Simplex 4020(s!)

Fire Alarms
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Hello everyone! It’s been a bit since I made a new post here on the forums, but I have another new panel to show off, and that is my Simplex 4020!

This panel has actually been a work-in-progress for several months as I have been waiting for a reasonably priced CPU bay & IO boards to show up for sale. I sourced the cabinet for this unit back in December 2024 right before it was going to be thrown away – it was removed from an elementary school in my district during an upgrade to a 4100ES, but did not come with its CPU bay or IO boards!

Thankfully, I got very lucky with a recent eBay purchase of not just one, but two of these panels, complete with all of their add-in cards (see below).
These, unfortunately, were not without their problems, though. Both units sustained significant smashing due to improper packaging, and one unit’s power supply interface board was badly damaged (still functions OK from what I can tell, I believe). I was able to use both CPU bays to create one functional assembly, and mostly straighten out the chassis for the unit that’s installed with a pair of pliers and a couple hours of frustration.

Some information about the panel:

  • Firmware revision 9.02.02.
  • Maxed out configuration for a 2-bay cabinet (CPU bay has an additional MAPNET card, as well as the 2 I/O boards in the second bay).
  • Configured for 8 NACs (blue jumpers), 1 zone (red jumper), a couple fan shutdown & elevator recall relays, and the rest are spares (no jumpers).
  • The CPU bay in this unit came out of an old church, with approx. 240 MAPNET II devices programmed into it.

Here’s a few pictures!

IMG_3809
IMG_38091920×2560 349 KB

IMG_3818
IMG_38181920×2560 362 KB

IMG_3813
IMG_38131920×2560 459 KB

IMG_3722
IMG_37221920×2560 651 KB

IMG_3711
IMG_37111920×1440 333 KB

IMG_3707
IMG_37071920×1440 352 KB

IMG_3709-X
IMG_3709-X1920×1440 386 KB

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That’s cool. I think that one of Walters States’ buildings in Morristown has this with the T-Bars and rebranded Gentex Mini-Horn/Strobes.

3

Why does that panel have 123 Troubles???

4

Really need to send you that panel, collecting dust here

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Can I have a simplex panel too

6

I often get Simplex 4010 Panels from upgrades, hard to make time to ship with busy lifestyle. I’m in North Dakota.

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Ok, I see. Thank you anyway

8

Looking at those pics… That appears to be one of the original 4020s, based on a lack of visible service port, which would mean it can’t be programmed without a PROM burner. Which is something to instill fear in even the most steadfast Simplex technicians…

Edit - never mind, looked again and saw the pins for the serial connector. All you need to program it is the cable, the software, and the security key to use it! Easy peasy :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

9

Thankfully yes, these are all new enough to have the on-board programming port. No ‘upgrade all execs’ button on here though…gotta burn a new EXEC if you want that. I may search in the future for a later revision of exec chip for the rev 9 panel, it has some weird behavior on bootup that I believe is software-related. But it will work with any hardware I throw on it (addressable TrueAlerts and 4003 WalkTest over RUI)

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Okay so the 4020 at WSCC Morristown TN is slated for replacement. Along with the other systems that haven’t been upgraded including the newest of them.