 |
|
 Software
Upgrade Options
Describes the options you have for
upgrading Genesis' legacy software
during Rebanding |
 GenWatch3 Power
The most advanced system management suite in the world. Three products in one. |
 GenSZAI Airtime Reporting
Accumulates ATIA-based data for the Motorola SmartZone, Astro, Omnilink and Dimetra trunk system owner. |
 Live Online Webinar
See live demos of Genesis software from anywhere. It's simple, fast and Informative. |
|
|
Sample Reports From Genesis' Radio Inventory Discovery Tools |
|
|
|
Each of these reports will be available for all of the supported Motorola Trunking formats. We may acquire the data in different ways, but the same results can be achieved. The look of these reports may change as time goes by so we can improve them, but again, the data results will be the same. We use the power of Microsoft Excel to do these reports. That means that YOU have control, in your hands, over how they look! You can sort the reports different ways, you can format columns different ways (bold, center, decimal places), you can put your logo in place of our logo, and lots more.
 It all starts with our Discovery Report Input Screen that you see here (click to enlarge). The questions are very simple. The source simply asks are we doing this from GenWatch3 (Control Channel based) or from GenSZAI (ATIA based). The UserName is to have permission to access that database. Start Time and End Time are pretty obvious! It's that simple.
 The report above will show all TGs in order, of high to low TG usage by default. Notice that if a true alias is present, we show that alias, then a dash then the ID of the TG and the radio. If an alias is not present, we create one that starts GW$+(_ID_). You have the power to show, or not show the IDs that belong to any or all TGs two different ways. You can double click on a TG alias and it will open or collapse. You also have a 'down arrow' to the right of the word Talkgroup that allows you to do it in a slightly different way.. This way you can, from one worksheet, have all of the information you need, based on Talkgroups. Again, with simple Excel commands, the sheet could be re-ordered, high to low, low to high, by the different columns.
 This sheet will show IDs, each TG they talked on, their time used in hours then minutes. Like Report #1, there are embedded links so you can see or not see all of the Talkgroups that the ID talked on during the report period. As with all of our reports, simple Excel commands can re-order the data.
 We call this the Unit Services sheet. We search the database for all types of services that a radio has used during the reporting period and show them here with an 'X'. A service is: Dispatch, Private Conversation, Interconnect, Emergency, Coded, Digital (you get the idea). The idea here is every ID that was discovered would then list all of the features that they used during the reporting period. Remember that some of the IDs discovered will be consoles. We store all of their types of calls too.
 One additional feature in the Discovery Reports is the ability to show or hide large groups of information. This is what the Location and Agency pull-down menus are for. For this to work, the alias data must be correctly set up. BUT, it is extremely powerful. Once you show or hide the correct information for an Agency, or Department, you can easily print the report and this becomes the "task list" of radios to re-program. Remember...you CAN make the serial number part of the alias! Great hint!
 We wanted to say again that we have the ability in GenWatch3 for you to build an alias table, if you would like to. We also have created tools to import aliases from your Gold Elite ADM, spread sheets, etc. If you would be operating our tools on a SmartZone system, the ATIA does provide the alias information that was added into the Zone Controller and that is available for reporting. |
|
|
|
|
|
It's going to be like that, isn't it? You can't just turn off your system while you re-tune it. In some cases, if your repeaters and hardware won't re-tune, you'll need to build an entirely new system.
There are some system owners that will have good records of the inventory they own and thus what should be in use in the field. From experience, we have learned that for 80%+ of system owners, this is the lowest item on their daily priority list and that means it never gets updated. Some keep paper records. One has told us that after running our software for 60 days, they found over 200 radios that they had forgotten about! That can be over $600,000 worth of radios! Genesis wanted to find a simple way to make this part of your process as painless as possible.
