The INFORMER™   Tone Alert Receiver by Federal Signal

FAQ about the Informer

  1. Who makes the Informer?
  2. What frequencies does it cover?
  3. How big is it?
  4. How loud is it?
  5. Will it activate with a single tone?
  6. Will it activate with 2 sequential tones?
  7. Will it activate with Motorola Quik-Call (2+2) tones?
  8. Will it activate with DTMF tones?
  9. Can it be programmed for CTCSS or DCS tones?
  10. How many sets of activation tones will it do?
  11. What do the alert tones sound like? 
  12. What do all the buttons and lights do?
  13. What comes with the standard unit?
  14. How long is the warranty?
  15. How long does the rechargeable battery last?
  16. Can I hook an outside antenna to it?
  17. What is EAS signaling?
  18. What is SAME signaling?
  19. What is Federal Signal FSK signaling?
 

1.Who makes the Informer?

The Informer is manufactured by Federal Signal, a world leader in emergency warning devices. 

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2.What frequencies does it cover?

The Informer must be ordered in the proper frequency band for your application.  The available frequency bands are: 

  • 33 - 50 mhz
  • 150 - 174 mhz
  • 450 - 470 mhz

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3. How big is it?

The Informer is 8.5 inches wide, 5 inches deep and 3.5 inches tall, not counting the rear antenna connector. 

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4. How loud is it?

The Informer audio volume level is adjustable, however the alert tones are always at maximum level.  Nominal audio output is 1 watt into a 4" speaker which gives an output of 85 dba at a distance of 10 feet from the unit. 

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5.  Will it activate with a single tone?

The Informer TAR will decode a single tone from 300 hz. to 3000 hz.  The minimum tone length for a single tone activation is 0.5 seconds and the maximum tone length is 8 seconds.

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6. Will it activate with 2 sequential tones?     

The Informer TAR will decode a sequential tone pair when the tones are from 300 hz. to 3000 hz.  The minimum "A" tone length is 0.5 seconds and the minimum "B" tone length is 0.25 seconds.  The maximum tone length for either the "A" tone or "B"tone is 8 seconds  

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7.   Will it activate with Motorola Quik-Call (2+2) tones?

The Informer will not decode the old Motorola (Quik Call) 2+2 tone format.  

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8.   Will it activate with DTMF tones?

The Informer TAR will decode DTMF signals from 1 to 12 digits. The DTMF tone length must be at least 50ms, and the DTMF tone length plus the interdigit delay must be less than 1000 ms. 

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9. Can it be programmed for CTCSS or DCS tones? 

The Informer TAR can it be programmed for all standard CTCSS or DCS tones.  If you choose to have this option programmed, your activation tones must be greater than 400 hz.

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10. How many sets of activation tones will it do?

The Informer can be setup with a maximum of 6 decode tone formats.  These can be mixed or matched between any of the formats. (Single Tone, Two Tone, DTMF, EAS, SAME or Federal FSK)

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11. What do the alert tones sound like? 

The Informer can be programmed for any of (9) Alert tones

  • Fixed Steady Beep (Fixed Volume Alert)
  • Fixed Intermittent Beep (Fixed Volume Alert)
  • Fixed Hi Lo (Fixed Volume Alert)
  • Fixed Warble (Fixed Volume Alert)
  • Soft Steady Beep (Alert level follows volume setting)
  • Soft Intermittent Beep (Alert level follows volume setting)
  • Soft Hi Lo (Alert level follows volume setting)
  • Soft Warble (Alert level follows volume setting)
  • No alert tone.

 Click here to listen to the alert tones

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12. What do all the buttons and lights do?

Still under construction

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13.  What comes with the standard unit?

At Brinkley Electronics, each Informer Tone Alert Receiver package  includes the following:

  • AC wall adapter
  • Rubber flex antenna
  • Internal Rechargeable battery
  • Owners / Installation manual
  • Testing and alignment for proper operation 
  • Copy of our programming and test report
  • Shipment to you via Fed Ex Ground Service (delivery address must be within the continental United States) 

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14.How long is the warranty?

The warranty is (1) year parts and labor. 

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15. How long does the rechargeable battery last?

The internal rechargeable battery is rated to operate the Informer for a minimum of 6 hours at 25% run time 

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16. Can I hook an outside antenna to it?

Yes. The Informer comes standard with a rear mounted 50 ohm BNC Female connector. 

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17. What is EAS signaling?

EAS stands for Emergency Alerting System and more information about it can be found at: http://www.fcc.gov/cib/eas/47part11.htm and http://www.fcc.gov/eb/easfact.html 

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18. What is SAME signaling?

SAME stands for Specific Area Message Encoding and is used by the National Weather Service to activate warning receivers when necessary. See www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/nwrsame.htm for more info.

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19. What is Federal Signal FSK signaling?

This is a multi functional digital signaling format offered by Federal Signal.  

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