Turnout Information Manager (TIMLite)

 

Many RECCs and ICCs connect a printer to an Off Air Decoder so they can see the jobs that brigades are being paged to. The problem with this is that the calls then need to be moved off the printer and onto a big board so they can be seen by all the people working in the RECC/ICC. And if the printer is very quiet, its difficult to tell when calls arrive.

 

The Turnout Information Manager (TIMLite ) is a computer program takes these same pager messages and reformats them in a much more human friendly format (large coloured display) so the messages are visible to all RECC/ICC members. The display can be presented on multiple (LCD) displays placed at strategic locations around the RECC/ICC allowing instant visibility. By using generally available video splitters TIM output can be sent to up to 8 displays from a single computer. Different sounds are generated for alert and non-alert messages via the computer sound card and piped into the PA system. Maps can be displayed on a monitor attached to a second video card. TIM is designed to run on standard computer hardware.

 

The major features of TIMLite are

 

1.             Display pager messages on large/multiple LCD screens

2.             Colour coded display

3.             Pager messages are time stamped

4.             Different tones for alert and non-alert pager messages

5.             Display map if 2nd video card attached

6.             Where possible use existing equipment

7.             Do not rely existing CFA infrastructure

8.             Requires no user intervention

9.             Many features can be enabled/disabled with configuration settings

 

 

Sample display layout

  TIM screen layouts

 

TIM was developed by a CFA volunteer at the Hallam Fire Station and is based on a review of station requirements. TIM is a second generation supplemental turnout system that does more than simply duplicate the output of a pager on a screen or over an audio channel TIM interprets the pager messages and generates edited and formatted output.

 

Computer Hardware

 

The computing requirements for TIM are quite low. The Minimum Specs for the computer hardware are as follows .

 

700mhz Pentium Processor

512mb memory

4gb disk

Sound Card

1 x Serial Port

Mouse + Keyboard

Large Monitor(s) (19" LCD capable of at least 1024x768 recommended)

Off Air Decoder (OAD)

VGA Splitter (If multiple monitors to be used)

2nd VGA card if Maps are to be displayed

Spare input to the station PA system (if voice over required)

 

Operating System Software

 

TIM was developed in VB.Net the Microsoft recommended programming environment for their current and future systems. The minimum software required to support TIM is

 

Windows XP with Service Pack 2

.Net Framework v2.0

Maps

 

Maps are sourced from CFA GIS department.

 

Contact

 

Holiwill Pty Ltd

P: 0400 892 413

E: dave@holiwill.com.au

W: http://www.holiwill.com.au/TIM

 

 

Additional Assistance

 

TIM is essentially a piece of software to be run on a computer, if you require assistance locating appropriate hardware or installing the hardware or software required to run TIM, please do not hesitate to contact us as we are able to assist with this too.

 

Copyright: Holiwill Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.