Superior Products Backed by Decades of Experience
An Auxiliary Radio Communications System (ARCS) provides first responders with a fail-safe method of communication via an enhanced two-way radio amplification system. The system allows firefighters to receive and transmit communications throughout a building during an emergency. There are three major components of an ARC System – the Dispatch Radio Console (DRC) at the Fire Command Center, a Radio Amplification Unit (RAU) that receives and retransmits the radio signals, and a Cable and Antenna Plant (CAP), which consists of antennas strategically placed throughout the building to ensure radio coverage. In addition to functional requirements, the FDNY has established precise standards for ARC System hardware and software and the approval of companies and technicians authorized to test and maintain these systems.
And while all ARCS products essentially do the same thing, there are subtle differences that a client might not realize until after their building’s system has been installed. These variations in ARCS equipment relate to reliability and ease of use, directly impacting the long-term cost of operating the system. When our engineers first designed our products, they looked beyond the basic FDNY requirements to ensure that these critical, life-safety systems would be of the highest quality and reliability, while at the same time, intuitive and easy to use. Our products are built in the US by a manufacturing firm meeting ISO 9001 standards. We voluntarily complied with President Obama’s Executive Order 13636 (“Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity”) and chose to engage a certified, US-based developer.
Our software development team understood that it was crucial to have a system that is easy to operate while maintaining exceptional reliability. All software systems are designed and supported by us here in the US. We made sure that our user interface was intuitive so that the personnel tasked with using and monitoring our equipment, the members of the FDNY, and the building service staff, don’t need a background in software engineering to test and service them.
As an example, all ARC Systems must indicate an alarm if the RAU door is opened. Other ARCS equipment requires a tech from the manufacturer to come on-site to reset it – an expensive and completely unnecessary task. With our equipment, if the condition that caused the alarm is remedied, it can be cleared with a push of a button. Some of our alarms reset automatically when the condition clears, such as AC Power Fail when the AC power returns. We have programmed our RAU Tamper Alarm to “latch” and stay on until manually reset by pressing the Test button on the DRC. These enhancements in our software significantly reduce the need for service calls. We know these variations in product usability exist because, as an FDNY ARCS-certified firm, we are often called in to test and service other manufacturer’s products. We believe that once an ARC System is installed and approved, a client should have the flexibility to call any ARCS-certified company to test and inspect the system and not be beholden to the manufacturer.
Our company’s experience and engineering prowess is a value-added ingredient, and we continually upgrade and refine our equipment. Recently, we enhanced our software to protect against cyber-attacks and malicious intrusions. Access is restricted to authorized personnel only. We’ve also included an event-logging feature that can be used for diagnostic and forensic purposes. Our manufacturing quality has been consistent since we first started our company five years ago. You will never see our engineers performing “field construction,” something that happens more often than you might think. Our proprietary ARC System electronics have been tested in an ETL facility to meet exacting UL standards. Simply put, all ARCS equipment may appear the same at the time of purchase, but, over time and with use, the differences will surface, costing the client valuable time and money.