Tonight I’m posting about a new part I recently got. I was wondering if some people had more information on it, if anyone else has seen it, or has pictures or documentation on it.
It’s a Simplex 4305-B annunciator/panel. The sticker inside reads 10/09/81. It came off of an unknown 16-zone system. It’s got 16 incandescent light bulbs, one for each zone fire alarm indicator, and a whole portion of the panel that is for troubles. It’s got a trouble light which uses 2 incandescent bulbs which is tied to a piezo. There is a trouble silence button. It’s a latching relay circuit where pressing the button silences the piezo and leaves the light on until power is disconnected. There is also a reset key switch which takes the standard Simplex annunciator/key station key.
It was saved for me along with other fire alarm and elevator parts from a local bank building demolition/new CVS Pharmacy construction. The building was built in 1989, according to my sources, which is why the 1981 date on the sticker confuses me. The project manager and I were going to get to the basement to remove the main panel, but we never got to it in time. Still, the guy is really awesome and is working on getting me a panel from somewhere else, as my 4005 is not working at the moment. In addition to the annunciator/panel, I got a few Simplex 4251-20 pull stations as well as a couple Simplex 2901-9838/2903-9101 horn/strobe combos, and other newer Simplex/System Sensor parts which were add-on devices and replacements.
Googling this model turns up absolutely nothing, so if anyone has any information about it, like what kind of panel it would have been used with, I’d love to hear! Here’s a video I uploaded of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMhQhcUElw
I not only saw but installed many of those annunciators in my years with Simplex. Check the data plate to see if the 10/09/81 date is labeled as W.D. That stands for the Wiring Diagram date not the build date. Annunciators didn’t change much or often.
If the building date is correct as 1989 it is likely it would contain a 4002 panel. Although those typically used RCU and SCU annunciators they could drive standard annunciators too. The 2001 was discontinued in 1988 when the 4100 was released. The 4002 was released about a year before that. It was meant for small to medium sized jobs.
Check note 7 on the B auxiliary page. If the reset switch looks like it has that modification it is more likely this annunciator was connected to a 4002. The older panels used a normally closed remote reset switch but the 4002 needed a normally open remote reset switch.
I don’t have any paperwork specific to the annunciator but I have 4002 field wiring drawings. Below are the connections for the incandescent annunciator.
So it must have been a 4002 then, judging that this was installed in the later 1980’s. I wonder if this annunciator was sold as a 4002 annunciator before they came out with the 4602 series, hence the relay in there. Interestingly enough, I also wonder if this annunciator would be compatible with the 4005. Seeing that the 4005 could be used as a retrofit conventional setup, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be.
An even better way to operate a 4300 series annunciator from a 4005 is to use RCU/SCU graphic driver boards. These take no internal card space or addresses. They can also be remote from the panel.
I am assuming the switch is the button. That works with the relay, the Trouble lamps, and the buzzer.
When the associated FACP has a trouble it outputs 24 volts to light the Trouble lamps and sound the buzzer.
The button is used to silence the Trouble buzzer. It does that by activating the relay. The buzzer is operated through a normally closed contact that opens when the relay is activated. A normally open contact on the relay is in parallel with the button. That is used to keep voltage on the relay coil when the button is released so the buzzer stays off.
When the trouble condition clears at the FACP the voltage turns off and the relay drops out. The circuit is then ready to sound the buzzer again on the next trouble condition.
Having the circuit be self restoring eliminates the need for a RINGBACK circuit in the annunciator. Fire alarm panels with a toggle switch to silence the trouble sounder are wired so that the sounder will make noise if the switch is in the SILENCE position when there is no trouble. That reminds the operator to put the switch back in the normal position so the sounder will make noise when the next trouble occurs. That feature is called RINGBACK.
I can’t tell from the picture. Typically the reset key switches were captive. The key could only be removed in the normal position and was locked in when turned to the reset position.
A 4002 requires a normally open contact that closes to activate reset. Using an ohmmeter or continuity tester check between terminals R1+R2 and R3+R4. If either is open in normal and closes when the key is turned, use that one for the 4002. If both are closed in the normal position and open when turned this annunciator was not used with a 4002. It would need some surgery to change it.
Also be sure there is not a little transformer on the plate near the trouble terminal strip. If there is disconnect it before using with a panel having a 24 VDC trouble output. These annunciators could also be used with panels having a 120 VAC trouble output. The transformer dropped that to 24 VAC for the low voltage lamps and buzzer. The transformer winding will be a short to a DC trouble input and possibly damage the FACP.
