The SupaHelix is this Summer's Blockbuster

It has been said that every great artist has at least one true masterpiece; a single piece of work that transcends greatness and stands out as that artist’s proudest moment. Tolstoy’s gift to the world of literature was War and Peace, Orson Welles gave us the celluloid tour de force Citizen Kane (which he directed, co-wrote and starred in) and CENTURION...

We have SupaHelix.

SupaHelix is no independent made-for-television special, either; it’s a major production starring an ensemble cast of massive user memory, effortless administration, robust, interference-free remote learning and advanced diagnostics.   Critics are saying about SupaHelix ‘A triumph...’ ‘Two thumbs up...’ ‘A real game-changer...’ ‘This year’s best release...’

So what is it?

In a nutshell, SupaHelix is a comprehensive and highly advanced access control system for high-volume residential sites such as estates and townhouse complexes (I frequently refer to it as a ‘tenant administration toolkit’ to highlight its efficacy in this capacity, but in truth it is much, much more as will soon become apparent).

While this product was originally intended as an upgrade to the existing SupaNOVA complex receiver, it soon became obvious that the end-result would not be a mere sequel or even a remake (in keeping with the movie analogy). No, SupaHelix would be a reimagining. And that is exactly what it has turned out to be.

SupaHelix is as much ‘just a complex receiver’ as the Beatles were just four guys from Liverpool with disturbing haircuts. Capable of storing up to 10 000 individual remote buttons, SupaHelix puts a refreshing spin on user administration in that it allows bulk adding of remotes via an onboard USB port, and also allows each button to be assigned to individual groups and subgroups. This is a great feature for sites where there are numerous access-holders residing in the same unit.

The product also boasts two brand new high-security remote button learning modes, namely ‘Press for Three Seconds Learning’ and ‘Double Press Learning’, both intended to reduce the chance of accidental button learning which is somewhat of a problem in busy neighbourhoods. I’m all for neighbourly love, of course, but giving them access to your property might be taking the concept a little too far.

We’ve now touched on some of the marvellous features of the SupaHelix, and rest assured we’ll return to them in just a moment, but I’d like to bring your attention to the interface itself for a minute.

Just look at it:

That’s one good looking piece of technology! Besides voluptuous modern curves, you’ll also notice the presence of a sizeable LCD screen and four navigational buttons.

It’s all about you: the installer and/or administrator. A graphical interface makes adding, editing and deleting users as intuitive as taking your next breath, while also lending itself to providing visual diagnostics of system health and making it possible to view detailed transaction logs line by line on the panel.

Right, back to the features (ha! That worked out pretty well for the whole movie theme we have going here). Unlike most contemporary complex receivers, the SupaHelix’s three channels can be configured as inputs as well as outputs, making it ideal as both a monitoring and control solution. As you probably know, outputs facilitate the activation of whatever electrical device is attached to it – for example an automated gate, light, pool pump, refrigerator, alarm system, sprinkler, etc. – while inputs are generally used for monitoring events such as a gate that has been left open, an alarm that has been activated, or even a fluid level.

It’s this summer’s blockbuster! Get yours today. 

NOVA: A New Feeling of Reliability

We’ll cut straight to the chase: pressing a button on the newly-revamped NOVA code-hopping remote feels good. There’s a moment of chemistry between man and device just before the silicone button submits to one’s touch; one could almost call it a moment of reassurance.

Yes, come to think of it, that’s exactly what it is.

In that one breathless moment just before kinetic energy is transduced into electrical energy, and electrical into radio, the button vows never to let you down. And with its tough, durable silicone body – made to withstand a lifetime of pressing – and the remote’s updated carbon look, what choice does one have but to believe its solemn promise?

In the some 15 years of its existence, NOVA remotes have become so ubiquitous that keychains seem wholly incomplete without the easily-recognisable blue and grey (NOVA’s colours before the carbon overhaul) remote cheerfully dangling from it. It’s come to embody something of the spirit of home, of family and of security.

It makes perfect sense, when one gets right down to it. The remote is more than a collection of buttons of electronics: it’s the key to your world and, whenever you press that magical button, you’re either opening the gateway to your sanctuary, or you’re securing it until your return. In this way, the remote is almost like a totem, a trinket signifying peace of mind and a little piece of home that you can take with you wherever you go.

The NOVA remote is one of the five products that have been improved as part of the 5x Better campaign currently being launched through a series of roadshows and product days countrywide.

To find out when the roadshow will be hitting your town, click on one of the links below:

Johannesburg

Pretoria

Nelspruit

Cape Town

Durban

Free State

Eastern Cape

5 Ways That the NOVA HELIX Will Make Your Life Easier

The NOVA HELIX range of remote control receivers is putting a fresh spin on an access control staple.

