Hardline: the truck module
The box in the truck that keeps the record.
Hardline is a physical module that mounts in the ambulance. It watches shore power and the battery while the truck is off, tracks position, reads the tags on your gear, and, if you plug in the OBD-II lead, the engine too. When the truck drives out of coverage it keeps recording to its own flash and delivers everything to Redline on the way back.
What is on the box
Six connectors. Use the ones you need.
Power and Ethernet are all it takes to start reporting. Everything else is a cable you add when you want the capability.
- 12 V power. From the truck. Hardline stays awake with the ignition off; that is the point.
- Ethernet. To the station network, or to a cellular router on the truck.
- OBD-II. Optional. Engine hours, odometer, fuel, coolant, RPM, VIN from the bus.
- GPS antenna. Position on the fleet map, and a good clock for every event.
- RFID A and B. Optional. One reader at the cabinet, one at the door; tags tell Hardline which zone the gear is in.
- USB. Service port for our installer. Three lamps on the lid: link, alarm, GPS.
What it does
Three things always on. Three more when you want them.
Hardline records facts with a good clock. Redline decides what they mean. That split is why the module can be small, cheap, and dependable.
Shore power and battery
Plug state, battery voltage, and ignition with the engine off. Unplugged in the bay raises an alarm in minutes.
Always onStore and forward
Every event the truck sees is written to flash on the module and delivered to Redline when the truck is back in coverage. No gaps.
Always onPosition
GPS on the module: live on the fleet map with a trail since any time you choose. Positions are timestamped from the GPS clock.
Always onEngine and bus data
Plug the OBD-II lead in and Hardline reads engine hours, odometer, RPM, coolant, fuel, and the VIN. Leave it out and everything else still works.
OptionalAsset tracking
Two RFID reader ports. Tag the monitor, the drug box, the suction unit; Hardline knows which zone each tag is in and alarms if the truck moves without one.
OptionalCabinet events on the truck
Hardline sees the cabinet open and which tags left with it, and holds that record until Redline can take it. The controller still decides who gets in.
With RedlineStore and forward
The truck roams. The record does not have gaps.
Every event Hardline observes, from a GPS fix to a cabinet opening to a tag that left the truck, gets a sequence number and a GPS-disciplined timestamp and is written to flash on the module before anything else happens. Out of coverage, the ring keeps filling: roughly two days of a running truck, weeks of a parked one. Back in coverage, the module drains oldest-first and Redline acknowledges each batch. Nothing is sent twice, nothing is lost, and the audit trail reads as if the truck had never left the station.
- Tag events, ignition, alarms, and cabinet openings are never dropped for space
- Timestamps come from the GPS clock, so the order holds even if the module rebooted
- Alarms still fire locally, on the module's buzzer and lamp, with no network at all
The 3 a.m. problem
A truck that is off can still tell you it is unplugged.
Most telemetry goes quiet when the ignition does. Hardline does not. It watches shore power while the truck sits in the bay, and if the plug is pulled, or never went in, Redline raises an alarm minutes later: on the readiness board, on the fleet map, and to whoever you choose by text or email. The crew hears about it at 22:10, not when the starter clicks at 03:00.
- Shore power, battery voltage, and ignition state, reported with the engine off
- Alarm thresholds you set: minutes unplugged, volts below, hours since last charge
- The same alarm for a cabinet left open or tagged gear left on scene
Install
Plug in. Claim it. Done.
We mount it, connect power and Ethernet, and add the OBD-II and RFID leads if you chose them. Hardline finds Redline on the station network by itself. Claim it from the vehicle page, accept the VIN it read from the bus, and the truck starts reporting. Power, service, and tagged gear on the readiness board switch from gray to real values. If the module is ever moved to another truck, Redline notices the VIN change and asks.
- Encrypted to Redline in transit; the module holds only its own token
- Leased per truck with the subscription, installed by us
- Redline works without it; the board just says Unknown where Hardline would have answered
See it on your trucks
See what your trucks have been trying to tell you.
Bring one truck. We will have Hardline mounted, claimed, and reporting before the walkthrough is over.