Unless a new intruder or fire alarm site is using a third-party alarm communicator or service subscription, all our ARC-monitored alarm sites will only have a minimum 30-day contractual term of service. We like to keep things flexible and low risk for all our customers.

There are three types of alarm format set up with the ARC.

Fast Format: Uses pre-defined PINs to send activations to the ARC system Sentinel; this uses PINs 1–8. Each activation that is received from the panel will have a pre-defined activation type associated with the PIN in use, such as Fire. In most circumstances, no event will restore, except for Open or Close, in which case the activation event will have a restore event of the other.

Contact ID: (PINs 8001–8008) Like Fast Format, Contact ID generally works by sending event descriptions using pre-set PINs; however, Contact ID can also send alarms that are defined by the installer on the panel. This includes naming the specific alarm zones triggered, for example, Bathroom, Living Room, or Dining Room.

SIA: Using SIA, the installer does not utilize the standard PINs; however, each zone that is usually assigned to a PIN is instead named. These zone names will reflect the specific area that is being triggered, such as Bedroom, Bathroom, or Kitchen, for example. Each specified zone can send multiple event descriptions, such as Fire, Panic Alarm, or Intruder. These alarms should also receive restores according to the same specified zone.