Why You Should Upgrade Your Digitize System 3505 to the New Prism LX

If you have a Digitize System 3505 providing your in-house ("proprietary") fire-alarm monitoring, you know that Digitize makes reliable gear.

If you’re a daily user of your System 3505, you know what it does. If not, remember that your System 3505 forms the backbone of your fire-alarm monitoring:

Your System 3505 is the center of your in-house monitoring system, which makes it a very important device.

Routine upgrades are important - even for reliable equipment

Digitize gear may not technically fail very often, but the world does constantly change around us. We also add new functions to steadily improve quality over time.

Every so often, it’s time to jump to a new model to make holistic improvements across the board.

If you don’t have a Prism LX, your system is already (at least!) 7 years old…

The Prism LX is the new model of your System 3505. It includes the same familiar interface - but also a wide range of helpful new tools.

Holistic improvements are precisely why, in 2016, we released the new "Prism LX" model of the System 3505 (and have continued upgrading it since). The Prism LX gives you a variety of useful new tools, including:

1. Phone Tethering is almost like having a Digitize support rep permanently stationed at your facility. By simply connecting to your smartphone via USB, your Prism LX can contact the servers at our corporate headquarters. With your permission, a support engineer can then perform core software updates, add new features that you need, perform memory diagnostics, and troubleshoot any problem you’re facing. NOTE: This function is entirely optional, and we understand that it will not be suitable for many military bases and similar environments. We’re happy to schedule a service visit if that’s needed to comply with your security regulations.
2. Remote Annuciator(s) to display audible and visual alerts for people on your team who are not physically close to the System 3505 itself. You can add multiple Remote Annunciators if many different groups need to see alarm information in real time.
3. "Text-2-Cell" and Email Notifications so your team isn’t trapped at the office waiting for alarms to arrive. Using this function, every smartphone in your organization can be part of your alarm monitoring system. You can send alarms to the right people at the right time.
4. AlarmLan synchronization to monitor equipment in different locations across your city, state, or country - or even worldwide. With this feature, you can connect multiple System 3505 units together to for a single, unified monitoring setup.
5. Silence Nuisance Alarms with "Test Mode". Use this new tool to flag a single alarm point, a specific group of alarm points, or entire buildings for a selectable time window (8 hours maximum). This prevents a flood of "nuisance alarms" during a known maintenance/install period from distracting and overwhelming your system operators. Alarms that would be generated during wiring, installation, maintenance, or other work will never occur in the first place. Your system will remain active to monitor any other alarm conditions that occur.
6. Online Software Update Availability on digitize-inc.com. As long as you have an active software support agreement, you can download customized software updates without waiting for a support rep at all. Update files include Linux updates and new versions of the core Prism LX software. Installing a patch is as simple as browsing for a file in the web interface.

Prism LX is the current model under active development

Product development effort goes mostly to the current active model. If you discover an obvious flaw in your System 3505, we’ll help you resolve it - but all development of new features is on the Prism LX model.

This is particularly true after the recent acquisition of Digitize as part of founder Abe Brecher’s retirement.

You can now expect to see a variety of new developments across digitize, including and especially in our flagship Prism LX system.

The only way to benefit from this new development is to upgrade your legacy System 3505 to a contemporary Prism LX.

Fortunately, you’ve already saved a tremendous amount by running an in-house "proprietary" fire alarm monitoring system...

"Budget-pampering" operating costs for System 3505 help you afford occasional upgrades

You’re correct if you think that "I wouldn’t need to upgrade any hardware if I used a third-party monitoring center." Unfortunately, that would also mean recurring payments that go on forever.

You (or your predecessors) made the thoughtful decision to bring alarm monitoring in-house with System 3505. You invested in your own hardware, and you’ve saved money on recurring fees ever since.

When you act as your own monitoring center, you do sometimes have to upgrade your infrastructure.

For many users of System 3505 that have not yet upgraded to Prism LX, the right time to upgrade is now.

If you neglect your tools, it will eventually bite you. "Tomorrow" always comes sooner than you think.

Talk to a Digitize engineer to plan your upgrade now

The simplest first step is to call Digitize at 973-663-1011 and talk to an engineer. We’ll talk through the straightforward process of upgrading and provide a quote for your new Prism LX.

Since the Prism LX is a drop-in upgrade for existing System 3505 installs, you can expect a quick changeover when the time comes.

As you know, any purchase of new equipment takes time to get approved. That’s why it’s so important to get started now.

Don’t miss your chance to make other monitoring improvements

Don’t forget that a change in your fire alarm monitoring infrastructure is a great time to take care of any other improvements simultaneously.

If you have a section of your city/campus/base that is currently being monitored by a separate system, your upgrade to Prism LX is a great time to take care of that.

When you call your Digitize engineer (973-663-1011), you can also talk through any opportunities for improvement that you have in mind. We’ll also ask you a few questions to check for opportunities you may not have considered.

Give us a call today to get started now

Digitize is ready to speak with you about your upgrade at 973-663-1011. If you prefer, you can also email us at info@digitize-inc.com

Andrew Erickson

Andrew Erickson is an Application Engineer at DPS Telecom, a manufacturer of semi-custom remote alarm monitoring systems based in Fresno, California. Andrew brings more than 17 years of experience building site monitoring solutions, developing intuitive user interfaces and documentation, and...Read More