This is kind of random, but I have a question about a system I have seen at a Best Buy near me. The alarms are Simplex TrueAlert horn/strobes and remote strobes, yet the pull station is a BG-12, I am guessing a Fire-Lite or Notifier one. And Simplex doesn’t make their own BG-12s. Why did the installers do that? I am guessing the Honeywell installers simply had Simplex devices, or even that BG-12 is replacing a 2099, but I am guessing the BG-12 and TrueAlerts are from when the system was installed.
Did you see the panel and smokes? It could be likely that the Simplex pull got replaced with a BG-12.
I haven’t seen the panel but I will look closely for the smokes. If they are TrueAlarms, I am guessing the BG-12 is a replacement, but if they are Honeywell smokes, I am guessing the BG-12 is original. The worst part is the store has a high ceiling, except for the entryway and TV surround sound area.
Every Best Buy I’ve been to has purely a Simplex system, in particular a 4010 system. Given that, I’m only going to list the system accessories below.
Albany, NY: QuickAlerts, single-action T-bars and oddly enough, http://www.dan.calvinet.com/HS_Detector__2098-9209_.JPG 2098-9209 smokes. Also, for some reason all the signals are mounted on the outerwalls of the store - there’s none on the ceiling or on any support columns.
Saratoga, NY: this store is very new. TrueAlarm smokes, single-action pulls, and TrueAlert signals: wall-mount horn/strobes on walls and support columns with ceiling-mount remote strobes on the ceiling.
Holyoke, MA: TrueAlarm smokes, single-action T-bars, and oddly enough, 4903-9237 horn/strobes on walls and support columns.
I find it a bit odd that the Albany store has newer signals w/ older smokes and the Holyoke store has newer smokes w/ older signals, not to mention Albany’s lacking of signal coverage. I do know that there are codes for large areas like gyms and theatres/auditoriums saying that if the room is big enough, the signals can be placed on the outer-perimiter walls, which is probably what the Albany store went with.
Visited a church this past Sunday, I’d been there before, and they have a rather interesting system. In the original building, there were simplex t-bars, and the retro fit horn and light plates (sorry, don’t know the models). They added on maybe 6 or 7 years ago, and the new addition had Edwards classic pulls, and white Integrity’s (I assume horn/strobe) and white strobes in the bathroom. The new that I saw this time was that they remodeled the old building, and got a new system there. There are silent knight “bg-8 –like” pulls, and the Wheelock strobes against “rudland-like speaker style grilles). I assume they are speaker strobes, but I don’t know, the previous systems aren’t speaker to my knowledge, but maybe this is, or it could be chime. Also, there was this one random bell, it was massive, probably 10”. It was red, but I didn’t get to by it so I don’t know if it was fire alarm, or something else.
This post should interest Wiley209 because he’s mentioned about this system before:
I took an adventure today cause I left early from school (last class cancelled cause the teacher was not here today). I took the MBTA to Braintree and visited the South Shore Plaza mall. Here is what I saw, and it’s similar to what Wiley209 saw:
Panel: Probably a 4100, I saw the huge graphic annunciator by the entrance near the garage.
Pulls: Simplex 4099-9001s with stoppers in most areas and 4099-9003s with stoppers in newer stores. Some pulls had no stoppers on them.
Alarms: Mostly Simplex vertical 4903 speaker/strobes, and yes, I saw behind the grille, and so did Wiley209. I also saw the TrueAlert speaker/strobe he said he thought replaced a 4903 speaker/strobe. That TrueAlert speaker/strobe is located in right outside the food court. TrueAlert speaker/strobes are also found in newer stores. Overall, 4903 speaker/strobes and 4099-9001s are usually together here, while TrueAlert speaker/strobes and 4099-9003s are usually found together, with a few exceptions to both. Also, several ceiling mounted alarms are found, some 4903 speaker/strobes, some TrueAlert speaker/strobes. 4904 remote strobes are also found in some stores, most likely with ceiling mount speakers. I did not see any of the department store systems. The only non-Simplex alarms are as follows. The alarm in the mens room by the food court is different. I was expecting a Simplex speaker/strobe or remote strobe in their, but the alarm was an EST Genesis horn/strobe! I guess EST serviced the system and put that in at some point. Also, some Wheelock alarms are found somewhere, but I was too far away to ID them.
Smokes: Older smokes around the older alarms and pulls, I am guessing they are made by Simplex. There are also these mystery smokes in some older alarm areas. TrueAlarms are found in the newer areas.
Overall, it’s a cool system, and I saw most of what Wiley209 saw. This mall’s system reminds me of the other malls I go to most (ie: Prudential Center and Burlington) since those have Simplex systems too.
On Sunday, my mom, my brother and I (my dad caught up later) went to a brand new Staples store that just opened about several months ago, at the town square where I live.
