Frequently Asked Questions

Question:  What makes your new AirPage II wireless nursery paging system different from others?

Answer: The origins of On-Site paging go basically go back to the mid 90’s when many users wanted an alternative to fee based public paging services.  These users did no required city, state, or nationwide paging.  They simply needed premise notification in churches, hospitals, and manufacturing plants.

The big three suppliers were Motorola with the People Finder system, Falcon Direct with the Parent Finder system, and JTECH with the Patron Pager system.  As the names indicate, Motorola served the general market while Falcon Direct addressed the needs of church users and JTECH primarily served the restaurant market.

Over time Motorola stopped producing paging systems.  At one time, both Falcon Direct and JTECH produced our own pagers but less expensive models from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan became more popular.  More recently, the market has shifted again with the majority of the products coming from Australia, China, and Switzerland 

As you look at the products offered by Falcon Direct, you will note that all but one of our pagers comes from Taiwan.  The top of the line model from Switzerland is capable of functioning as a vibrate alert, numeric message, or text message display pager.  If is comparable in capabilities to the Motorola Advisor II.

The most popular pager is the Epager that has the capability of being turned off by transmitting an over the air signal from any of our terminals.  This is the only pager that is parent proof (at least when used by churches).  The user has no control over the pager.  They can’t change the alert settings or even turn it off.  It works one way and one way only.  Once turned on, it alerts the user by vibration and flashing LED’s.  Other pagers can be turned off by the user or switched from the vibrate to audible alert mode.

The terminals we offer are essentially mated to the companion pager.  The AP205N is the ideal desktop terminal for use with the EPager or JPager.  The AP210N is best suited for use with the LS355 numeric display pager although it can be used with any of our pagers.  The AP210A is for use with the Advisor II or DE900 text message display pagers.

The AP125EN is a dial access terminal for connection to a phone line or PBX extension.  The use of this terminal allows anyone using a standard touch dial telephone line to place a page through the terminal.

In some cases, it is desirable (or necessary) to extend coverage into an adjoining building or area of poor reception.  The APWPP2 can pick up a fringe area signal and repeat the signal into a secondary coverage area.  The use of one or more of these devices allows reception over a significantly greater area than would be possible with a single terminal.

In some cases, it may be desirable to connect a paging terminal to a computer or computer network.  This is a little more involved requiring a higher level of hardware and software.  If you have a need for PC network paging with access from multiple PC’s let us know.  We can provide a system specifically for your requirements.  Additionally, you may have a requirement to monitor HVAC, nurse call, or security systems with reporting to an On-Site pager.  If so, let us know.  We have terminals specifically for this purpose.

Question: Do you have a local representative in my area? I am in northern Mass.

Answer: Our objective is to provide the highest quality equipment at the lowest possible cost. Since our systems can easily be set up with our easy to follow instructions, we concluded we could keep our cost down by offering on-site 10 day trial evaluations rather than incurring the additional expense of sales agents. As much as we would like to visit - we will spend our money developing better products at lower cost while others may elect to pass their higher sales expense on to you. trust you will agree that we have made the best decision for BOTH of us!

Question: I'm a little concerned. Will your system interfere with our wireless microphone system?

Answer: Absolutely, positively NOT - guaranteed! Not only will our AirPage II system not interfere with your wireless microphones, it also will not interfere with your sound system or wireless receivers for the deaf. We invite you to try our system for 10 days risk free and without charge to make our point.

Question: I've searched all over your site for technical information on your AirPage II system. I want a spec sheet with size, weight, technical information and range calculations. Did I miss it or ????

Answer: Thank you for your comments! There is a reason for leaving out information such as "range". This is commonly misstated either for reasons of attempting to confuse the purchaser or beat the competition, or in some cases, the presenter simply will say anything that needs to be said to get the business. We've been around long enough and have enough large users to know that it is simply not possible to quote "range" other than to invite potential users to try the system in their environment.

If we choose to get technical, we would simply say that with 2 watts of power at  450 MHz transmitting to a .5 microvolt receiver using a 1/8 wave helical antenna that a typical range in an urban environment would normally be on the order of one-half mile. Conversely, we have a local church located on top of a mountain that has a range of more than five miles (Systems similar to ours have been tested in the Mojave desert and performed at distances of over 21 miles). We can use technical words like ERP, dbu contour, passive radiation, fresnel zones, MTBF and other terms that are well understood by engineers but generally beyond the grasp of our average user which most often is a nursery director, youth minister, or staff administrator. In other words - our intent is to provide practical, usable information like - "will it work for me, what does it cost, what do I do if it breaks, and how much will it cost to keep it operating?" However, we sometimes do get requests to provide more technical specifics and we will gladly provide any information required to assist you in making the best decision possible. Hope this answers most of your questions, but our original offer to provide a demo system has proven in most cases to be the most effective measurement of performance. For those who want more technical information, we invite you to review the technical specifications on the AirPage system.

