cool. models almost correct but not nrx as its mostly likely not wireless. (nrx is wireless range). The wired models are Nfx-opts and the call points are m700wcp/wcp5a/w5a.
MBTA Orange Line & Haverhill Line - Malden Center - Malden, MA
Pulls: Cerberus Pyrotronics MSI-20B’s and some Siemens-rebranded RSG RMS-1T’s
Signals: SpectrAlert Advance horn/strobes.
Some have been replaced with L-Series horn/strobes.
There’s also a Siemens U-MCS-WP strobe outside.
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I’m guessing that the outdoor strobe was probably just forgotten about in the upgrade. Either that, or they just disconnected it and decided to not have an outdoor device on the new system.
It has an inspection sticker so it’s definitely still connected.
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It’s base cover is really chipping off and looks rusted. I wonder how that strobe still works.
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Today I made a K-O the Kangaroo appearance at the Northeast Sports Card Expo 2024, held at the Marriott Boston hotel in Quincy, MA! They have a Simplex voice-evac fire alarm system with many devices original to the hotel’s 2001 construction intact; I didn’t see the panel or any annunciators, but it’s obviously something in the 4100 series.
The alarm signals I saw were a mix of red 4903 speaker/strobes (mostly horizontal) and white ceiling-mount TrueAlert speaker/strobes (the latter were mostly in the main lobby, renovated some time after the hotel was built). The pull stations are Simplex addressable 4099-9001 T-bars (several of them have trim plates), and the smoke detectors are Simplex addressable 4098-9714 photoelectric TrueAlarms.
This evening I had to buy synthetic motor oil for my car, and since the Advance Auto Parts I go to was closed due to computer issues, I went to the nearby O’Reilly Auto Parts that moved into part of the space where a Stop 'n Shop supermarket once was (they had a 1990s FCI system with Space Age VA4 horn/strobes and MS-2 pulls). The store now has a Siemens system, with Wheelock Exceder ceiling-mount LED horn/strobes and XMS-D pull stations! I thought this was pretty cool to see, and a refreshing change from the rather un-unique (IMO) Wheelock ZNS horn/strobes and RSG T-bar pulls Siemens had been using since the infamous lawsuit. This is likely the first place in Brockton, MA to have the X-series pull stations (I had previously seen them at the Boston Convention and Exhibiton Center last year).
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The Langham Hotel - Boston, MA
This used to have an FCI system, but it was refurbished a few years back so I thought I’d scout it out and see if anything changed. Sure enough, things have changed!
Panel: Autocall 4100ES, located in the security office at the employee entrance.
Pulls: A4099-9006’s
Detectors: TrueAlarms
Signals: TrueAlert speaker/strobes
This system was probably installed by NSG Life Safety. There is an office building (One Post Office Square) adjoining this hotel and it also now has an Autocall system, so both buildings may be on the same system.
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I’ve noticed that Autocall is becoming quite common in my area. For some reason, I have yet to see them use TrueAlert ES devices.
ES devices are expensive. Likely won’t buy them if they aren’t getting a cost / time benefit from doing so. In small buildings, addressable notification probably doesn’t make too much sense. In a larger building like a school or hospital, especially where a bypassed device is more critical to be alerted of, that’s when you’ll more likely see them used.
Beyond addressable, ES of course has the self-testing benefits, but that’s again, not too beneficial for smaller properties.
Bryce Canyon Visitor Center - Bryce Canyon National Park
I came here not even expecting any fire alarm system, as many places in this area of Utah do not have systems. when I walked in, i saw a NOTIFIER AFP-100 FACP (pictured below). after some more investigation, i found a PDI NOTIFIER NBG12-LX, branded with “NOTIFIER by Honeywell” (pictured below). The detectors were FSP-751’s (pictured below) and the N/A’s were System Sensor SpectrAlert Classic (pictured below).
AFP-100
NBG12-LX
FSP-751
SpectrAlert Classic
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Nice system! but bg12s cant be pdi with honeywell lettering unless its a door swap which is very unlikely.
