OTHER TECH

The second key feature of the ComPoint is system-wide paging - or as Pappy O'Daniel from O Brother, Where Art Thou? would say, "We ain't one-at-a-timin' here. We're MASS communicatin'!" The global-paging function broadcasts to all zones simultaneously, except for door stations. This is perfect for calling everyone to dinner or letting houseguests know that the movie is about to start or when you want to speak to or find someone but don't know where he or she is. To initiate a page in this manner, simply walk up to one of the keypads and press the "Talk" button.

ComPoint incorporates two more features that will be especially appreciated by parents of young children. The first is a do-not-disturb mode that blocks all pages and doorbell chimes from the selected zone - great for letting babies or exhausted parents get some sleep. When it's activated, the DND button on a keypad lights red so you can tell at a glance that it is engaged.

The second is a monitoring feature that enables you to listen in on a zone. The keypad microphones are very sensitive and will easily pick up the cries and squawks of a waking infant. And, to ensure you won't be eavesdropped on accidentally, listen mode can be engaged only from the keypad in the zone that you want to monitor. The Talk key in that zone also remains red while monitoring is in progress to alert those in the room.

Most homes, regardless of size, have only a single doorbell chime, which can be difficult to hear in all rooms or if music is playing. Russound's door station addresses this problem: Its chime is heard simultaneously in all intercom zones and overrides any music that is playing. And if you've bought some fancy door chime that you would die without, the ISK3 door station offers connections for wiring to an external chime.