Howdy, I know that mytechtime had a topic about building a FACP, but mine will be a different animal. 
I was wondering what I should try to incorporate. I want this system to be as legit as possible. Here is what I have so far:
*10 zones
*4 NACs
*16x2 lcd
*Codingsâ:Code 3, continuous, march time 90 and 120
*Trouble and alarm relay
*Possible annunciator
Please let me know what else I should try and add.
ooh letâs be careful! hide it from the public eyesâŚ
I would do supervisory as well, which is going on my 2450 panel (is it ok if I make a new topic about that?), and also make the LCD bigger. I would do 16X4 at least.
I would also make it so the NACs could be programmed as relays, for things like supervisory, power fault, etc, like how the 4005 does.
Also if your going for legit, buy a PCB breadboard from ebay. Trust me, building that 2400 was so hard at times with components breaking off and crap.
Something else for legit would be walk test if you could get that in there.
Also one thing, NASAâs i8005 had issues with mechanical horns. You should ask him about that before you actually test it.
Building a FACP - Fire Alarm General Discussion - The Fire Panel Forums And I quoteâŚ
But anyways, a legit panel? By legit, you mean like a real panelâŚyouâre not using this in an actual life safety application, are you?
Haha, I remember that. I was sure stupid about that!
No, we were talking on that chat room thing and heâs keeping his smoke detectors installed.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/120946639411?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2648 Get one of these.
Just a hobby panel
NASA, whyâd this problem happen( just trying to avoid it)
Is that all that smart sync is?
You would need to do a lot of things to match what jjvideo25âs and/or andrewâs i8005 can do.
This is jjvideo25âs panel that I coded during his last couple of system tests. It is based on an Arduino Uno which would be out of the scope for what you would need.
It has 4 zones and 2 nacs. Once upon a time it had a web interface because it was connected by serial to a server but that later was squashed because the use of it was stupid.
The reason why his panel had issues with mechanical horns was because of the EMF (electromechanical fields) that would get backfed into the microcontroller (which in his case was a PICAXE 40x2) and killed it. Why the LCD died is still unknown and was completely random when it did.
SmartSync is just a specialized coding really.
Thanks Ryan!
I would really recommend you not to use a PICAXE for this kind of project, you will regret like someone I know.
An Arduino Mega can suit all your needs, but if you want to design a board, then this would be a whole different project.
Andrew and I have come up to the solution to use isolators on the TTL voltage side of the relays while still including the diode and the transistor, however, this has not been tested yet.
I already have the scope of your project already planned out in my head for what components youâll need and how it gets assembled together but iâll leave that to you to figure it out.
Thanks. Im really thinking anout it being 5 zones
Unheard of!
You said you knew basic?
?
The BASIC programming language from like 30 years ago?
IF KNOWBASIC = 1 GOTO IKNOWBASIC
ELSE GOTO REPLYBUTTON
How does knowing basic have anythaing to do with then topic?
Werenât you going to use BASIC to program it? Or is the arduino program something else?
Hey can you guys please start calling me by my real name, Andrew �
I know that âNASAâ sounds cool but i do a double take every time I see it.
Anyway my problem was that mechanical horns generate back-emf and I did not properly compensate for that.
Back-emf is high voltage generated by electromagnets moving, which flows backwards and can fry low voltage circuits.
The Arduino platform is C and the PICAXE platform is a proprietary version of BASIC.
Do your research when you choosing your microcontroller so you donât regret it.
Would using a relay and/or a diode with the microcontroller prevent EMF current?
Would a relay eliminate Back EMF?