Some of your tag(s) are nearing the end of their battery lives. But don’t worry, you have several months in which to contact Fortecho Solutions and order replacements. If the tag dies you will see the tag appear in the missing warnings on the bottom status bar or in some cases it may appear as a MISSING alarm. Make sure you get some more stock before this happens.

Your asset tag (static), personnel key fob (personnel), or telemetry tag (THT) tags have moved outside of the range of the Fortecho Receivers. They may have left the building, been moved to a metal box/room/coverage zone or died and need replacing. Contact Fortecho Solutions to order replacements.

There is a connection problem to the database engine. Fortecho™ will wait for the database to return but cannot function correctly until it does. You may not be able to log out of the program if the connection has failed. Logging out of Windows or rebooting the PC may be necessary. This would normally only happen if the database is hosted elsewhere on your network and there is a network issue or a server has been taken down for some reason. In this case your own IT department should be able to help.

This suggests there may be reader (receiver) problem. Generally speaking, this will also raise OFFLINE or NoTags events in the main alarm window.

For detailed step-by-step instructions, go to ‘Artwork & Tag Registration’ on page 22 of the Fortecho User Manual.

Search for the artwork or personnel and press the Swap button. The New Tags & Devices window will appear. Select the new replacement tag from the list by double-clicking on the tag icon. The Asset – Tag Registration & Deletion window reappears in Swap Mode – press Confirm to commit the tag swap to the database. For step-by-step instructions, visit the appropriate section in the Fortecho user manual on pages 56-57.

..1). Find the artwork / asset / person using the search facility or open the main report window (from main program toolbar) for the type of object, find its record and double click on the record.
2). Press the “Edit” button. Fields available for edit appear in white, locked fields are greyed out. Make the changes and press “Commit”. If Commit is not pressed before leaving the window the changes will not be made in the database. When leaving the window check the flashing dialogue box before Confirm or Cancel is pressed.

1). If the tag is registered and there’s no alarm on activation, the tag battery may have died. Cross-reference with the ‘missing tags’ list and / or in the Artworks collection window; look at when the tag was last seen by a reader – if the reader hasn’t seen the tag recently, it has died, or you’re testing the tag out of range of the Fortecho receivers.
2). From the same asset collection window, find the tag and see if it’s ‘Active’. If this check-box is not ticked, you must go into the tag registration window by double clicking on the record and click ‘Edit’, then check the box.
3). If the tag is active, registered, and still not going into alarm, the software may be setup to send all alarms straight to history. As above, in the tag registration/edit window, make sure the ‘Events to History’ button is unchecked also press the “in Progress” button to see the dynamic list of alarms and events to see if the system is reacting to the tags messages.

Go into the Tag Registration / Edit window, and click ‘Edit’. On the right hand side, there’s a location tree. Change the location by clicking on the relevant zone within the location tree. This location must drilled down as far as possible to Zone level in order to register successfully (i.e. North Wall, Gallery 2, 2nd Floor, Hamilton Building). Click ‘Commit’ to save changes.

If the required location has not been setup yet, you can press the button on the right of the locations tree view OR equivalently go to the Location Administration (System > Predefined Data > Location Admin). Complete the data fields, starting with ‘Add Site’ then move onto ‘New Building’, Floor, Gallery, and Zone. To assign artworks to these locations, accurate location information is required (i.e. a specific wall or zone of a gallery). Click ‘Confirm’ to save at the bottom right hand side. For more info, see pages 46-49 of the Fortecho User Manual.

By default, to clear an alarm you must first make an ‘Alarm Action Report’. To clear to History, click on the ‘Report’ tab. Select a response from the list or type comments in the “Alarm Action Report” box provided, and then press the “Clear” button in the top of the current alarms window. Provided the alarm is no longer ‘in progress’ the alarm will clear. Make sure the tick box on the right of the alarm bar is selected so that you are clearing the alarm you think you are.