Question: Do you REALLY know how many Radios and Talkgroups you have? REALLY? You are going to need to know that answer EXACTLY when it comes time to reband. |
|
Tools |
|
|
|
 |
|
For SmartNet
In 2004, Genesis released a dynamite version of its six year old, industry accepted GenWATCHxl called GenWatch3. GenWatch3® listens to the SmartNet Control Channel (the data channel that tells everything that is happening on the system) by way of a radio modem (RF-modem and RIM-II), decodes it (we are licensed by Motorola to do so), and places all of the data into databases. The data can be stored for one to three years, depending on the amount of hard disk space you can provide. From that data, we can do amazing reports and analyze the data in almost any way you can think of. In this particular situation, we can use GenWatch3 to give us reports that will show every ID, every Talkgroup and every feature that was actually used during the data recording time period. Automatically, as each radio talks, the ID and all other information is added to the databases. Obviously, the longer GenWatch3 is ‘listening’ to the Control Channel, the better the quality of the data as radios key up on all of the Talkgroups programmed into their radios and use the features in their radios.
For further technical information on GenWatch3 for Control Channel Archiving, click here.
 |
|
For SmartZone
The only difference is that instead of the RF Control Channel, we gather the activity data from the Motorola Zone Controller ATIA (Air Traffic Interface Application) port with a software package we call GenSZAI (Genesis SmartZone Airtime Interface). How we do this is beyond the scope of this paper, but suffice it to say it can be accomplished from a very simple to a very robust solution. Like the SmartNet solution, the data is stored in files that can keep the data for one to three years, depending on the amount of disk space provided. From that data, we can do amazing reports and analyze the data in almost any way you can think of. In this particular situation, we can use the GenSZAI data to give us reports that will show every ID, every Talkgroup and every feature that was actually used during the data recording time period. Automatically, as each radio talks, the ID and all other information is added to the databases. Obviously, the longer GenSZAI is "listening" to the ATIA data, the better the quality of the data as radios key up on all of the Talkgroups programmed into their radios and use the features in their radios. We can also tell you a lot more information from the ATIA like the usage of other resources such as Radio alias, DIUs, sites, etc.
For further technical information on GenSZAI for ATIA click here.
The Plan
We suggest installing either Genesis solution as soon as possible. That may sound selfish on our part, but you can see that the longer the software collects data, the higher will be the quality. Just before radios are ordered or re-tuned, we suggest that a benchmark set of reports be run. Jumping to the end, after the re-tuning or after the new system is in place, we collect data for an equivalent period of time, run another benchmark report, and then compare the before and after data. During the rebanding process, you can use the other features of our software to help in the ongoing process.
Our solutions are software. We can provide the hardware, install and configure the software for you if you like. We want to make this process as simple for you as possible, both financially and operationally. We are more than happy to provide a custom quotation for you, depending on your system type and its topography.
The Reports
It has always been our approach at Genesis to put the power into your hands. Our database structures are known to our customers that want to create their own reports. Our Core Reports Package, like the reports you'll see here, is done in Microsoft Excel. That means that with a very short learning curve, you can be altering the look of your reports, adding your own logo, sorting the data the way you want...You get the idea. You can also use many other COTS (commercial off the shelf) tools to do your reporting. Tools like Crystal Reports, Seagate Data Mine and others.
On the right of the screen you can see mock ups of some of the core Excel reports that are planned for the Radio Inventory Discovery Reports Suite. The actual look of the reports may change over time in order that we can improve, but the results will be the same.
Summary
The list of reports that are possible is almost endless. We capture EVERYTHING from the Control Channel and EVERYTHING from the ATIA. And we store it for one year or more depending on the Hard Disk space. Whether you have a SmartNet, Astro, SmartZone or Omnilink system that will be rebanded or replaced, you really need to think: Do you REALLY Know What Radios Are REALLY Using Your System?
|
Disclaimers
Genesis is not affiliated with Motorola. Genesis is licensed by Motorola to decode the Motorola 3600 baud control channel, and as such, the software you purchase may contain licensed Motorola Technology. Using ATIA is permitted by Motorola for the owner of the system who can purchase third party software to enhance their systems. ASTRO, SmartNet and SmartZone are registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc., Schaumburg, Ill.
|
|
|
|
|
