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All Dogs Corporation The home of the best Dog Show Vans! |
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Model TA1 Parts List: Optional Battery Pack Parts List: 1 Control Unit 1
Battery pack 1 Pager with belt clip 1
120 volt charger 1 12 volt adapter 1 power cable (battery pack to
control unit) 1 120 volt adapter 1 AAA battery for pager CB cable adapter Instruction manual Getting Started The unit is designed to work from 120
volts AC, 12 volts DC, or a battery pack.
Do not use substitute power supplies as they may damage the unit. Simply plug the unit in to the
appropriate power source and flip the top switch of the unit to turn it
on. In a moment, the LED display comes
on with the current temperature reading.
For first time use, you need to set the trigger temperature (see next
section). Read all instructions before
using the unit. Using the Control
Unit There is a hole in the front of the
control unit just below the digital display, inside that is the ‘hidden
switch’. This switch is hidden to
avoid accidentally changing the temperature trigger settings. Use a wooden toothpick (or other similar
non-metallic tip) and insert it pushing the switch just below the
display. Press this switch 3 times to
get to the low temperature setting and the LED’s will display LLO. Press this switch one more time to get to
the high temperature setting and the LED’s will display LHI. You can change the high or low limit by
pressing the LOCAL or REMOTE switches to increase or decrease the trigger
temperature. When done, press the
hidden switch 9 or 10 more times to return to ‘normal’ mode (10 from low
temperature limit, 9 times from high temperature limit). If you get confused, just turn off the
whole unit and turn it back on to restart the programming. Do not change any of the other settings in
the unit. Note that the unit can be programmed for
different temperatures whenever you’d like to change it. The unit will remember its settings forever
when powered off, but it is wise to verify the setting each time when used. It is important that when you turn on
the unit, it cannot be alerting for high or low temperatures. You can tell that it is doing this if the
display alternates between the current temperature and either LLO (low
trigger) or LHI (high trigger). It
will also begin beeping within seconds of being turned on. If it powers on with an alert, it will not
work properly. You can correct this in
one of two ways. First, you can change
the temperature triggers so that it is no longer alerting (raise or lower the
trigger temperature), then turn the unit off and back on. The second way is to wait for the unit to come
inside the allowed range (for instance hold the unit in front of an air
vent), and then turn the unit off and back on. The unit has a second black switch
just below the ON switch. In honor of
my wonderful wife who needs to find me when I wander, it has been named the
“Honey get over here NOW!” switch.
When turned on, the trunk symbol on the pagers will start flashing and
the unit will beep or vibrate. It is
easy to remember this symbol because if I do not get back to my wife I will
end up in a trunk somewhere! In
reality, this switch is an excellent test switch. When you power on the unit and pager, you
can use this switch to test that the pager receives a signal from the pager. When used in an RV, plug the control
unit into a 120 volt outlet that is not run off the inverter. If you lose power, the pager will alert you
within one minute that it no longer is receiving a signal (out-of-range
alert), and you will get back long before the RV starts heating up. Note that in some vans such as the
Honda Odyssey that the 12 volt outlets turn off either when the engine is
turned off or within 10 minutes. In
these vans, you will either need to
wire in another 12 volt outlet with continuous power, or buy the battery pack
option. The battery pack comes with a
charger and will run the unit for 100+ continuous hours. Placement of Control
Unit Where you place the control unit in
your van or RV can have a significant affect on the range of the unit. You may need to do some experimenting to
determine the best location in your vehicle, but here are some guidelines
that should give you good range. First, do not put the unit in a
window where the sun will heat it and give you false temperature
readings. Also, do not put it against metal
walls. These include refrigerators and
metallic exterior walls (such as box vans with metal walls). In most RVs, a good place is to mount it
against an exterior wall (assuming exterior walls are made of fiberglass) at
eye-level height. In vans, there are a
few recommendations. You can attach it
to the back of a headrest, hang it off the rearview mirror (use window covers
to reflect heat), or even put it on the dashboard. If you have a fiberglass high-top, you can
mount it against the wall up in the fiberglass section. You always want to elevate the unit well
off the floor, higher is always better.