Location names may be changed via Location Administration (System > Predefined Data > Location Admin). Edit the data fields, or add new fields. Fields drill down in order from Site > Building > Floor > Gallery and then Zone. To assign artworks to these locations, accurate location information is required (i.e. a specific wall or zone of a gallery). Click ‘Confirm’ to save at the bottom right hand side. For more info, see pages 46-49 of the Fortecho User Manual. Note that if you rename a location all objects associated with that location will show the new details. You cannot delete a location that has objects associated with it.

Creating general schedules is done through the System menu. Once the schedule exists you can associate an object with it in the individual registration form, pressing edit and using the “schedule” Tab.

Because the physical hardware TAMPER is active on the tag. You should make sure that Tag has been attached in the right orientation, matching the magnet position against the pre-cut hole (for IS-TGP version tags) or ensuring there is less than 8mm between the Tag and the magnet on the IS-TGAI version Tags. If you are not using the tamper feature (i.e. no magnet on tag) this can be suppressed by going to the registration form, pressing edit for this object and selecting to Suppress Tamper. Commit the change and exit. The alarm will pass after a short time.

No. All tags are ultrasonically sealed for the safety of the assets they protect; it’s essential we prevent the potentially harmful leakage of off-gases and battery residue.

You are not logged in. Check that the login window’s not minimised or hidden behind the principal software window. In some cases the window can be lost from the side of the program, especially if you are using multiple monitors. In this case use the scroll bars on the side of the program to bring the window back into view. Make sure you re-arrange the alarm window after you log in.

Yes. You can get a battery life report from the Fortecho Report Engine, accessible from the Reports tab or a desktop icon.

The tag isn’t sitting correctly inside it’s tamper wallet. Make sure the tag sits tightly in the bottom of the wallet.

We encourage our clients to use these wallets for optimum functionality and minimising potential damage to artworks. However, some of our clients attach tags directly into the frames of paintings, while others less concerned about the back of their frames screw their Is-TGP tags directly onto the frame. Tamper can be disabled in the artwork registration form if not required.

The tag is either positioned incorrectly, with the antenna pointing in the wrong direction, or the display case is made of thick metal and has no radio bleed. In this instance, the tag may have to be positioned on the ‘open’ glass section. Failing that, Fortecho can supply an IS-TGMIOISIS tag with an external antenna; you may need to allow for a 4mm hole in the top of the display case base for the antenna to come through, or to trail the antenna below the metal casing.

Ideally, the tag and magnet will be practically touching in the ‘closed’ state. However, the magnet can be up to 8mm away from the tag and still function correctly. If too far you will get TAMPER alarms once in a while and will need to reposition the magnet.

The window may need to be refreshed. Press refresh on the right side of the form to allow new data to be shown. Wait for the new tags to load. If the tag still doesn’t appear after a few minutes, the tag is either old (out of battery), or the new tag doesn’t fit inside the preconfigured tag range parameters for the tag type. The range of IDs for a given tag type are restricted for security and some technical reasons. Tag IDs change from time to time so it is not unusual to need to extend this range every now and then.

To reconfigure tag range parameters, open the parameters tab within the options menu. Currently there are personnel, artwork, and telemetry tags as well as reader control tag types. Check the ‘Activate Tag Ranges’ box then set up each tag range in turn. For each tag type, check the ‘Active’ box (e.g. LPT Active) to enable, then enter the tag numbers. If a tag type is not used, activate it but don’t enter a range.

Press Commit to save changes. Use the ‘show’ button to list all registered ranges.

Tags may be entered in a range of numbers or individually, e.g. 1-999, 1050 will permit tags 1 through 999 and also tag number 1050 to operate as a LPT tag type.

Enter the Customer Site Code details (ask Fortecho Solutions if information not available) and press commit. This restricts the readers to only pass messages into the Fortecho software from tags with the same site code. Try to keep the ranges separate for each tag type. If you have made a mistake you will start to see tags appear in the new tags list with the type LXX. You will need to check the ranges again. Use the “show” button to see a list of all types together for easier comparison.

