Just noticed that Gentex recently added four brand-new detector lines to their product page: the C-series CO detector, the H-series heat detector, the S-series multi-criteria smoke detector, & the SC-series multi-criteria combination smoke & CO detector, all of which are 120VAC or 240VAC with 9VDC battery backup. According to the Wayback Machine they were released sometime in between February & May of 2024. As you can see they’re square like some vintage detectors are, not unlike Pyrotector’s Smoke Sentinel actually. Admittedly I’m a little disappointed that there aren’t 24VDC versions like with Gentex’s older detectors, but they’re still cool I guess (they do still feature optional inbuilt relays & heat sensors among other Gentex exclusivities though). The data sheet also says that they’re not compatible with many older Gentex detectors (for some reason: you’d think they would have kept backwards-compatibleness in mind when designing them).
Edit: also found this bulletin announcing their introduction, which gives the date of release as March 19, 2024 & also reveals that they will replace Gentex’s existing S1209, CO1209, & GN-503 lines.
Very cool that there’s a multi criteria one now. Kinda sad that they’re square as I prefer the round aesthetic
Yeah: Gentex has never had a detector like that before I think (unless that’s just their way of describing the supposedly-unique photoelectric detection method their detectors use).
Yeah, but just the same Gentex is kinda going back to their roots as they’ve made square smoke detectors for decades.
I remember the old ones that Gentex made were for ADA accessible horn strobe type detectors that were similar to the UMMT style. It seems Gentex only perfers the boxy unit style when designing alarms.
Yeah: they also made versions without strobes too.
If I’m not mistaken Gentex started out with making square detectors, then made round ones for a while alongside some of the square ones, & is now back to mainly square detectors (which will soon be the only shape they’ll be again once production of their current round units ends).
Is there actually anything unique about Gentex’s method? If so, what
According to I think most of their manuals:
“Under normal conditions, the light generated by the pulsing infrared LED is not seen by the light sensor, as it is positioned out of the direct path of the light beam. When smoke enters the sensing chamber, light from the pulsing LED light source is reflected by the smoke particles onto the photodiode light sensor. At the first sighting of smoke, the
device is put into a pre-alarm mode. This is indicated by a rapidly flashing LED on the face of the smoke alarm. Once the light sensor confirms smoke for 2 consecutive pulses inside the chamber, the light sensor produces the signal necessary to trigger the alarm and sound the electronic horn. This technique of verifying the smoke condition, combined with a 5-to-1 signal-to-noise ratio, substantially reduces the possibility of nuisance alarms”
(not sure if other brands use this same method though)
So, a similar method as most smoke detectors
Except for “At the first sighting of smoke, the
device is put into a pre-alarm mode. This is indicated by a rapidly flashing LED on the face of the smoke alarm. Once the light sensor confirms smoke for 2 consecutive pulses inside the chamber, the light sensor produces the signal necessary to trigger the alarm and sound the electronic horn. This technique of verifying the smoke condition, combined with a 5-to-1 signal-to-noise ratio, substantially reduces the possibility of nuisance alarms” I think.
Yea, they’re not identical, though I doubt Gentex is the only one to do this, because the process was mentioned in a Technology Connections video
If I’m remembering that video correctly it might be similar to what Edwards’ current Signature Optica-series uses (though theirs uses a red IR LED & a blue LED together with a red backscatter LED, which I think is completely different to what Gentex’s detectors use).