Silent Alert SA3000: Who? What? When? Where? Why?

The Silent Alert SA3000 System is an alarm system for the deaf community. A normal fire-alarm, telephone, doorbell or even baby monitor has little or no impact for someone who can’t hear it going off. The dangers are self-explanatory – no-one wants to find out about a fire after it's too late to do anything.

The Silent Alert communicates in a different mode: flashing lights and vibrations. These non-aural signals make it clear that there is a problem and otherwise unheard alarms are made as apparent to a deaf person as a normal wailing is to the rest of us. With alarms doing their actual job and alerting an occupant to danger, a deaf person is able to go about their normal life without the worry of being unawares of a fire. Or the doorbell, or of a child crying or of... well anything really! Unfortunately, this does mean that there are no more excuses for not opening the door to your nosy neighbour.

What is it?

The alarm consists of two parts: transmitters of various forms (suitable for doorbells, baby monitors et cetera) and a receiver in the form of a pager. Small and easily carried around, these pagers receive radio waves from the various transmitters and makes it obvious when you receive a call or a visitor or when one of your alarms is sounding. The end result is that you can as good as hear when something goes wrong.

Unlike some other care alarms using radio signals, this frequency is specific to the Silent Alert system. There is no interference from other devices and even if you are using the system in close proximity to another system (for example in shared housing), you can use radio keys to differentiate between alarms. This dramatically reduces the chances of false alarms as the receiver will only react to the frequency given out by its alarms.

The transmitter has a reach of up to one thousand metres in open air – a range that is already programmed in so no adjustments are needed. The long range means the alarm will function in any part of the house – whether it is picking up a fire alarm on the ceiling or the doorbell on the front door.

How does Silent Alert System work?

Once the alarm goes off, the pager vibrates. There is a different vibration pattern depending on which alarm is going off. A corresponding light flashes on the pager to indicate where the alarm is coming from, ensuring that there is as little confusion as possible as to what the system is alerting you about. Once the button has been pressed that corresponds to the cause of the alarm, the alarm is cancelled.

The alarm is not restricted to only detect one thing, there are a number of different options:

• Doorbell
• Telephone
• Person to Person
• Fire Alarm – smoke and carbon dioxide (determined by whether the light flashes red or blue)
• Baby Monitor – this can be adjusted so the pager monitors the intensity/loudness of the cries.
• Car and burglar alarms

Lifespan

The battery life of the Silent Alert is designed to last up to five days without charging, however it is designed to be charged every night. This is done by placing the pager into the alarm clock stand, which charges the battery of the pager while you charge your own batteries and sleep. However, the pager is still working – if an alarm is triggered, the stand itself will vibrate.

There is also an option of having a pillow pad, which (as the name suggests) goes under your pillow to help make the vibrations more obvious. Even the heaviest sleeper will have trouble ignoring vibrations directly beneath their head!

You don’t need to worry about changing the batteries, charging every night will mean the battery will remain at full capacity and you don’t have to worry about the system running out of juice. However, you still don’t need to worry even if you forget to charge it one night. There is a low battery monitor on the pager and another corresponding light will illuminate when this is an issue.

SignWave Portable Sound and Flash

Ideal for houses with multiple occupants or those hard of hearing rather than deaf, the SignWave works in the same manner as the pager. A bright LED light flashes when the alarm is triggered and there is a two-tone alarm (high and low pitched) to indicate which alarm is going off. Again though, there is a corresponding light so you know whether to head towards the door or away.

This sits in an easy base and can be left on the coffee table rather than carried around. Or anywhere you like, for that matter. The alarm is cancelled by a large button at the top so it is easy to use. The base charges the device and it also has a thousand metre open air operating range.

Why Choose the Silent Alert SA3000?

The Silent Alert System boosts confidence for those living with hearing impairments. It takes away the fear of not hearing the alarm. Once the transmitters have been put into place, the radio wave ensures the pager goes off and alerts the owner.

The different components work with all types of life. There is now no choice but to open the door to that nosy neighbour.