You cannot register two tags with the same ID. If you have two tags with the same ID, return the tag to Fortecho Solutions and we’ll return you a re-programmed tag free of charge. If you see two tags with the same ID in the new tags list, then they will not have the same SiteCode. This indicates a configuration issue in your system and you will need to use System–>Preferences–>Options–>[Parameters] to set the correct SiteCode for your site, this will then exclude double entries int he new tag list.

Check if the tag is already registered by using the search tools on the main object report forms (through main toolbar buttons on program)

The software automatically detects if the tag is seeing a tamper magnet or not. There is, however, a slight lag between the magnet being present and the software accepting its presence; this can be a few minutes sometimes. If the tag says it sees a magnet when there is none, it’s possible to manually uncheck the box in the Tag Registration / Edit form. If you do not want to use this feature you can select “Suppress Tamper” in the registration form.

1). If the tag is registered and there’s no alarm on activation, the tag battery may have died. Cross-reference with the ‘missing tags’ list and / or in the Artworks collection window; look at when the tag was last seen by a reader – if the reader hasn’t seen the tag recently, it has died, or you’re testing the tag out of range of the Fortecho receivers.

2). From the same asset collection window, find the tag and see if it’s ‘Active’. If this checkbox is unticked, you must go into the tag registration window by double clicking on the record and click ‘Edit’, then check the box.

3). If the tag is active, registered, and still not going into alarm, the software may be setup to send all alarms straight to history. As above, in the tag registration/edit window, make sure the ‘Events to History’ button is unchecked. Also press the “In Progress” button on the main toolbar to see dynamically if the system is reacting to the tag movements.

The tamper switch on the IS-TGAI tag is on both ‘shoulders’ above ‘Fortecho’ (or ‘ISIS’, depending on the tag’s age). The switch can be activated with the tamper magnet above, or around the shoulders. For more information and supporting images, look at the ‘IS-TGAIMS Installation-Attachment Guide.pdf’ in the Documents and Manuals section of the ‘Help’ tab in the software.

Make sure the Tag ID on the Spreadsheet also exists in the new tag list. Tags that have not been seen by the system are not allowed to be registered. You can move the tags into range of the system for a while and return to the import process to finish off those tags.

Some description fields don’t match our preset columns – those fields must be manually dragged & dropped into the respective boxes.

Yes, but they must conform to certain standards (see the “Fortecho Data Import” user manual for more.)

To produce the Battery Life Report hit the Tag Life Report button on the Fortecho Report Engine software

Tag Life Report has a signal strength report included.

After changing the language with the Fortecho Language Tool, you must restart Fortecho Software the the changes to take effect.

Yes, it is possible to have different access tiers. There are 4 different security levels: Engineer, Manager, User and Guard. These user tiers are managed from the user security wizard. (Security > Wizard). Some customisation of Guard level permissions are possible through the System–>Preferences–>Options form but you must be a manager to make these changes.

You may create new accounts through the security wizard, but you can do so only for accounts with the same or lower tier access rights as your account.

You can customise this bar for each user by holding the CTRL key and clicking on the menu. If the user is at a low level the system will prompt for an account with sufficient level to make this change.

Along the top of the alarm window you will find two buttons that control font sizes.

Edit an existing user account using the Security Wizard (Security > Wizard) and – using the wizard, change access rights to the relevant access role.

You will find all the necessary steps on how to set up/assign rules to external devices in the “Fortecho I-O Board Module” manual,

Make sure there is a rule assigned to the sounder. Otherwise it will not be triggered on activation.

You must use “Fortecho Analyser” – an external application – to configure the IS-RX1310 Ethernet Reader (via USB) before plugging it into a physical network.

By generating reader IDs outside the normal range (of 1 – 250), the DIP switch allows you to register more than 2000 different reader ID’s.

There is a label on back side of each reader with this information. There are 4 kinds of readers in service: IS-RX201 (legacy), IS-RX202 (soon to become legacy), IS-RX210 (current) and IS-RX1310 (current).

No, the traffic passing through network is not compatible to IS-RX2xx readers and could damage standard network devices or more likely damage the reader.