The signals are Mircom Select-A-Horn/Strobes (I even saw one on the outside). I also saw a Mircom annunciator. The pulls are http://www.mircom.com/products.html?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=58&category_id=58 Mircom dual action T-bars which is basically a dead knock off of the http://www.dan.calvinet.com/T-Bar2.JPG Simplex Dual Action T-Bar.
You are right on that. Those “older smokes” you mentioned are, if they are in the areas with the vertical 4903 speaker/strobes and 4099-9001 pulls, then they are the older versions of the Simplex TrueAlarm. I’ve seen these also at the New England Aquarium (probably put in when their current Simplex voice-evac system was installed), and there are also two newer TrueAlarms in the main lobby.
I am also sure the panel at the mall is a Simplex 4100, but it could also be a Simplex 4120 or 4100U.
I just went to take a placement exam at the college I will be attending next fall (Quinsigamond Community College) and it was all Simplex. The pulls were single-action T-bars and the NAs were Truealerts.
My school has a siemens/cp mxl iq with siemens dual action adressable pulls and siemens ummt’s(set to high volume…Ouch) and siemens adressable smoke detectors. The school was built in 2000 and is HUGE
I forgot to mention the 99 restaurant in Canton, MA where my family went out to lunch for last week. I’ve already mentioned the alarm system for the 99 in Easton, MA (Wheelock 7002T horn/strobes and ESL pulls). But THIS one in Canton has an FCI system. I saw the panel in the main entranceway. The signals were mostly Gentex SHG horn/strobes, even in the restrooms! In the main lobby there was a Wheelock MT4-24-LSM horn/strobe. All the pulls were FCI MS-6s.
there is a brand new shopping center near me tha has a target, autozone, old navy and a pizza resturant. the system is suprisingly spectra-free :mrgreen: . the target has an EST3 system with SIGA-278 pulls and red EST genesis speaker strobes and EST single gang strobes in the restrooms. the other shops all have simplex systems with 4010s, truealerts(red) and simplex 4099-9003s. the restrooms have truealert strobes
I have mentioned about it here a bit, but Belmont Country club has a Simplex system. My grandparents are members there, and it was another one of the first systems I noticed. I have never heard the alarms, but I saw under the grille and they look like 9219s. They are vertical mounted. I also noticed a horizontal mounted alarm mounted vertically with the “Fire” lettering sideways, probably replacing an older alarm. It looks black under the grille so it’s probably a 9237 or a modern 4903 alarm with the TrueAlert horn mechanism (I believe modern 4903 alarms have it). All pulls are 2099-9756s or 4099-9003s. The building is small so I bet it’s a conventional system. I believe the smokes are older TrueAlarms, with maybe a few newer ones. Also, an Edwards 270-SPO pull can be found in the outdoor food kitchen area, as well as a Gamewell Century in the men’s locker room. I don’t know whether these are replacement devices or un-upgraded devices from an older system that have been connected to the newer system. All alarms however are 9219s except for that 9237.
The 99 Restaraunt nearest me has a 4004 system (this is the ONLY 4004 I have ever seen) with TrueAlerts and single-action pulls. No smokes, place is sprinklerized.
a movie theater by me has a simplex 4100U voice evac system with adressable t bars, truealert speaker strobes in the main entrance,the halways and the actual theaters have ceiling mount truealert remote speakers and wall mounted truealert remote strobes. the smokes are adressable truealarms.
my elementary school(before renovations) had a vintage simplex system. the panel was an OLD simplex 4208 with 4251-30s and a few old simplex chevrons. the signals were simplex 4051 an 4050-85 light plates. the signal coding was continous (i never figured out why). now the school was renovated into a pretty boring bosch/radionics system with spectralerts( :x ) and bosch t-bars and bosch key pads through out the school.
the old high school(torn down already) had two parts. the first part had a simplex 2001 with 4251-20s and the alarms were simplex 2901-9086s on 2903 light plates. the second part had an unknown panel with wheelock 7002s with firelite bg6s.the new high school has spectra advance speaker strobes :mrgreen: with a firelite voice evac panel and firelite bg12lx’s. the new smokes are newer firelite smokes (System is adressable)
I know how you feel. Half of the buildings at my college had Simplex 4208 systems with 4051+4050-80s, but the pulls were all 4251-20s. They used to be on Continuous. They were replaced, luckily they didn’t install SpectrAlerts. Most of them now have Faraday systems with SAE VA4 horn/strobes (the Administration building now has an Ansul Autopulse panel), and the Liberal Arts and Humanities buildings replaced the 4251-20s with addressable Faraday Chevron pulls, but the other three kept the 4251-20s. There are still at least three Simplex 4051+4050-80s still intact on my campus.
And that new system does sound pretty boring! The “classic” SpectrAlerts are very common and can get tiresome after a while (I see quite a bit of them, especially at restaurants and schools).
