You are right actually.
http://utcfssecurityproducts.com/ProductsAndServices/Pages/890WDA-G5.aspx
They still make them today.
Update: The Gentex Speaker from the Patriots Cinema movie theater in Hingham, MA is a Gentex SSPK24WLPR speaker/strobe.
I saw one of those on YouTube and a comment said the model number for it:
From The Home Depot in Brockton, Massachusetts, name that fire alarm!
Wheelock NH.
It looks sort of like a strobe-less Wheelock NS to me.
Yup, that Home Depot is full of Wheelock NH horns, mounted on walls and on ceiling supports, and they also have ceiling-mount RSS strobes. I did find an NS horn/strobe in one hallway (I had a job interview there a couple of months ago). They have an EST fire alarm system of some sort, judging by the annunciators and pull stations (EST SIGA-278s), probably an EST-2.
Yes. I work there. There is one NS horn/strobe there, and one ine the training room/Jackie’s office, and one in the break room.
Those are the only traces of Wheelock NS horn/strobes. The rest of the horns are Wheelock NHs.
That’s a Gentex GMS24 horn/strobe mounted on a Simplex 2903-Series retrofit plate.
Kinda funny seeing two strobes on a fire alarm.
Uhhh the NH is the strobeless version of the NS.
I know that pretty well; the store originally had Simplex 2903+2901-9833 horn/lights as the main alarms (I know because I saw a couple of the old horns still intact), but then they upgraded by removing the -9833s and slapping the Gentex GMS horn/strobes onto the old light plates. Seems kind of sloppy to me, and somewhat funny because of how 2901-9833s and Gentex GMSs sound a LOT alike! (I do know Faraday originally made those horn mechanisms, and would explain that.) The old Simplex 4251-20 T-bar pulls are also still intact; didn’t see the panel, but I don’t think it’s a Simplex model anymore (was probably originally a 2001 or 4001).
Sloppy hu?
What is the solution you recommend? Have the installer or electrician come in spec, install new devices by cutting them in to the drywall and snaking. The ideal situation is when there is a dropped ceiling above and an easy to snake wall. Do you want them to order custom blank plates for the old back box, have to come back at a later time to install them? Or do you want the customer to bring in a plaster guy? Perhaps just leave a hole in the wall?
It is a FANTASTIC solution to stupid dumb ass Simplex making a back box no one in the industry can use without costing the customer a fortune.
Sheesh, it doesn’t always have to be like that. I have seen other installations of old alarms getting replaced (even older Simplex ones) with a new alarm (it could be Wheelock, System Sensor, or even Simplex again!) on some kind of backplate; that is the more “professional”-looking way; slapping the old alarm onto the existing lightplate is the CHEAPER way.
If there is something like THIS:
Then the old light can be removed and the hole simply be covered with electrical tape or something; then it would look decent, IMO.
Electrical tape falls off.
SHEESH! Not all small install company’s even know where to turn for custom work like a back plate. I knew how to get ahold of them and we passed the cost down but you cant expect some small company who is thankful for the work to even know where to begin looking for something like that. The best way is if the customer has the resources is to just let them deal with it. Simplex produces their own back plates specifically made for retrofits that are easily accessible to their installers.
In the crappy schools in your city (one of the most not-financially stable in the state) they are lucky to even have an updated alarm system you can not expect them to go the extra.
If you have such a problem with it Wiley get your low voltage license and get out there as an installer and do the work your self… Until then don’t bitch about it.
Actually, the -9833 uses a slightly different striker mechanism than the GMS.
While -9833’s do tend to have a lower pitch, they can sometimes be higher pitched (all of mine are like this, and I will post a video sometime this week). Overall, the newer Faraday horns tend to have a more uniform pitch.
From the Dunkin’ Donuts on West Chestnut Street in Brockton, MA, here’s a System Sensor SpectrAlert Advance remote strobe with a red lens.
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I thought fire alarms could only have white or clear lenses.
That only has to do with evacuation notification. This is simply to help located the building and perhaps get people to call 911 not evacuate the building. Ever notice red strobe lights on the outside of buildings? Same thing. Just a light to help the FD find it easier.
I never new that. Now that you mention it, I have noticed that a few outdoor appliances have red lenses.