Configuring for Emergency Paging
The HAL System includes a special Emergency Paging Zone block that includes features specific to emergency paging. The procedure below explains how to add this block to an audio zone in your system and configure it appropriately.
warning! For an emergency page to be heard in a zone, that zone must contain an Emergency Paging Zone block.
For background information on working with the Emergency Paging Zone block, see About Paging.
- In the Processing Workspace, open the DSP palette by clicking its tab.
- In the Paging/Room Combine category, locate the Emergency Paging Zone block and drag it into the Processing Map, dropping it near the relevant audio zone. To avoid any potential negative impact from the zone's other processing blocks, it is best to position the emergency block directly before the zone's output block(s). You may, however, choose to insert a Compressor, and/or Limiter block between the emergency block and the output block(s) to provide protection of your amplifier.
- Wire the Emergency Paging Zone block into the audio zone.
- Optionally, configure the block's Page Gain parameter and/or link the Page Gain control to a remote device such as a DR. To do so, open the Emergency Paging Zone's properties by double-clicking the block or hovering and clicking the properties icon that appears in the upper right of the block's title bar. From there you can adjust the Page Gain value and/or create the control link.
- Repeat the above steps for every zone that should have emergency paging capability.
- In the Processing Workspace toolbar, click Paging Manager. When the Paging Manager displays, look in its Zones section. If you have added at least one Emergency Paging Zone block to your system, there will be a red Emergency item in the list of zones.
- In the Scenarios section, add a new Scenario (by clicking the + icon) and name it Emergency (or whatever name is appropriate).
- With the new Emergency Scenario selected, select the checkbox next to the Emergency item in the Zones section.
- If you want several emergency page Scenarios with differing priorities, adjust the Emergency Scenario's Priority values.
- In the Stations section, add the appropriate Emergency Scenario to any paging stations that need emergency paging capability. Simply select a paging station and then select the Emergency Scenario checkbox. Repeat this process for each paging station.
note: All Emergency Paging Zone blocks in your system are consolidated into one Emergency item in the Zones section of the Paging Manager. When you add the Emergency zone to a Scenario, you are in essence adding all of the zones containing an Emergency Paging Zone block. In other words, a page to that Scenario, pages all zones containing the Emergency Paging Zone block.
best practice: Do not include any zones other than the Emergency zone in your Emergency Scenario.
See Also