The strobe may look UV-damaged, but believe it or not, it came that way from Faraday. The label I’m pretty sure was added before something prevented it from being installed.
Discussing with @Valra_Bellkeys and @Xero in the discord server, it appears to be all analog, with the big IC being only an amplifier, and not a sound chip.
I also made a video, where I theorize this is Faraday’s answer to the Wheelock EW
Overall, I find this to be a very interesting device
As a remote strobe or on an alarm such as the MTL or HNH, I could see them used for general signaling. However, with the slow whoop sound, I don’t see any other use than for fire. Perhaps that is why it came with the 2-wire operation jumpers cut to make it 4-wire…
Seems contradictory considering strobes in fire alarm service are to only be white-colored (its body being red makes things even more confusing). Sorta reminds me of an unusual device I have myself: a Wheelock “EHS-EL1-WI”, which is the same as a regular EHS-EL1 but with no “FIRE” lettering on the strobe for some reason (don’t know what “WI” could stand for). It seems like it was made this way too since there doesn’t appear to be any evidence of worn-off lettering on the lens. No idea what a device like this would be used for (especially given the red body which would imply that it’s meant exclusively for fire alarm service despite lacking the necessary lettering on the strobe).
Keep in mind that wasn’t always the case, and that the jumpers on it were cut to make it a 4-wire device.
Same here, the strobe at the very least was definitely intended to be used for trouble signaling.
That definitely threw me off too. Usually when you see a strobe that yellow, you expect it to be from UV damage; that isn’t the case here as the strobe still feels smooth, the box explicitly says amber lens, and the grille shows no sign of UV damage.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any decent documentation on it, other than a (probably abridged) list of models on the manual for a late Faraday panel, as well as a datasheet for the Cerb-Pyro branded version.
Overall, looking into this alarm just raises more questions than it answers. Perhaps someone lurking in the forums will just randomly have more information on them, but I doubt it
Oh yeah, though by the time strobes replaced lights most if not all were white (though some stuck with red like those few early & rare Wheelock strobes).
That’s the only use I can guess (even if the “TROUBLE” label is likely a third-party thing).
In case you didn’t notice I was talking about the similar EHS-EL1-WI I have, not your 5327B.
Yeah: that’s the case with a lot of these especially rare devices.
