The Alerter is a small radio receiver that is carried by the Deaf or hard of hearing user, which vibrates when it receives a message from a Deaf Alerter transmitter. It has a display on the top where the user views the information sent to them. The unit is light, robust and easy to use.
When the Alerter receives an emergency evacuation alert (for example a building fire alarm) the unit vibrates and displays the message. The Alerter will continue to vibrate until the person is outside the building. During an emergency situation the Alerter also emits a loud audible tone. Although this may not be heard by a hard of hearing wearer, should they become trapped, for example in a smoke-filled room, the tone will assist emergency rescue personnel in finding them.
When the Alerter receives ordinary work-related or public address messages, these are received just once and the Alerter vibrates; the message is then held in memory. The user can replay any of the last six messages they have received by pressing a button on the Alerter. Non-emergency messages can have the audible tone muted.
Important safety features include:
- Not being able to switch off the vibrate function in the user menu (as in the case with most standard pager devices).
- Not being able to accidentally turn off the Alerter. There are no on/off buttons or switches that could be accidentally operated.
- The battery life will depend on the quantity of messages received. Typically the battery life is between one and three months. When the "battery low" message is indicated, the user has two days to change the battery before it is exhausted.
