Aiphone CommuniCenter Operations Manual

							8.6  Scheduling
o The Scheduling tab allows the user to set specific times during the day/week to put the program 
in and out of unavailable mode.  Select the day of the week and then set the starting time and 
ending time.  To save, click on the Add current entry button.  Use the drop downs to change 
the hour (24 hr.), minutes, and seconds for the start/stop time.  Each day must be set 
independently.  
8.7  Archival Settings
o The Archival Settings tab allows you to enable or disable the audio archiving and data-log 
archiving features.  Click on the Audio Archive Enable check box to enable this feature.  From 
the Select audio archive folder… button you can create your own folder or use the default 
folder.  Windows Vista users are encouraged to create a specific folder for the archived audio.  
When audio archiving is enabled, the system will record both sides of any conversation.  This 
also includes group paging and all call announcements. 
o To enable the event log data, click on the Event Log Archive Enable check box.  When event 
log archiving is enabled, all activity on the system will be recorded to the archive folder.
Start time
Stop time
Selected day‟s schedule
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							8.7  Archival Settings cont.
o To listen to the archived recordings, click on the Open Archive Manager… button.  From there 
you will be able to open the individual recording and play it by first selecting the recording and 
then clicking on the play button in the Archive Manager window.  Once you have listened to the 
recording, you have the option of deleting the file by clicking on the Delete selected button.
o To access the log data file, use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder that you had selected 
in the set up process.  If using the default settings, the Logs folder will be a sub folder within the 
Archive folder.  The log is a text document and will list the date, time, and event that occurred in 
the program.
Station ID# (00 = page / all call)Hours, minutes, seconds when recording startedMillisecond recording started (to keep file unique)
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							8.8 Audio Settings
o The Audio Settings tab will display and allow you to choose the Input Device and Output 
Device for the speaker and microphone.  
o The Quality level drop down box allows you to choose between Normal bandwidth mode and 
Low bandwidth mode.  By default, the system will be in Normal mode.  This setting must match 
the bandwidth setting you have for the devices, otherwise an error status will occur.
o Any changes made to the Input Device, Output Device, or Quality Level will require a restart 
of the software.
o Both input and output volume levels can be adjusted.  The Input Level adjusts the volume being 
transmitted to the sub station, while the Output Level adjusts the volume that is heard at the 
PC.
8.9 Information
o The information tab will show the version number of the CommuniCenter software.
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							9. Priority level (highest to lowest)
o All Call(1 - highest)
o Group Call(1 - highest)
o Broadcast Messages(1 - highest)
o Direct Messages(2 - middle)
o Direct Communication(2 - middle)
o Monitoring(3 - lowest)
All call, group call, and broadcast messages have the highest priority level.  If a PC is in direct 
communication with a sub or is monitoring a sub when a high priority call is placed, the 
communication will be interrupted and the sub will receive the call.  The unit will revert back to its 
previous communication state once the priority call is completed.
10. Operations
10.1 Sub station calling in
o Pressing the call button on the substation will trigger a call tone to be heard at the substation.  
Pressing the call button additional times will cause the tone to repeat.
o When the call button on a substation is pressed the CommuniCenter will either display a pop up 
visual notification, emit a predetermined sound or both, depending on how it was configured.
o During call in, the Call Waiting List will display the unit calling in, showing status of unit and 
time that the call was received.
o During call in, the Sub Station Location List will change the device State from “Available” to 
“Calling”.
10.2 Answering a call from a sub station
o To remove the pop up notification, simply click “OK” on the pop-up or press the space bar on 
your keyboard.  If you receive multiple calls at the same time, you will receive only one pop-up.  
Any calls after the pop-up was removed will generate a new pop-up notification.
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							o  Answer the calling station by selecting the station and double clicking in either the Sub Station 
Location List, or in the Call Waiting List.  You can also select the station and then click on 
the “Talk” button or press the space bar on your keyboard.  Click the OFF button or press Esc 
to end the conversation.
o A second method of answering the calling station is to simply press on your space bar or click 
on the “Talk” button.  Pressing the space bar can always be used instead of clicking on the 
“Talk” button.  Click the OFF button or press Esc to end the conversation.
10.3 Monitoring the sub station.
o Monitoring a sub station is the lowest priority of communication. Only one CommuniCenter can 
monitor a sub station at any given time.  If more than one CommuniCenter selects the same 
station, it will be the CommuniCenter that has selected last that will be able to monitor.  When 
monitoring a sub station, no pretone will be heard at that sub station, regardless of configuration.  
In addition, the sub station will not change state in the Sub Station List.
o To monitor a sub station select the station by either double-clicking on the unit in the Sub 
Station Location List or use the Arrow Buttons to select the station, then click the Monitor 
Button.  The Monitor Button will turn green indicating that you are monitoring the selected 
substation.  To stop monitoring, click on the Off Button or select another station.
10.4 Talking to a sub station when it has not called in.
o To talk with a sub station, first select the station.  This can be done by using the Arrow Buttons, 
or by clicking on the sub station in the Sub Station Location List.  Then click on the Talk 
Button or use the space bar on your keyboard.
o Another method is to monitor (double click on) the sub station in the Sub Station Location List 
then click on the Talk Button, or use the space bar on your keyboard.
o When talking to a sub station, you must either press the space bar on your keyboard or have the 
Talk Button engaged for as long as you are talking (PTT).