Using the Pager Turn on the pager. Do this by pressing and holding for a
moment the red button on the pager. It
should beep at you and within 40 seconds the antenna signal on the top left
corner will come on to indicate that the control unit has been powered on and
is transmitting properly. If the pager
goes out of range or if the control unit looses power then the antenna signal
will turn off and the unit will beep at you to indicate out-of-range. Also, the pager will not add or remove bars
as the signal gets stronger, either it is receiving a signal or not. If the high or low temperature
trigger occurs, the pager will vibrate or beep (you can chose either) and the
hood symbol will flash. It is easy to
remember this symbol because the engine under the hood is what usually
overheats. The control unit also beeps
with a temperature trigger. If the
test switch (aka “Honey get over here NOW!” switch) on the control unit is
pressed, then the trunk symbol will flash and the pager will vibrate or beep. You can program the pager to signal
you when it is out of range or not to signal you. Also it can be switched between vibrate and
melody. Finally, it has clock, alarm,
and low battery features. To turn off
the pager press the red button and you will see the OFF icon flashing so just
push the white button once. When off,
the pager shows the OFF icon. This may
seem odd but it is how it works. “Normal mode” is the mode it is in
when you turn it on. If it gets into
an odd mode, wait several seconds and it will automatically go back to normal
mode. The table below shows you how
many times to press the red button for the various modes. Think of the red button as the “walk
through options” button, and the white button as the “select this one” button
This paragraph puts the table above
into words. From normal mode, press
the red button twice then the white button to put it in sound mode. From normal mode, press the red button
three times then the white button to put it in vibrate mode. To change the time, press the red button 4
times then the white button. Finally,
to set the time alarm, press the red button 5 times then the white
button. To toggle the out-of-range
alert, press the red button 6 times then the white button. If for some reason the pager loses
its “programming” and does not communicate with the controller, this is the
procedure to re-program it. Before
doing this procedure, first try replacing the pager’s battery and make sure
the control unit is on and has a good power supply. Turn off the control unit and the
pager. Remove the battery from the
pager. Power on the control unit and
quickly install the battery in the pager.
Press the white button on the pager and hold it for 2-3 seconds until
it gives you a long beep. Release the
white button and quickly press and release it 4 times. The time display on the pager will go to
all zero’s to indicate that it is in reprogram mode. Within 30 seconds the pager should chime a
little ‘congratulations’ song to indicate that it has been programmed
properly. If it does not reprogram,
try again. Proper care of
unit There is very little you need to do
to take care of your unit. First, make
sure that the pager has a good AAA battery in it. As the battery discharges, you will find
that the range of the pager can be reduces significantly. The control unit and pager should be kept
dry and stored between 20 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, keep the pager and power cables with
the control unit to avoid losing them. Warranty The unit comes with a 1 year
warranty. If there are problems
outside the warranty period or if the unit is damaged in a way outside normal
use, contact me and I may be able to repair it for a reasonable cost. Additional pagers and accessories are
available. If you have any questions regarding
the use of the unit please contact us in advance so that you do not end up on
a television show such as “I Did What?”.
Use common sense to protect yourself and your animals as no system is
flawless. Test this unit regularly by
lowering the set temperature and verifying that the pager works properly. All Dogs Corporation Model
TA1 (512) 376-0003 www.DogShowVans.com Units proudly assembled in Lockhart,
Texas, USA Troubleshooting, Questions and Answers 1.
Can I have a quick how-to for using the unit? 2.
How to turn on or off the controller or pager? 3.
How to test if it is working? 4.
How to know if you are in range? 5.
How to check the high or low temperature trigger
settings? 6.
Will it remember my settings even when unplugged
for weeks or months? 7.
How to change from beep to vibrate? 8.
Can the out-of-range change from beep to vibrate? 9.
Where should I put the controller in your van or
RV for maximum range? 10. My pager isn’t
working with the controller, what happened? 11. Can I get
false signals from someone else’s unit? 12. I lost my
instructions, where can I get a new copy? 13. Where can I
get another pager? 14. Can one pager
work with multiple control units? 15. My unit is
paging me, but the temperature is OK.
