A Fire-Lite BG-12 that I lost the hex wrench for…
A FCI horn (not even sure what model, hey it was $2 on eBay!)
and a Wheelock AS-24MCW purchased from S.E.R. Safety back in 2021.
I have recently been getting back into fire alarms a bit and I am thinking of getting a new thing or 2 for my collection (preferably something quiet, I don’t want to annoy the neighbors) and actually wiring it all up for once. Does anyone have any suggestions for alarms that are good for starters, and where to buy them at a good price? I used to buy from S.E.R Safety, but he took down his website 
.
That’s all!
Edit: fixed the image
I like that FCi rebranded Miz
Wheelock exceder, Spectralert advance, system sensor l-series, or Gentex commander 3. The exceder’s mounting bracket is a bit tricky to get off, the commander 3 is a bit confusing to wire, and the l-series is flimsy, but they’re all overall user friendly, and versatile.
You should be able to find a hex wrench for that BG-12 on the website of or in any store that sells tools (though if you want the original I would have no idea where you would get that exact one).
Ooh, that FCI-rebranded MIZ certainly is neat (& rare too!), great find!
Out of the NAs Alex proposed you get next I have to go with the Commander 3 (along with the Commander 1, 2, & 4 as well) as it’s one of the few 4-wire alarms still made (4-wire meaning you have complete separate control of both the horn & strobe).
Would it be possible to take a tiny screwdriver or pocket knife to open the HEX lock since it would get a grip on the plastic? I’ve done a similar trick with tiny + head screws and coin slot turn locks.
Sure thing! I’m not sure what size of hex wrench those stations take though.
Just so you know:
Commander 1: single-tone, high-pitched, fixed-candela, wall-mount
Commander 2: multi-tone, low-pitched, fixed-candela, wall-mount
Commander 3: multi-tone, low-pitched, multi-candela, wall-mount
Commander 4: multi-tone, low-pitched, multi-candela, ceiling-mount
All are 4-wire by default but can be made 2-wire with either jumpers or DIP switches depending on the model. All can be synced together with each other via Gentex’s sync protocol.
The Commander 2 & 3 are pretty much identical aside from the fact that one’s fixed-candela & the other’s multi-candela.
The Commander 4 is basically just a ceiling-mount Commander 3, but it lacks the chime & whoop tones that the latter has (for some reason).
SOME UPDATES AS OF TODAY, JUNE 1!
- I have found a hex wrench for my BG-12, it’s all good now
- I have a new notification appliance! Today I received this Simplex 4903-9142 Speaker/Strobe in the mail after almost a week of waiting due to shipping delays from Memorial Day.
I will soon buy either an MP3 board or a 3.5mm to speaker wire cable so I can try out various tones and messages with this new device, and set up my BG-12 to control the 30-candela strobe of course! I’m excited about this new alarm since this is the first new addition to my collection since 2021.
That’s all!