+
+
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							o Unlike monitor mode, when a sub station is selected for two way communication, the status 
shown in the Sub Station Location List will change from available to connected.
o To terminate communication, click on the Off Button or select another station.  You can also 
terminate the call by pressing the Esc key on your keyboard.
10.5 Activating the dry contacts on the IPW-1A.
o To activate the door release on the IPW-1A that you have selected, click on the Door Release 
Button.  This will allow you to activate the “Form C” dry contact on the IPW-1A associated with 
the sub station. Note: If the IPW-1A is not configured for Door Release, an error pop-up will 
occur.
10.6 All Call / Group Paging – Limited to 1 PC at a time on the network.
10.6.1 All Call – Calls to stations that are on the Sub Station Location List.
o To make an all call announcement to all sub stations in your list, click on the All Call Button and 
make your announcement after the pre-tone.  Stations that are in communication with another 
CommuniCenter user will hear the announcement and when the announcement is over, will 
resume normal communication.  During the announcement the Sub Station Location List will 
show that the sub stations are in use.  Units on the ignore list will not receive all call 
announcements.
10.6.2 Group Paging
o To make a group paging announcement to preselected groups, open the Paging Group List.  
You can open the Paging Group List by clicking on the Groups Button.  Group calling to an 
ignored station is possible if you set the sub as part of a group before you ignore it.
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							o From the Paging Group List, select the group or groups that you want to page by clicking the 
check box next to the desired group.  
o Once a group is selected, click on the Group Call button or press the space bar and make your 
announcement following the pre-tone.  The announcement will be heard at all sub stations within 
the selected group(s).
o To make a group paging announcement to manually selected groups, open the Sub Station 
Location List.  You can open the Sub Station List by clicking on the Location Button.  
o From the Sub Station Location List, select the sub stations that you want to page by clicking 
the check box next to the desired station.  
o Once a group of stations is selected, click on the Group Call button or press the space bar to 
make your announcement following the pre-tone.  The announcement will be heard at all the 
selected sub stations.
Note: Manual group selection can be cleared by pressing the Esc key.
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							10.7  Messages
o To send a message to one sub station, select the desired sub station and click on the Messages 
Button.  You will have the option of selecting a predefined message from the Predefined 
Messages pop-up window or browsing your files for a message (if allowed).  Select the 
message then click on the Send Button.  Your message will be heard at the selected station.
o To send a message to a group of sub stations, select either a group of units from the Sub 
Station Location List or a predetermined group from the Paging Group List, then click on the 
Messages Button.  You will have the option of selecting a predefined message from the 
Predefined Messages pop-up window or browsing your files for a message (if allowed). Select 
the message then click on the Send Button.  Following the pre-tone, your message will be 
heard at the selected group(s) of stations.
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							12.  Hardware Configuration
12.1 Accessing the hardware configuration from within CommuniCenter
o Right click the desired sub station in the Sub Station Location List.  This will give you the 
option to reset the IPW-1A, or access the settings via the program or through the browser.
o To reset the unit, click on Reset or press the R key.  This will cause the sub station to 
temporarily disappear from the Sub Station Location List.  At the sub station, you will hear the 
unit‟s IP address.  Note: if the device is „In Use‟, the reset command will be ignored.  Once reset, 
the unit will once again appear in the Sub Station Location List.
o To access the settings via the program, click on Settings or press the S key.  This will open the 
Hardware Configuration Window and allow you to configure the IPW-1A. 
o To access the settings via the web browser, click on Launch in browser or type the L key.  This 
will allow you to access the settings for the IPW-1A via the browser.  You will also be able to 
assign a password for the adaptor in the browser setting mode.
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Under Type are icons that indicate what each item is: 
Blue square is for a Broadcast Mode intercom 
Red circle is for another PC running CommuniCenter 
Blue circle with     symbol is for Direct Mode intercoms
Note:  See page 23 A.2 for Direct Mode configuration.
11.  Icon Descriptions
Under S.I. are icons showing the status of 
each Sensor Input:
Sensor Input normal
Sensor Input closure detected      
						

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12.2  Adaptor Configuration via the program
Expand the General section to see the 
MAC address for the IPW-1A adaptor.  
You will also be able to assign the ID 
number and Location Name for each 
adaptor here.  Show offline determines 
whether the IPW-1A should remain in the 
CommuniCenter intercom list, even if it 
becomes disconnected or unreachable.
Expand the Network section to set the 
network settings for each IPW-1A.  You 
can enable or disable different IP address 
grabbing protocols, change the UDP port 
the system uses, and enable SonicIP 
which announces the IP address upon 
“power on”.
Expand the Audio section to adjust the 
quality (bandwidth settings) of the audio 
as well as the speaker volume and 
microphone gain, and to enable or disable 
the pre-tone at the substation.
Expand the Relay Control section to set 
the functionality of the relay and the 
release duration of the relay.  The release 
duration will only be selectable if the relay 
functionality is set to „Door Release‟.
Expand the Factory Defaults section if 
the need arises to reset the IPW-1A 
adaptor to factory default settings.
The relay function of the IPW-1A can also 
be configured to release on talking, 
release on connected, or release on 
calling.  Configuring the relay for any of 
these functions will disable the “key” (door 
release) option from the software for that 
particular adaptor.