The present invention is generally directed to a
system and associated method for communicating information to a predetermined location. The
system includes a
transmitter disposed at a first location and configured to transmit a
signal containing an
instruction code that uniquely identifies an instruction to be carried out. The
system further includes a
transceiver disposed remotely from the
transmitter and configured to receive the transmitted
signal. The
transceiver circuit includes a line interface circuit configured to interface with a
telephone line that is part of the public switched
telephone network (PSTN) and initiate a phone call over the
telephone line. Finally, the system includes a central
station remotely located from said
transceiver but being in communication with said transceiver via the PSTN The central
station further include a decoder configured to decode the
instruction code. In accordance with a broader aspect, the invention is directed to a
general purpose transceiver having a
receiver for receiving an information
signal and a
transmitter configured to transmit an outgoing signal over a phone line to a central
station A portion of the information signal includes an
instruction code, which may be decoded by the central station and acted upon accordingly Consistent with the
general purpose nature of the transceiver, the phone number of the central station may be transmitted to the transceiver as part of the information signal.