No, they are not compatible and you will likely damage the reader.

Fortecho Software is a Microsoft Windows application, It is not compatible with any Linux platform or MAC OS, however, using ‘Parallels’ (a virtual Windows OS) it is possible to run the software on Mac/Linux. The recommended O/S’s are: Windows 7, 8 or 10 and servers 2008 R2 or later.

Under “Communication Setup” you can enable serial port comms.

IS-RX1310 readers must be in the same subnet,VLAN or network as the computer. Also, make sure there are no blocked ports, addresses, etc. through routers, switches,etc.

Make sure you have access to the computer where the SMS system is installed and check that the firewall on either or both systems is not blocking communication. You may need help to assign a specific port to pass this information through.

In the menu there is “RFID diagnostics” > “Tag Messages” where you can see all raw tag data.

There are several default accounts available when the Fortecho software is first installed. Please contact Fortecho Solutions to provide you passwords for these accounts.

You should contact Fortecho Solutions to extend or generate a new licence. To do so via email, write to keyrequest@fortecho.com

Contact Fortecho Solutions. Once the modules have been authorised, you can enable them in the Fortecho Software from the Options menu.

Final release keys are issued when full payment has been made. In the interim a time limited key may be issued.

No, you cannot recover the database from Fortecho Software. The database should be recovered from the SQL Server Management Studio by a competent IT professional.

Yes, the database can be recovered from a different computer if you are planning to move you Fortecho Software to a new machine.

Automatic backups may be scheduled from the Database Management Form. It’s also possible to run a forced database backup from the Database management Form at any time. You need to be logged on as a manager to access this functionality.

Check the “Fortecho Database Maintenance” manual for a guide on how to program pre-scheduled backup. In simple steps:
1) Select Backup location.
2) Choose Back days and Time.
3) Save changes.

There is an icon on the status bar (at the bottom of the Fortecho Software) which provides the status of the DB connection. Green means database connected, Red means database disconnected, blue means it is attempting to reconnect.

This behaviour is usually symptomatic of poor network performance but may also indicate a technical fault with the database engine, network or server. You should consult your IT department first if the SQL Server is hosted on a different computer. Otherwise contact your supplier or Fortecho.

Yes, Fortecho Software runs automatically once the computer has turned on. This can be changed through normal Windows settings. However, Fortecho is an application and so you must log on to the Windows account before Fortecho Software can start.

Make sure you are logging into Windows with the account that you normally use. Also, sometimes at first computer running that messages appears because SQL Server service hasn’t run yet. Accept that messages and run Fortecho Software again. If the problem persists then make sure that the SQL Server service is running. In the case that SQL Server is hosted on a server, your IT department is the first point of contact. Otherwise you may need to contact your reseller or Fortecho.

Yes, Fortecho Software runs automatically once the computer has turned on. This can be changed through normal Windows settings. However, Fortecho is an application and so you must log on to the Windows account before Fortecho Software can start.

Make sure you are logging into Windows with the account that you normally use. Also, sometimes at first computer running that messages appears because SQL Server service hasn’t run yet. Accept that messages and run Fortecho Software again. If the problem persists then make sure that the SQL Server service is running. In the case that SQL Server is hosted on a server, your IT department is the first point of contact. Otherwise you may need to contact your reseller or Fortecho.

Make sure you have a copy of the most recent database backup and replace the computer for a new one. You will need help from your supplier or Fortecho and you will need a new licence key issued once the installation is carried out.

Fortecho Solutions provides an IS-VOIM module which can trigger a physical alarm when the Computer or Fortecho Software crash. If applicable, it’s also possible to do so via a software interface with your Security Management System.

Yes, because Fortecho is a real time system which depends on fast and reliable performance of all components included in the system.  The Computer is an integral part of system, collecting and processing all the receiver data. If the program or computer is generally sluggish, you need to consult with an IT person to diagnose the cause. Systems made within the last few years should be very responsive and any other behaviour is indicative of a hardware or O/S issue.