What’s wrong? 16. Well shucks,
my unit isn’t working, can it be fixed? 17. Oops, I messed
it up. Help! 1.
Can I have a
quick how-to for using the unit? This is a
short summary, but you should read the instructions soon for
completeness. First, plug in the
controller unit and place it somewhere high (for best range). Turn on the pager by pressing and holding
its red button. Within 20 seconds the
pager will beep at you and the antenna symbol on its top left corner will
turn on, that tells you that the pager is getting the signal from the control
unit. Next, program the low and high
temperature limits on the controller (see question 5 below for these
details). Now, the display should
constantly show the current temperature.
You can choose beep or vibrate mode on the pager (see question 7 below
for these details). At this point,
things are powered on, temperatures are programmed, and you can start using
the unit. Note that it will beep at
you when you are out of range or if you lose power at the control unit. 2.
How to turn on
or off the controller or pager? On the pager,
from ‘normal’ mode (wait 20 seconds if you have been pressing buttons and it
will return to ‘normal’ mode), press the RED button once, then press the
white button once. It will show a “OFF”
signal in the top right corner when off.
To turn off the controller, simply turn off the top right black
switch. 3.
How to test if
it is working? First, plug in
the control unit and turn both it and the pager on. The display on the control unit should turn
on within a second. Within 30 seconds,
the pager should beep at you (if out-of-range is enabled) and an antenna
symbol on the top left corner of the pager’s display should turn on. That tells you that the pager is receiving
a signal from the control unit. A
quick test to see if the control unit will transmit a warning is done by
flipping on the lower black switch on the control unit. Within 5-10 seconds the pager should beep
or vibrate with the trunk symbol flashing.
When you turn off the black switch, within a few seconds the trunk
symbol will stop flashing and the pager will give a quick beep or vibrate. 4.
How to know if
you are in range? As long as the
antenna symbol is lighted on top of your pager, it is receiving a signal and
is within range of the control unit.
If you get out of range, the pager will beep at you every 30 seconds
until it again receives a signal. You
can disable this out-of-range option by pressing the red button on the pager
six times, then press the white button until the unit
displays OFF, then press the red button one more time. Keep in mind, if you disable the
out-of-range then you will not be notified if the control unit loses power or
you lose signal. 5.
How to check
the high or low temperature trigger settings? Using a
toothpick or other non-metal object, press the hidden button on the control
unit (located just below the display) three times. The display should show LLO (limit
low). Press the ‘remote’ button once
and it will show you the current low temperature trigger, it has a range of
32 to 140 degrees. Using the remote
(increase) and local (decrease) buttons on the control unit, you can change
the low temperature trigger. If you
press the hidden button one more time, it will show LHI (limit high). Press the ‘remote’ button once to display
the current high temperature setting.
Then you can change that setting by pressing remote or local. When done, press the hidden button 9 more
times to return to normal mode. If one
of the temperature limits have been triggered then the display on the control
unit will alternate between the current temperature and either “LLO” or “LHI”
(depending if low or high trigger has occurred). 6.
Will it
remember my settings even when unplugged for weeks or months? Yes, the unit
remembers your set temperatures for years, even if unplugged. 7.
How to change
from beep to vibrate? When you turn
on the pager, it will have either the beep or vibrate symbol shown to tell
you what mode it is in. To change to
vibrate mode, press the red button 3 times (the vibrate symbol which looks
like 3 waves will be shown), then press the white button. You should now see the vibrate symbol and
it is in vibrate mode. To change to
beep mode, press the red button 2 times (the musical note will be shown),
then press the white button. You
should now see the beep symbol and it is in beeping mode. 8.
Can the
out-of-range change from beep to vibrate? Sorry,
out-of-range can only beep or be turned off, it cannot be set to vibrate. 9.
Where should I
put the controller in my van or RV for maximum range? There are a
couple of key factors that affect range.
One is quite simple: keep a fresh battery in your pager as weak
batteries can reduce your reception range by 50% or more. Placement of the control unit has a couple
of factors that affect range. First,
you want to keep it away from any large flat metal walls and you want it
higher up. In RVs with fiberglass
walls, you can Velcro the control unit to the wall and leave it there. Don’t put the controller in a window if the
sun will shine in there. In vans, hanging it from the rear view mirror works
great as long as you have a windshield shade.
