Data logger SMS alarms sent to the phone of the crew on call
Data logger SMS alarms reach the person on call when a probe crosses its limit or a station stops reporting. They get the station, the reading and the limit in one text, even for a site nobody visits daily. Campbell Scientific, AVTECH Room Alert and most cloud loggers already have an email alarm action, so you add one address.
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- No cell modem or SMS card
- One email address to add
- No per-user fees
Works by email with
- Data loggers
- MadgeTech
- Freezers & cold storage
Published:
A sensor dashboard for Well Field 3: the reading rises above its 42 °F limit to 44 °F, outside the allowed band. The email reaches Welco and the phone shows: “Welco: [CELX 204118] Well Field 3 pressure 596 kPa, above 550 kPa at 3:22 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”
What changes when your loggers can text
An excursion reaches a person
A reading past its limit lands on the on-call phone, not in a shared inbox that nobody opens at night.
A silent logger gets noticed
Missed check-in alarms text too, so a battery killed by the cold or a lost signal can't hide a warm box.
Each crew sees its own sites
Rules match the station name, so nobody is woken for a site two hours down the highway.
Nothing new in the enclosure
No firmware change and no extra radio. The logger keeps the email action it already has.
What you need before your loggers can text
A data logger is a small box that records readings, like temp, pressure, or level, over time. If yours can raise an alarm by email, it's ready for temperature and sensor alarm texts. Whoever manages the logger account can set this up in about 20 minutes once Welco has verified your business.
- A logger, or the service that collects its data, with an email action for alarms. Telemetry services and Room Alert units usually have one. So do MadgeTech lab loggers.
- A Welco account with your business verified. Start free to get your Welco address.
- The people who drive out to the site, invited to join with their own cellphones. Each person confirms with a YES reply before alarms reach them.
Set up data logger alarm texts in 5 steps
Where the alarm lives depends on the brand. The steps below fit loggers that alarm from their own program and loggers that alarm from a cloud account.
Find the logger's alarm action
Alarms live in the logger program, the collection software, or the cloud account. Look for the action that runs when a reading crosses a threshold (the high or low limit you set).
Approve the sender in Welco
Copy the From address on a recent alarm email and add it to the senders Welco will accept. Welco ignores alarm mail from any address you haven't added.
Add your Welco address to the email action
Put your Welco address in the alarm's email list. If the action takes more than one address, keep the old one too while you test.
Write the alarm message with the key facts first
Many loggers let you write the alarm text. Put the station name, the reading, and the limit at the start, and Welco can trim the rest.
Test before you trust it
Turn on test mode for a dry run and force one alarm, for example by setting a limit just under the live reading. Check the sample text, then reset the limit.
Your loggers can text the field crew today
Sign up, verify your business, and add your Welco address to one alarm action.
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A server room logger alarm as a text
Room Alert units often watch small server rooms and network closets. When the room runs hot, the email that goes out can be long.
Alert email from roomalert@itroom.example.com, subject “Room Alert: Sensor 1 in alarm”. Welco trims it to one text of 100 characters: “Welco: [Server Room] Room Alert sensor 1 at 33.1 C, over 29.5 C at 5:03 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”
Text received: Welco: [Server Room] Room Alert sensor 1 at 33.1 C, over 29.5 C at 5:03 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
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Server room alarms usually belong to IT, not facilities. A rule can send this one to the IT on-call phone. For battery alarms in the same room, see APC UPS text alerts.
Which logger alarms to send as texts
Text the alarms that need a trip to the site or a call. Routine data files, daily reports and battery reminders can wait in email. Walk-in units have their own freezer alarm text setup.
- Fridge excursion: Welco: [Pharmacy Fridge 2] 9.2 C, above 8 C high limit at 2:36 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Missed check-in: Welco: [Creek Station 12] no check-in since 11:15 PM, 2 missed. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Water on the floor: Welco: [Network Closet B] Room Alert water sensor wet at 4:48 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.
Get logger alarms to the crew who can drive out
Remote sites are far apart, so each alarm should reach the person closest to it.
Route by the hour
With after-hours routing, a pressure alarm at 3 a.m. goes to the night phone. Alarms during office hours can go to the office instead.
Text the whole crew at once
Some alarms need two people on the road. Several phones per alert sends the same text to each of them, one time per phone.
Drop the history links
Logger emails often end with a sign-in link and a long footer. Single-text trimming keeps the station, the reading, and the limit.
Handle a storm that trips many stations
A spring melt or a summer storm can push many stations over their limits at once. Alarm flood control keeps the burst small enough to read.
Give each crew its own sites
An alert rule can match a station name or a reading type, like
PressureorLevel. Each crew then gets only its own alarms.
Fixing a logger alarm that didn't text
Most gaps start at the logger, not at the phone.
The station lost its cell signal or power
- How to confirm it
- It sent no email at all. Check the logger's last check-in time.
The alarm only writes to the log
- How to confirm it
- Some programs record an alarm but send nothing until you add an email action.
A software update changed the sender
- How to confirm it
- The Welco feed shows a refused email. Add the new address to your approved senders.
The phone can't take the text
- How to confirm it
- The person hasn't confirmed, or the number is a landline. Delivery reports tell you which.
Frequently asked questions
Can Campbell Scientific loggers send alarm texts through Welco?
Do I need a cell modem or SMS card inside the logger?
How do I stop a logger from texting every routine report?
Daily.Will a Room Alert temperature alarm reach IT at night?
Can I try logger alarm texts before paying?
Does replying to a logger alarm text clear the alarm?
Can one logger alarm go to every phone on the field crew?
Have your loggers text the crew, not an inbox
Add your Welco address to one alarm action and see the first text in test mode.
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