While the original NOVA range has enjoyed – and continues to enjoy – widespread popularity due, in part, to its role as a pioneer in the use of code-hopping technology, the NOVA HELIX was designed to serve the installer at least as much as the end-user.

This latest incarnation of the trailblazing NOVA receiver has retained its ultra-secure code-hopping protocol (and is in fact backwards compatible with the blue and gray NOVA remotes), but its feature offering has been beefed up considerably by the addition of a number of fantastic new features aimed at making life easier for the installer.

Here are five ways that the NOVA HELIX will make your life easier:

1. The pulse time is adjustable

For the first time, it is possible to adjust the time that the relay remains energised, making it possible to activate, for example, electric locks without needing to fit additional interfaces such as pulse-stretchers. Output timing is native to the NOVA HELIX.

2. Timed Autolearn

This is an incredibly useful feature that enables the user to specify a time-period (for example 24 hours) during which all remote buttons that are pressed in the vicinity of the receiver will be programmed into memory. This is useful in instances where a large number of remotes need to be programmed but it’s difficult to have all the remotes present at the same time. The Autolearn function automatically times out after seven days.

3. Robust, interference-free remote learning

Has a customer ever phoned you up and complained that, despite him being 99% sure that his property is ghost-free, his gate frequently opens on its own? This seemingly poltergeist-related phenomenon is generally caused by a neighbour, or neighbours, with the same remote control system pressing his or her remote at the time of your confused client’s remote being programmed. This causes the neighbour’s remote to be inadvertently learned into your client’s system, causing all sorts of havoc and hijinks.

With the NOVA HELIX’s five-second-press feature, the remote button has to be pressed and held in for a period of five seconds before it is learned into memory.

4. Master and Link Learning

The NOVA HELIX gives you the option to choose between the ironclad security of Master Learning, and the convenience of Link Learning. With Master Learning, the Master remote has to be present in order to create “offspring” remotes, making for a very robust and secure remote learning methodology. However, for sites where security is not an issue, remotes can be effortlessly programmed by simply bridging the link pins and momentarily pressing each button that you wish to code.

5. Function jumpers can be disabled

The beauty of the NOVA HELIX really lies in its flexibility. If you want to enjoy the time-saving convenience of Link Learning but your client is concerned about security, you can set his mind at ease by disabling the function jumpers so that the system can’t easily be breached by would-be intruders wanting to program their own remotes into memory.

What Would You Do if You Had More Time?

Ever since the ancient Egyptians first divided the day up into 24 more or less equal parts, people have been wishing for more time. Just one more hour to meet that impossible deadline. Just a few more to finish that assignment. But no matter how desperately we may wish for the sand to fall more slowly through that hourglass, time is the one thing that, thus far, Mankind has failed to manipulate.

What would you do if you had more time? Spend more time with the kids, perhaps. Or get more work done to really impress the boss. Or maybe it’s something as simple as finally finishing Call of Duty.

While we can’t give you more time, we can provide you with the tools to use the time you do have more effectively.

CENTURION’s 5x Better campaign is a unique drive aimed at making installers’ lives easier through user-friendly and intuitive access automation products. We took five of our product, made them better and, over the course of the next two months, we’ll be launching the new and improved offerings through a series of roadshows and product days hosted across the country.

Each product improvement focuses on a specific benefit to the installer.

Smarter – the SupaHelix

Designed as a replacement for the SupaNova multi-user receiver, the SupaHelix offers everything you could wish for in an access control solution: from intuitive and robust remote control programming, to a capacious memory (up to 10 000 individual remote buttons) and advanced onboard diagnostics and logging. It’s a complete access management toolkit!

Simpler – RDO II

The compact and reliable RDO roll-up garage door operator now comes with an onboard multichannel code-hopping receiver, making for supremely easy learning of individual remote control buttons.

Stronger – NOVA remotes

With an updated carbon look and durable silicone buttons designed to withstand a lifetime of pressing, the award-winning NOVA range of remote controls is likely to hold onto its title of South Africa’s favourite remote control.

Quicker – the Pinion SPYDER

The Pinion SPYDER is CENTURION’s innovative new solution to help installers get the all-important gap between the gate rack and the motor pinion just right, ensuring smooth and reliable operation and saving them valuable time onsite!

Easier – NOVA HELIX

Featuring link and master learning, lightning-fast response time and a built-in timer (to name but a few features), the NOVA HELIX range of remote control receivers puts a fresh new spin on an access control staple. Available in single- and multichannel variants.

Visit our website to find out when the CENTURION 5X Better roadshow is coming to your town.