You would typically have 120 Volts AC (60hz) coming into the panel power supply which gets converted into either 24volts DC on higher end panels and 24volts FWR (basically crappy dc) on lower end panels. On a code compliant system you would usually have 2 12 volt batteries connected directly to the panel board to get 24vdc backup power. You don’t need batteries but most panels give you a trouble without batteries.
Code 3 is mostly a newer thing, late 90s or later so any modern panel should have it but I doubt most old panels would have it. March time has been a thing for a while so a lot of both new and old panels have it. But many old panels only do continuous so I recommend looking at the manual of any panel you’re trying to get.
(Not a huge expert on panels so correct me if I’m wrong)
The Autocall panel takes two 120 VAC circuits, operates on 24 VDC and requires two 12 volt batteries in series as backup. May be able two jump one 120 VAC to handle both power inputs. The panel will provide March Time and Temporal Three, but is very limited on other programming.
The Pyrotronics panel is a CP2HA. I also have several CP-35.
Not 240 VAC, but two separate 120 circuits. One 120 VAC for system power and the other 120 VAC for supervising power. I would have to verify on the Autocall panel but most fire panels I’m familar with operate on 24 volts for the NAC outputs but also have about 24 volts on the initiating circuits for supervisory.
That’s odd if you ask me: what does that supervising power even do?
Yeah: most modern ones do have 24VDC as their output voltage (as that seems to be the universally agreed-upon voltage nowdays): older ones of course used anything from 6VDC all the way up to 120VAC!
Just an observation, i find it interesting that panels under 200$ are really hard to find in the US but you can find an addressable panel for roughly $200 in Europe
Oh I most certainly forgot. If you got some 9v batteries lying around, you can use those. Alarms usually take 3 batteries but you can get away with 2, I recommend 3 for the most part. At your local store they cost around 10 bucks or more or less. (it depends on the part of the economy). If you want a panel, try looking on eBay and find a panel that fits your personality. Having an Autocall panel is probably not the best panel for a starter panel but it is a rare and unique panel to have but you have to remember how to operate it and programming an Autocall panel sounds like a lot to know for a starter panel.
The MS5/10UD are good panels to start with. Easy to learn but supports features like multiple sync protocols/coding options and programming. The simplex 4004 and 4005 i think are also good but they are kind of hard to find for a good price.