Bismarck Hotel- Bismarck, ND
(In the 60’s, this may have been an extremely large and luxurious “resort”, but it is now extremely run down and the system reflects that.)
Panel- Most likely a Simplex 4002 but it may have been upgraded without any of the devices being changed
Notification Appliances- Simplex 2901-9838 horns on 4903-9101 strobe plates
Pull stations- Simplex 4251-20’s
Smoke Detectors- mostly Simplex 2908-9201 smoke detector heads on 2098-9211 bases but there are also some replacement conventional TrueAlarms
Heat Detectors- I saw some Edwards heat detectors in the bathrooms. (This is not a sprinklered building)
Issues- This place has so many that I had to make a list.
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This system has some extreme notification appliance coverage issues. Many of the rooms have no signals (including the huge indoor waterpark). The rooms that do have signals have very few for their size.
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Many of the signals look to be in poor condition or are blocked. For example, I saw a projector screen in front of one of the signals in an event hall.
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One of the heat detectors in the bathroom was hanging from the wires.
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(Not really fire alarm related but still life safety related.) Almost all of the exit signs in the building were either very damaged, did not work, were completely wrong, or were just completely missing from the back box.
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There is almost no emergency lighting in the building. The stuff that is there looks extremely damaged and old. Im guessing they work just about as well as the exit signs.
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There are very few exits.
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The lighting is very poor. There are quite a few windows, but I’m guessing that it would probably be very dark during the night.
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This is a HUGE building with hundreds of rooms. The building is not sprinklered and has a very lacking fire protection system overall.
This whole building definitely just needs a complete overhaul. Not only are the life safety systems very lacking, but the building is just very behind on maintenance overall.
thanks for the input! never knew that!
I have seen many interesting systems in Croatia and i want to post one or two. Which one should i post here?
- Interesting euro notifier
- old euro notifier with american components
- notifier/system sensor mix
- EST 3
- Canadian system
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voters
Caesar’s Palace - Las Vegas, NV
Sorry for no pictures
Recently I visited Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, for dinner. while entering, I saw a Simplex 4904-9138 white strobe. more devices were TrueAlert horn strobes, TrueAlert speaker strobes, TrueAlert strobes, 4903 speaker strobes, and LifeAlarm speakers. there were no pulls at entrances or exits, but I did find some scattered around the forum shops. the pulls were Simplex 4099-9003 dual action pulls, and the smokes were addressable TrueAlarm detectors.
Pius IX high school
Milwaukee, WI
Voice Evac Simplex System
They had some old Edward’s bells in the older section. Also the smoke detector in the second picture still had the paint cover left on it.
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its not a paint cover actually, the detector is broken. its prone for these to break like that easily
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Today, me and my family went to the Chateau restaurant in Stoughton, MA for Easter Sunday dinner. They have a Fire-Lite MS-5UD-3 system that still has alarm signals from when the restaurant was built in the early 1980s! The alarms are largely older Wheelock 7002(T) horn/strobes with the open grille, but the room we ate in had a Federal Signal Vibratone 450D horn/strobe, mounted on the ceiling (despite the strobe being the wall-mount version)!
There was a Simplex 2099-9754 pull station in the main entrance vestibule, obviously replacing an older pull of some kind in the 1990s (it had the Simplex logo with the large hourglass “S” icon); obviously at one time Simplex serviced the restaurant’s system. I didn’t see any smoke or heat detectors, but there were fire sprinklers everywhere, so it didn’t matter much.
Yeah, I’ve been seeing quite a bit of Autocall now as well, especially since NSG Life Safety is just one town over from where I live! Even my therapist’s office got an Autocall-branded 4007ES panel installed a few months ago to replace their Silent Knight IFP-100 (no TrueAlerts; they still have the Wheelock MT-24-LSMs and an NS and a few Exceders from the previous systems).
I did see a few newer school buildings in the greater Boston area go with Autocall-branded 4100ES mass notification systems that do use TrueAlertES speaker/strobes for fire and remote amber strobes for non-fire emergencies.
With Autocall, I’m pretty sure why it’s getting popular is because you’re basically getting Simplex products for a lower price compared to directly from JC/Simplex.
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