It should always be elevated well above the floor for best signal
range. One way to find the best spot
is to try various spots, and ride a bicycle around your neighborhood, seeing
which position gives you best range.
Note that homes in subdivisions could reduce the true range you’ll
have at dog shows. 10.
My pager isn’t
working with the controller, what happened? First, try
putting a fresh battery in your pager, and make sure it and the controller
are both on. In rare circumstances
during storage, the pager can lose the stored code of your controller. To re-train the pager, it is a simple
1-minute process. First, have your
controller plugged in but not turned on.
Remove the battery from the pager.
The next two steps need to be done within 30 seconds. Insert the battery in the pager, then press
and hold the white button on the pager for about 5 seconds until it makes a
second beep sound. Then, release and
press the white button 4 times. You
can verify that you did this step correctly if the time on the pager has
changed to 0:00. Immediately turn on
the control unit. Within 30 seconds,
the pager should play a ‘Congratulations’ song and its antenna symbol
should turn on. If it does not play
the song, power everything off and repeat the process. If after multiple attempts it does not
train, contact us at (512) 376-0003 for repair. Note that the unit does have a 1 year
warranty. 11.
Can I get
false signals from someone else’s unit? The system has
over 65,000 unique codes. Given the ½
mile range, the probability of being within range of another unit with the
exact same code is extremely low. 12.
I lost my
instructions, where can I get a new copy? Visit the
website at www.DogShowVans.com . Click on the Temp Pager link on the left,
and that page will give you a link to the most recent version of the
instructions. You can print the
webpage for future reference. 13.
Where can I
get another pager? Contact us at sales@dogshowvans.com , or call (512) 376-0003, or
see your local distributor. You can
add as many pagers as you like to your system by simply programming them to
your specific code. Even if you lose
your pager, you can simply get a replacement pager. 14.
Can one pager
work with multiple control units? Sorry, that is
not an option. You need a pager for
each control unit. 15.
The unit is
paging me, but the temperature is OK.
What’s wrong? Check BOTH the
high and low temperature settings, it could be that they were changed by
someone else traveling with you. Also,
make sure that the test switch is turned off.
Note that the test switch needs to be switched off when the controller
is first turned on. Also, it is
important that the high and low limits be above and below (respectively) of
the displayed temperature when the control unit is turned on. One way to check this is if the display of
the control unit is flashing LLO (limit low) or LHI (limit high) when first turned
on. If it is doing this, reprogram the
high or low setting to be outside the current temperature reading, then turn
off and back on the control unit. 16.
Well shucks,
my unit isn’t working, can it be fixed? Yes, it is
possible to repair the units for much less than the cost of a new unit. Whether the unit was dropped in a water
bucket, or even if a dog decided to eat part of the controller, we can
usually get it working again. Email us
(with pictures and a great story!) at sales@dogshowvans.com
. 17.
Oops, I messed
it up. Help! Step one:
Don’t panic. Next, let’s
start with the simple things. First,
turn off both the control unit and the pager, wait ten seconds, and turn them
both back on. Make sure the test
switch is switched off before you turn the unit back on. When you turn on the unit, if the display
alternates between the temperature and either LLO or LHI, then you need to
reprogram the high or low trigger setting.
When the unit is turned on, the temperature reading must be between
the high and lower trigger settings. After that,
make sure the unit has a good power supply, and put a fresh battery in the
pager. It may be that either the 12
volt or 120 volt adapters are damaged, so try changing to the other adapter. It is possible
that you simply reprogrammed one of the settings in the unit. The table below shows the proper settings
for the control unit, verify that they are still the same.
Check the settings on your unit to
compare against, and correct any changes. Next, it could be that the pager has
long the code from the control unit.
See question 10 above to retrain the pager for your controller. If your unit is still not working
properly, contact us. It does come
with a 1 year warranty, and even after that the unit may be repairable at a
much lower cost than replacing the unit. Revision 6.1 All Dogs Corporation Model TA1 (512) 376-0003 www.DogShowVans.com Units proudly assembled in Lockhart, Texas, USA
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