​Here at NPS Support, we answer over 7000 support calls a year. Some of these calls last only a few minutes while others can last several hours. Through this experience we have learned a few things about what makes a support call go smoother and how to make it less stressful. We want to share some of these things with you so that the next time you call in for support, we will be able to fix the issue faster and with less stress.

1. I have brought this one up in a previous post, but it really helps. When you are calling in for a support issue in Advantage or anything else on your office computer, it is likely that we will need to see what you are seeing. Having a remote meeting ready to go before you call really speeds things up.
2. For hardware, make sure that you are at the unit that is having the issue and plan on not being able to process transactions while we are working on it. We understand that some locations can't be shut down and don't have a backup so we can definitely be flexible.
3. If you are not 100% sure of how to fix an issue, call us immediately. If you play around with buttons or hardware before you call us, you run the risk of making the issue worse.
4. With hardware or register program issues, we very often are not able to see what you are seeing. We depend on your descriptions of what's going on during the troubleshooting and repair process. The best way to make this process go smoothly is to only do what we ask you to do. We will give you step by step instructions on what buttons to press or other things to do. Please don't press anything else than what we tell you to, even if you think you know what the next step is. It throws us way off track on what is going on and makes it difficult to proceed. We will sometimes give a code to type in, hear the person we are working with type that code in, hear them say "Oh, I see", and then hear a bunch of other keys being hit. This will most often be followed by a question of what they should do next, but we have to start over because we don't know what they did.

We understand that every support issue is unique and that some of these things may not be possible for each call in to us, but they will make the process of fixing the problem much easier. Don't hesitate to call us for any support issue or questions you may have. We love to help the National Parks and the amazing people who work in them!

The registers we provide and support are pretty incredible machines. They are equipped with enough abilities to customize your system in nearly any way you want. Have you ever thought to yourself that you wish your register would be able to do something different? Well, it is likely that it can!

We have been working with the National Park Service for many years and over that time we have customized the program to a point where it fits the needs of most parks very nicely. However, each park is different and has different requirements for its registers. Maybe you need some special passes programmed or maybe the layout just isn't right for you. We can help with that. If there is anything about your register program that you would like to change, give us a call and we will let you know if it is possible.

There are a few things that we won't be able to do, and most of those are due to compliance. We want to help you keep your systems safe and compliant so that you won't have any major issues down the road. These necessary parts of the program are not generally a hassle, so you probably won't even realize they are there.

If there is anything at all you would like to change, give us a call and we will do the best we can to make it happen.

The National Park Service is such a unique client because of how diverse their locations are. It is very easy to set up registers with excellent network communications in a store in the middle of a city. However, very few of the machines we support are like that. Most of the registers are considered to be in remote locations. Some of them are so far in the wilderness that you literally have to fly to reach them. It is hard enough for those people who have to get electricity to these places, but how can we establish a network with enough power to process credit cards and provide communications back to the main office software?

The answer is Cradlepoints! Over the years we have tried many different solutions to make communications better in remote locations, but our favorite is Cradlepoints. These little devices run off of cell signal to provide a very sustainable network. We have implemented dozens of these units and we are very happy with the results.

You may be asking, "But what if some of our locations don't have cell signal?" Don't worry, we have found a way to make them work even in signal desolate locations. These units are completely compatible with a variety of Satellite Antennas that improve the signal and provide your register with what it needs. We have installed many of these as well and they are doing a great job.

As far as credit cards, many parks choose to use an easily accessible Dial Up connection to run transactions. This option is fine, but very slow. Even if you are comfortable with these speeds, how much would the life of your remit people improve if they didn't have to copy all of the transactions off of a z-tape or use USB sticks? If your main office computer can communicate with your registers, they can remotely gather all of the data they need and not have to worry about dealing with z-tapes or losing a USB stick. 

We have a lot of reasons why we recommend these Cradlepoint devices so highly. We have seen them work and know the wonders they can do for Fee Programs in the National Parks. If you want to know more about how these units could save your park a lot of time and hassle, give us a call at 801-399-9200 and we can answer any of your questions.

At this point your icons should work and you will be able to do your work without any interruption. We know that this process has a lot of steps and it can be easy to get lost. Go ahead and give us a call if you have any problems and we'll help you sort them out. 

We are working on updating all of the Datasym Merlin's and 6000's in the National Park Service so that they are 100% compliant. This will require a little bit of help from all of the parks who currently have these types of registers either in use or in storage. We are working with WASO to implement these updates and they will be reaching out to the parks as well. 

Please follow the instructions below to print off the 900 Report from your Merlin's and 6000's and report the Flash Version and Serial Number to us. Make sure each unit is hooked up to a receipt printer.

1.        This programming job needs to be run on each unit:
              a.       Turn key to Program (PGM) Mode
              b.      Type in 900 - Enter - Decimal
              c.       A receipt will print out and at the very bottom you will find the Serial Number and the Flash                                 Version. These are the numbers we need.
2.       Enter the Serial Number and Flash Version information in This Form and submit it.​

If you run into any issues at all, call us at 801-399-9200 and we will be happy to help you.
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