The TBox RTU can be configured (using the configuration software provided with the RTU) to raise alarms on conditions or on outputs of programs in the device. The alarms are referred to as alerts.
If the TBox RTU has been configured for alarms, Geo SCADA Expert can retrieve those alarms from the RTU. You can opt to have Geo SCADA Expert process the retrieved alerts purely as events, or also as text alarms. You specify your requirement using an option on the TBox Outstation Form (see Define the TBox Properties). You retrieve the alerts using the Retrieve Alerts pick action.
When Geo SCADA Expert retrieves the alerts, it stores information about them in the Event Journal (see Events in the Geo SCADA Expert Guide to ViewX and Virtual ViewX Clients). If Geo SCADA Expert processes the alerts as text alarms, it appends an alarm count to the source of each alert to help ensure that each retrieved alert is visible to the end user. Geo SCADA Expert also displays the TBox alerts on the Alarm Banner. If an alert has been generated on a tag in the RTU, and an alarm has been configured in Geo SCADA Expert for the corresponding point, you will also see a Geo SCADA Expert alarm for that point.
A TBox RTU that is connected to Geo SCADA Expert by a PSTN link can be configured to call Geo SCADA Expert if an alarm occurs on the RTU. If this happens, Geo SCADA Expert retrieves the alert and stores information about it in the Event Journal. If configured to do so, Geo SCADA Expert also raises a text alarm. It then refreshes the data from the RTU before ending the call.