Question: Is an FCC license required for a wireless paging system?

Answer: Contrary to what some may some say, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires a license for any transmitting device with a few notable exceptions (Garage door openers, cordless phones, CB radio, FRS radio and very low power devices, typically operating a power levels of less than 1/10th of a watt. A few low priced on-site paging systems, primarily designed for use by the restaurant industry use CB, Garage door, and cordless phone frequencies. These systems generally are not well suited for applications other than those in very limited areas. The better church nursery systems operate in the UHF (450 MHz) frequency range with a typical output power of 2 watts which DOES require a license.

Falcon Direct has a nationwide shared site license which can be used by our customers. If you purchase a system without a license, YOU are the responsible party, not the supplier. For additional information of FCC licensing requirements, go to the FCC web site at www.fcc.gov. Don't take any suppliers word for anything relating to an issue as important as compliance with government regulations. Check it out for yourself. It is YOUR responsibility!

Question: Another supplier told me that their equipment had been certified under FCC Part 15 and this took care of my licensing requirement. True or False?

Answer: FALSE! Part 15 is the FCC certification standard whereby the manufacturer Is required to demonstrate that the equipment does not radiate signal emissions that could be harmful to other electronic equipment. Actually, each manufacturer must comply with OSHA standards for safe RF emission levels in accord with SAR (Safe Absorption Rate) standards developed jointly by the FCC and the Food & Drug Administration. Optionally, each manufacturer is encouraged to comply with UL (Underwriters Laboratories) safety standards in the USA and CSA (Canadian Standards Association) in Canada.

As impressive as it may sound when a manufacturer or supplier claims compliance with all these standards, the fact is that it has absolutely nothing to do with your legal responsibility to comply with FCC Part 90 - the Rule section that deals with YOUR responsibility. We can only surmise that any potential supplier that told you that FCC Part 15 compliance negated the requirement for user licensed operation was either woefully in error or worse yet, knew the actual requirements and chose not to give you the correct answer.

Question: What makes Falcon Direct different from everyone else?

Answer: Among other things, our receivers have been specifically designed for unique need of institutional users. Unlike others, our systems were not designed for the hospitality industry (bars and restaurants) with institutional use as a secondary afterthought.
We uniquely provide specialized operating instructions, both for the nursery workers and the parents at no additional charge.

All of our receivers have both vibrate and visual alert with numeric message display on the LS355 and Gold  models. Unlike other receivers, our Epager receivers are specifically designed so that a user cannot accidentally switch them to the audible alert mode (A very important consideration by church users!).

Our sending terminals are capable of expanding as your needs change.  Our unique Repeater  option allows you to cover a remote building, another church or an entire city as you desire! Our system grows as your needs change with the ability to signal up to 890 receivers plus group call to alert all parents simultaneously if required.

Did we mention that we provide an on-site license at no cost to our users? See question about FCC license requirements).

We offer outright purchase, fixed term lease and month to month rental plans to fit the exact budget requirements of those we serve.

Our service plans allow you to determine in advance exactly which plan is best for you! Better yet, there are no surprises. You know what your service options are before you purchase!

We initiated the 10 day trail option. It takes confidence to invite comparison!  We are not always the lowest priced, but our features, capabilities, and Service make us unique in the on-site messaging business. Price alone does not determine true value!

Lastly, we've been in the business longer than all the others combined. We know our business and we know the needs of our customers. That's our job serving you!

Question: How do you determine the best value in a sending terminal?

Answer: Quality, features, performance, operating cost, and initial price in that order!  If one vendor's terminal is considerably less expensive than another, there has to be a reason. The one place you don't want to cut corners is on the terminal! This is the heart of your system! Aside from price, look at the warranty. 

Check out the specifications. Is the system based on open architecture (i.e. compatible with other systems)? Does the terminal have the ability to send  both individual and group calls? Signal alerts as well as numeric messages?

AirPage II Technical Specifications