is it possible to buy Simplex dongle>

hello all

great forum!!! i have been referencing a lot here .

so im a contractor for low current systems and Simplex FA systems is something
we have been doing for a few years now. we always pay the local simplex distributor
to come and program our panels at the project site and they dont charge much however
its the customer service that is really bad. we may not get them to be available whenever we need them

hence we are looking to buy a programming dongle and the SIMPLEX TRUESTART ANALYSIS AND TESTING INSTRUMENT
it is a one time investment and will help us better serve our clients.

after i lot of searching i have given up. its not available online for purchase.
where can i get one who can i buy. Simplex and the distributors in my region will not sell it to a contractor.

thanks for your responses

Hello and welcome to the forums!

It is my best understanding that the Simplex programming dongles are not distributed to anyone but their own trained service technicians and a very select group of partners. Additionally, a Simplex technician has indicated to me that these dongles may be traceable back to the engineer to which they were originally assigned.

Any programming dongle you were to find online is likely to be stolen or otherwise illegitimate. Although inconvenient, I would highly recommend not pursing an attempt to purchase one from a third party.

I retired before the JCI buyout so I have no idea on how procedures have changed. In my time with the company programmers and dongles were only sold to end user customers. They legally own the system and legally have that option. The programmer and dongle was expensive and required the customer to sign a multi-page document written by a team of lawyers. One of the provisions is that the software and key (dongle) could not be passed to a third party. The other major provision is that Simplex is absolved of all responsibility and liability for the system. Once the customer has full access to the entire system programming they are fully responsible and liable for its operation. Very few customers wanted to carry that degree of liability. It was highly recommended that the customer attend factory training on their system but it was not required for the sale.

Think for a moment as a contractor how much your insurance would cost if your company had to assume full and complete liability for every system you programmed.

The refusal to sell the TrueStart Instrument to a contractor surprises me. That is one of the reasons the device was invented. A contractor could test and troubleshoot their wiring and device addressing before a Simplex technician came to the site to commission the system. That results in a smoother installation and testing procedure.

[quote=kcin556 post_id=81036 time=1531754326 user_id=2844]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

It is my best understanding that the Simplex programming dongles are not distributed to anyone but their own trained service technicians and a very select group of partners. Additionally, a Simplex technician has indicated to me that these dongles may be traceable back to the engineer to which they were originally assigned.

Any programming dongle you were to find online is likely to be stolen or otherwise illegitimate. Although inconvenient, I would highly recommend not pursing an attempt to purchase one from a third party.

[/quote]

i forgot to mention that i am in the middle east. but its the same arrangement here . simplex does not engage in any services in the region only their authorized distributors have the dongle. however off late i have seen some contractors get a hold of the dongle . i have
no idea how. i really do not wish to engage in any illegal purchasing and am looking for a legal and correct way to purchase.

i was hoping it could be available in the US for purchase and i could purchase a dongle.

[quote="Retired STR-SG" post_id=81037 time=1531759554 user_id=3047]

I retired before the JCI buyout so I have no idea on how procedures have changed. In my time with the company programmers and dongles were only sold to end user customers. They legally own the system and legally have that option. The programmer and dongle was expensive and required the customer to sign a multi-page document written by a team of lawyers. One of the provisions is that the software and key (dongle) could not be passed to a third party. The other major provision is that Simplex is absolved of all responsibility and liability for the system. Once the customer has full access to the entire system programming they are fully responsible and liable for its operation. Very few customers wanted to carry that degree of liability. It was highly recommended that the customer attend factory training on their system but it was not required for the sale.

Think for a moment as a contractor how much your insurance would cost if your company had to assume full and complete liability for every system you programmed.

The refusal to sell the TrueStart Instrument to a contractor surprises me. That is one of the reasons the device was invented. A contractor could test and troubleshoot their wiring and device addressing before a Simplex technician came to the site to commission the system. That results in a smoother installation and testing procedure.

[/quote]

thank you for replying.
the programmer and dongle is what i would like to purchase since i am seeing a few of the contractors such as myself purchasing it.
of course the competition would never disclose where they get it from.
i am located in the middle east and legally it is only available to the official distributors . i have asked simplex a couple of times to sell it and they refused it. it may be they want to protect the interests of the distributors and there may not be any actual legal contract prohibiting the sale of the software and dongle in my region.

as i mentioned above i was hoping to buy it from US. the Truestart is available apparently i still have to get the official quote from the distributor for it.