Would anyone know how to silence the piezoelectric buzzer on an Edwards EST3 panel? I don’t mean just pressing “Panel Silence” to shut it up, I’m trying to prevent it from sounding at all. There’s a film shoot going on 50 feet from the panel. I’ve covered it with a load of tape to muffle it, but it would be nice to shut it off via programming (like a Simplex 4100 can) or something.
Cheers!
Is there a condition on the panel currently causing the piezo to sound, or are you just taking a preventative measure in case it were to sound?
If an abnormal condition is already causing the piezo to sound, that is a larger issue that should be dealt with rather than be covered up and ignored.
Are you an alarm tech or an end user? But in any case, you really shouldn’t disable the piezo, it’s there for a reason! And causing any permanent damage to it would essentially void the UL listing for the panel and result in having to replace a very expensive circuit board. More important, what’s going on where you have to constantly silence the panel? If you are disabling points, the panel should only beep right when you disable it and silence after you press the panel silence button. Unless you’ve got real issues and I would suggest calling for service.
Why is the panel going beeping? By code I don’t think you can disable the panel piezo, which is why most manufacturers don’t give that option.
If you can get the AHJ to sign off on it, you can probably have the fire alarm company program in an event disable button for use while shooting.
I would report to whoever owns or manages the building that the panel is beeping. You could be at serious liability if there was injury because that panel didn’t do it’s job. Also another liability would be for disabling that piezo.
Also where I live, I know most states have a big penalty for tampering with fire protection equipment for just pulling a pull station falsely is like $500. I couldn’t imagine what disabling a panel without authorization would be. (Quite a lot I’m guessing) :lol:
Guess I should have given more info.
I’m a fire alarm tech. I only came into the business about a year ago, so I’m still pretty green, but the company I’m with strongly emphasizes training, so I know a bit. However, most of my work has been with Simplex & Mircom systems. We have some EST3’s we service, but I’m still in the “basic tasks” stage.
So… Enough about me. A building we maintain has rented their amenity room for filming a tv show. They’re using a fog machine & were worried about setting off smoker detectors. The smokes in their are too high to just take down during the shoot, so I just used the BD & RD to disable things.
However, the building has a module going in & out of trouble every few minutes (the strata hasn’t authorized us to fix it yet) which sounds the panel buzzer every time. The panel is about 30’ from the set, so the film crew isn’t happy about the noise. I know w/ the Simplex 4100 it’s easy to disable the sounder via the panel’s menu. I’m hoping the EST3 has a similar capability. I have a few days before the next shoot to figure it out. Using tape to muffle the buzzer works, but isn’t elegant.
So… Have I explained my situation clearly enough? If there’s any more info anyone needs to help me resolve this (minor yet frustrating) problem please let me know.
Thanks a bunch, folks!
I was once working in a building where CNN suddenly had to do a live shot. The panel kept beeping and it upset the producer. So I was asked to take an early lunch. Apparently “life safety < redundant cable news”. So I understand!
Can’t give away all of my secrets - so PM sent.
If you’re there to disable smokes, why not just disable the module while you’re at it?
There’s 2 reasons I didn’t disable the module (& I considered it). First, the building Owner hadn’t okayed the cost of a tech to fix the problem. (We were hired by the production company to make sure they didn’t inadvertently cause bells to ring, elevators to home, etc). And my employer gets quite sniffy with us when we just go ahead & fix something without getting approval first. Often, to keep clients happy, we’re told to “do what you have to”. In this case, it’s a client who always refuses to pay if they haven’t given approval first. It sucks from all viewpoints, but I jist have to do what I’m told.
Secondly, and more importantly from my point of view, is that the generator trouble line wasn’t the only one running through that module. My expierience with the nuts & bolts of the EST3 is limited to the point of being non-existent. All I’ve done with them to date is handling the panel during an annual inspection. I’ve always worked with another tech who knows the system well, but isn’t really interested in teaching me. So, if I disable the module what will happen to the other devices attached to it? Hopefully, when someone is sent to fix the problem I’ll be sent along with him to learn a bit. This module issue strikes me as a simple thing to diagnose & repair, but I could be completely wrong & end up causing huge problems if I go into it totally blind.