I know it’s been a long time since we talked about this, but I wanted to bring this up again because I just saw their Facebook page and it appears that at some point they introduced L series ceiling, strobe.
I also thought that creating this thread would provide us an official thread to discuss this type of system. Now I know that it’s not a fire alarm so feel free to move this thread if needed.
I wonder if blue point has a panel for those devices
If they do in fact have a panel, and not something else complex, then they might be using a repurposed Fire-Lite/Notifier ES-xxxx series panel for police paging purposes. I want to see what that would look like. And if it’s addressable or not.
Also surprised at how no other police pulls nor strobes have leaked to eBay or online!
I looked bluepoint on eBay and I couldn’t find any devices
It’s not something that’s easily accessible to buyers. The company only distributes it to organizations and companies and schools.
Interesting to see that only the bezel is blue instead of the entire housing.
And if they made the L-Series weatherproof, they would’ve almost certainly discontinued the SpectrAlert Advance.
The advance wall strobe was all blue.
They probably have a partnership with Honeywell if they’re able to produce those appliances.
(Also do they have any horn and speaker versions?)
Unfortunately no horns or speakers, nor HS/SS devices. If there were a horn strobe, I’d like them to develop their own police code. Only strobes for now. Although not much is known about them, even in 2023, considering how scarce they are.
The L-series design allows for a separate bezel. It’s easier and cheaper to do this instead of changing the color of the housing.
Would bluepoint apply a separate bezel to the alarms, or would they just paint part of the housing blue?
Well, look what I found: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EP7AQw0v8Zc
EDIT: A better look at what I assume is called the SCBL. BluePoint Alert Solutions on Instagram: "Introducing: the BluePoint ceiling strobe. As a supplement to wall strobes, this device works well at the intersection of hallways to maximize visibility from multiple directions."
The link in the original post shows a blue bezel.
You’re right. It does look like it is a bezel.
BTW, Found an Installation PDF:
Apparently, there is a SBHK, which is a high candela outdoor strobe.
As things stand now, I’m sort of a skeptic of the whole BluePoint system. I’m not sure if systems like this have a listing for what they’re intending to do here, nor am I sure they even do the job very well at all, if the intention is to notify police. They seem to me like a very specialized subset of mass notification that flashes blue lights and calls the police, but I’m not sure if the benefits outweigh the costs.
I’m sure everyone knows the elephant in the room when I discuss “active threats” but…
The only instance I could ever see a Bluepoint system being beneficial are schools that do not have their own police department. Which, there are quite a few of them, but I don’t think even then it would be super beneficial. Those systems alone cost $40,000 and the money can be better spent teaching angry kids how to deal with the anger that they feel.
If all the system does is call law enforcement and initiate a lockdown and flash a bunch of blue strobes… then anyone with a cell phone can call 911 and if the pull station has to be activated from the front office or certain fixed points on walls anyhow, then it won’t be much use if the threat has already compromised the front office, or is roaming hallways.
My biggest problem with Bluepoint is that it tries to address the symptoms of active threats, and not the cause. It’s like putting a Band-Aid over a gaping, bleeding flesh wound and calling it fixed, when you really need stitches and surgery. It’s just a bunch of blue fire alarms that flash and do… things. Do they help stop the threat? No. Does it aid the officers? No. It doesn’t do anything that can’t be done in other ways.
We’ve seen the difference in response in what happened in Uvalde and what happened in Nashville. When the police do eventually arrive, what good does the BluePoint system do if the officers were as cowardly as the ones in Uvalde? On the flipside, that school in Nashville didn’t have a BluePoint system, but the police were on-scene and eliminated the threat within minutes of the first shot being fired.
I think if you want mass notification, that’s fine. But mass notification can be achieved in far more streamlined ways than just slapping on some System Sensor alarms with a coat of blue paint.
I think what frustrates me most about “solutions” like these, is that we are continually focusing on the symptoms, but never, EVER the cause.
You’ve hit the nail on the head here.
Fear sells. Literally.
BluePoint’s marketing department likely has a wet dream every time a tragedy like this happens.
You have a point. Their alert system does look rather gimmicky, and yet they’re trying to sell that the voice of a lockdown PA will “deter” the threatener from unleashing damage? All in all, I will say, at best it will warn me occupants to take shelter, but that’s probably just about it.
Well a system like this is kinda meant to let people know that there’s an intruder, and call the police. However, the most basic security system can do this. You can probably just buy blue pull stations and blue strobes, and get a lockdown message. Or heck, just get blue commander 3s. You don’t need special systems like these. Waste of money imo
Don’t be surprised if this company folds in the next few years.