Contact ID Protocol: How Does Roombanker System Send Alarm Info to ARC/CMS

Contact ID is a digital format for reporting alarm events that links security alarm systems with their Central Monitoring Stations (CMS) or Alarm Receiving Centers (ARC).

Roombanker’s home security hub reports to an ARC/CMS only over IP, using DC-09 to carry SIA or Contact ID (ADM-CID) events. It does not use telephone lines, VoIP or SMS for these reports. Match your receiving format and IP connection to the ARC setup.

Here’s how you can read its event codes and connect your intruder/burglar alarm systems.

What do Contact ID event codes mean?

Contact ID event codes describe the reported condition: for example, 130 identifies a burglary alarm and 301 identifies AC power loss. When you read a report, check the account, qualifier, partition and zone or user reference too. The qualifier tells you whether a condition is new or has restored.

Selected common event codes; see the source note below the timing table. Use this lookup table alongside your panel’s supported events and the event mapping agreed with the ARC.

What is the Contact ID Protocol?

The Contact ID protocol tells an ARC/CMS which alarm event occurred and where. It uses 16 digits to send information from the alarm system, via the home security alarm panel’s communicator, to the central station (ARC or CMS).

Contact ID sends alarm messages over telephone lines as DTMF tones. If you are timing a telephone report during a test, allow for the handshake and acknowledgement as well as the digits.

How Does Contact ID Protocol Work in an Alarm System?

In a traditional telephone Contact ID installation, the alarm communicator uses the following nominal exchange. Roombanker Hub reports Contact ID over IP using DC-09, with Main Address, Port Number and Account Number configured in RB Link. If you are connecting a Hub at a shop, use those IP settings; the telephone tones below describe a traditional dialler.

1. The communicator calls the ARC receiver.
2. The receiver answers with handshake tones to show it is ready.
3. After the handshake and a short pause, the communicator sends the event message as DTMF digits.
4. The receiver checks the completed message against its checksum. If the check passes, it returns a Kissoff tone to acknowledge receipt.
5. The communicator ends the call after acknowledgement. If Kissoff does not arrive in time, it sends the message again and waits for a reply.

Source: SIA DC-05-1999.09, Digital Communication Standard – Ademco® Contact ID Protocol – for Alarm System Communications. These timings apply to a traditional telephone-line dialler; a Roombanker Hub sends Contact ID events over IP using DC-09.

Contact ID Codes

The 16-digit Contact ID DTMF code is split into 7 parts to carry different elements of the alarm message being transmitted. These parts are:

• Account Number (0–3): These first four digits identify the subscriber account at the central station (receiving center), not an individual user. The account reference tells the receiver which subscriber sent the report; use the representation supported by the communicator and receiver.
• Message Type (4–5): These next two numbers indicate the message type, normally 18; the specification also permits 98, which some older receivers may not accept.
• Event Qualifier (6): The event qualification code shows the type of the event, which can be: new event or opening, new restore or closing, or a previously reported condition still present (status report). These are denoted by 1, 3, and 6, respectively.
• Event Code (7–9): A three-digit code for what happened. For example, 110 is a fire alarm and 130 is a burglary alarm; the code table below lists more.
• Group/Partition System Number (10–11): These two digits identify the group or partition; 00 means no specific partition applies. Decimal assignments may run from 00 to 99, rather than only 01–09.
• Zone Number/Code (12–14): This field identifies the zone, or the user for events such as opening and closing.
• Checksum (15): The final digit lets the receiver check that the other 15 digits arrived intact. The calculation is explained below.

You can check the checksum by working through these steps. If you are reading a receiver trace, keep the first 15 message digits separate from the final checksum digit.

1. Add the values of the first 15 message digits. Count each digit 0 as 10; this is a digit-sum calculation, not a sum of bits.
2. This accumulated sum is divided by 15.
3. The integer digit of the quotient is added by 1 and then multiplied by 15.
4. The difference after subtracting the accumulated sum from this product is the check code. A checksum value of 10 is transmitted as digit 0, values 11–14 as B–E, and 15 as F.

The alarm system does this calculation to get and fit in the checksum before sending the DTMF codes, and the ARC or CMS does the same to see if the numbers match before sending the Kissoff signal.

How to Connect a Roombanker Hub to an ARC/CMS Using the Contact ID Protocol?

Roombanker’s home security hub can connect with the ARC or CMS in two ways:

Via an IP Receiver

An IP receiver is a translator or protocol converter that can understand DC 09 and Contact ID. It sits between the two sides to receive data from the Roombanker hub and convert the event data into the format supported by the ARC software.

Directly

Instead of having a separate protocol converter, the ARC can have an integrated interpreter, which makes it possible to send messages directly from the hub using DC 09. The built-in converter translates the data so the ARC software can understand it and respond accordingly.

Right account, wrong point: what should you check?

If you test the rear door and the report arrives under the correct account but shows the stockroom, ask the ARC for the received point number. Compare it with the installation record before investigating pairing.

Repeat the test after correction. Alarm and restore reports for the same door use the same account and point with a different qualifier. Ask the responder separately whether anyone attended and checked the site; a restore reports the changed alarm condition.

Which RB Link fields connect the Hub to the ARC?

In RB Link, enter the ARC-provided Main Address, Port Number and Account Number. RB Link shows local events and supports configuration, but does not show whether the Hub-to-ARC report arrived. If you see a local rear-door event in RB Link, ask the ARC to read back the account and point it received.

What should be agreed before commissioning?

• Supported receiver and receiving method.
• Site account reference.
• Events and points to test, including restores.
• Point-to-location mapping on both sides.
• A joint test window with the installer and ARC.

Compare the local event with the received account, event code, qualifier and point. If you are adding a Hub to an existing shop account, run the joint test on that receiver before putting the site into service.

Roombanker is Looking For Intruder/Burglar Alarm Partners

If you are planning a shop installation and your customer needs a professionally monitored wireless security alarm system, talk to us about the devices, receiving format and connection path you need.

In the case of burglar or intruder alarm systems communicating using Contact ID, you need to match both the event format and the transport to the receiver. Contact ID event content can also travel over DC-09 IP reporting, so choose them together.

Roombanker Hub reports to the ARC only over IP, using DC-09 to carry SIA or Contact ID (ADM-CID) events. It does not report over telephone lines, VoIP or SMS. Agree the receiver and IP connection with the ARC before configuration.

Tell us which ARC software and receiver you use so we can discuss how the proposed system would connect. Contact us to discuss your requirements in detail so that we can determine the best way forward.

FAQs on the Contact ID Protocol