Luckily the Davis K-8 school, where I attended kindergarten, still has its vintage Simplex system intact (it also has 4051+4050-80s and 4251-30s like your old elementary school used to, but the panel is a Simplex 2001 replacing maybe a 4246 or 4247.)
I forgot to write about this awhile ago.
I went to get my heart tested out for a disease (tests are all normal so I’m ok!) and it was a health center up the road from me. In the entrance was a Simplex 4100 Remote Panel. There were Simplex 9838 Horns and separate strobes, some 4903 series but most of them were the older ones.
(Section 1)
I was at a science museum that keeps on getting added onto, and I’ve classified the alarm system into 4.5 parts:
1: Gamewell System
2: Older Symplex System (From 1990s most likely)
3: Newer Simplex System
3.5: Newer Version of Newer Simplex System
4: Parking Garage System
Part One:
The signals are Wheelock speaker/strobes with a non-ada strobe re-branded by Gamewell. Remote strobes in the bathrooms are Wheelock non-ada strobes. Pull stations are Gamewell Centuries. Some have the break rod and some don’t. Smokes are System Sensor(“Doorknob” smokes among others?). Also, I think that there were heat detectors, but I didn’t reconize.
Part Two:
Simplex Speaker/Strobes (Much like these:)
Simplex Smokes (I don’t know the model, but they have a huge base and a small head) and Simplex single action t-bars. Remote strobe version of that alarm in bathrooms (usually there were two strobes in the bathrooms).
Part Three:
Red Simplex TrueAlert speaker/strobes, TrueAlarm smokes, single-action t-bars. Strobes in bathrooms were TrueAlert strobes.
Part Three and a half:
Same as part three except that the Speaker/Strobes are white. These were located in the outside part of an exhibit that’s scheduled to open in April. There was an elevator that went from the third floor to the first floor and clearly stated that access to floor two (where the exhibit is going to be) doesn’t have access. I was on the third floor and I needed to meet my family on the first floor. So, I go into the elevator (older Otis for any of you interested) and press the “1” button. The elevator stops on the second floor and opens it doors. :?: I step outside of the elevator, looking around kind of confused when I spot a white True Alert Speaker/Strobe. So yeah, that’s how I found it.
Part Four (Parking Garage and other):
Red Simplex TrueAlerts are the main alarm in the garage. An alarm by the outdoor elevators is an outdoor AS. I spotted three types of outdoor alarms on the building: Wheelock AS, Wheelock MT (older version), and a SpecterAlert classic.
(Section 2)
I have several theories about what the panel is. I’ll just say twohere.
Part 1: Theory 1
Part 2: Theory 2
Part 3: Annunciators
Part One:
I think that the panel might be a Simplex panel because the one in the parking garage is because everything in the parking garage (except outdoor alarms) are Simplex alarms. Also, in the main building a majority of the alarms are Simplex.
Part Two:
I think that there might be two panels tied together, a Gamewell panel and a Simplex one. I think this because the original system was Gamewell.
Part 3:
The annunciators in this building were unique. First of all, they were all old looking graphic annunciators made by Kirkland. Second, depending on which part of the building they were on they had different names inside of the glass. The different brand names I saw were:
Gamewell of Colorado
Simplex (From '90s addition)
SimplexGrinnel
Cerberus Pytronics
That’s sort of a mystery why one of the annunciators is labeled Cerberus Pytronics. Maybe they serviced the musuem for a short amount of time. I don’t know.
That basically wraps the whole system up.
Went back to the VFW building in Whitman, MA for my brother’s basketball league banquet. Their fire alarm system has not been changed last time I saw it. I still didn’t see the panel, but I’m willing to bet it’s a Notifier model, given the signals, pulls and smokes/heats in it. Here are pics of it, except for the System Sensor i3 smokes and a Chemtronics heat detector…
These are the signals in the banquet hall. They are Wheelock 34-24 horns on SAE AV32 light plates. I noticed that it looks like they either went with gray Wheelock 34s, or they were red at one time but had faded. If they went with the gray ones, I don’t see why they could’ve just put in the ones with the red grilles. It would blend in better with the retrofit plate, because usually when I see a system with Wheelock horns and SAE light/strobe plates, the horn is red. Ben’s office used to have these signals, but the Wheelock 34s were red and the lights had “FIRE” on the side.
These are the pulls: Notifier BNG-1TSLs. Pretty old-looking and they appear tough to pull. Not only that, but they are high up. This one was at the same level as the old Standard pulls at my college.
However, THIS Wheelock 34+SAE AV32 is installed upside-down! And the pull station here is higher than the other one! Talk about being inadequte with the ADA of 1990!
And finally, the Wheelock RSS weatherproof strobe outside. Seems a little strange seeing a newer Wheelock signal outside a building that has older Wheelock signals inside!
Any comments? I am sure willbill would be interested.
That is actually not strange at all…