installation Guide
If Communication 1 fails, events will be sent via Communication 2 until timeout is over. If Communication 1 is
restored by Idle’s ACK, the events in Communication 2 will not be looped back to it; all the new events will be
sent via Communication 1, but Communication 2 will still try to send the former events from the buffer until
timeout is over.
Format
5. Select the format for the current configuration. The structured formats are listed in Appendix D, page 29;
Constrains and limitations are listed in Appendix B, page 27.
ACK timeout
6. Set the ACK waiting timeout (in seconds). Each format has a default ACK and by setting the timeout the
ACK is enabled.
• In ‘Software’ mode, the PimaGuard requires the ACK from the Central Monitoring Station, in the protocol;
• In ‘External’ mode, the Mcard generates the ACK if a value is set;
• Three consecutive transmissions timeouts with no ACK, triggers a fault (see Appendix C, page 28);
• When working in TCP type, ACK is not required, unless the Central Monitoring Station requires it. If no ACK
is set, TCP errors will be reported as communication errors;
• When working in UDP type, ACK is required for generating a communication fault
• In External mode, if a filter is set and an ACK is requierd, the ACK is sent anyway, even if the event is
not within the filter’s range (except for time filters). This is to enable the external decoder to keep
running in anyway.
Idle timeout
7. Set the Idle timeout in seconds. To view ACK & Idle patterns, see "Communication formats" on page 14.
Idle ACK
8. If set to ‘Active’ in ‘Software’ mode, an ACK from the Central Monitoring Station is expected for the Idle.
If set to ‘Active’ in ‘External’ mode, the PimaGuard will send an ACK for any received Idle frame.
Port number
9. There are two options: if the mode is Software or Repeater Out, the port is a destination port; if the mode
is External or Repeater In, the port is a listening one.
IP/URL
10. Set the destination IP or URL. If the communication channel is set as Repeater Out or Software, the
destination IP/URL must be set. If the channel is set as Repeater In or External, these does not have
to be set. After setting the IP or URL, transmissions will be recived only from the specified destination
address..
Add to account
11. See page 17.
Route to
12. See page 17.
13. Click ‘OK’.
Filters
For the External mode only, see page 25.
The formats are listed in Appendix D, page 29.
‘Software’ and ‘External’ modes have the same formats for input and output, and the same ACK & Idle patterns.
• In ‘Software’ mode, Idle is reported if no transmission is received within the timeout.
• In ‘External’ mode, Idle is expected within the interval, if no transmission is received.
If the IP/URL field is left blank, the PimaGuard will accept transmissions from any IP
with the specified Port number.