Does anyone know why System Sensor discontinued the SpectrAlert Classic Series Notification Appliances?
Really…
Is this a joke?
:roll:
The Advanced line that replaced it addressed alot of the feedback on the poor installation of the Classic devices.
To evolve you need to innovate…
Hey, it’s not a stupid question. Some people who aren’t installers might not know why. But yes, BCarl said it.
I had one of those…
“It’s an obvious answer really, why is he even asking?” moments."
I guess I was wrong. lol. :oops:
That, and the Advanced’s tone is more penetrating, if not annoying as all get out. It’s not low enough of a pitch to be counted as a Low Frequency device (hence the new LF line), but it’s lower pitch than the Classic.
To me, the ClickLock installation feature felt less secure than the first generation’s screw. Anyone can jam something into the slot to unlatch it. The Advanced line stepped it up with a tamper-resistant screw.
Did I mention that I saw a Classic mounted upside-down once? Never seen an Advanced mounted like that.
Gentex had a signal with a plug in base since around 2002 or so (the Commander 2) which is very easy to install. Although they are fixed candela, they are multi-tone signals as well. Wheelock’s hugely successful NS series did not have a snap on base but was very simple to install.
However, the SpectrAlert classics had tons of problems. The older models with the screw had a similar problem to the BG-10 where if you overtightened them then the screw would break through the plastic and then the signal would be no good. I have had that happen before actually. Not fun because the thing no longer stays on the wall.
They tried to fix it with the ClickLock, which ended up being nice for the installer but removing them? Not so much. They are quite hard to remove without the “SpectrAlert Removal Tool” that System Sensor sold. Also, they eventually came out with a multi-candela model however setting the candela involved moving jumpers around, which is quite time consuming (cough cough Simplex TrueAlert Multi-Candela cough cough).
I think the SpectrAlert Advance is OK, as in it is loud and looks pretty good, but I do not like how cheap and flimsy the mounting plates feel. They feel like the kind of thing where if you over-tighten it then it will crack easily. The signal’s housing is made of flimsy feeling plastic as well. I do like that they went back to the setscrew design and improved it so that the screw doesn’t fall out when you unscrew the signal. However, I have seen lazy installers not tighten the screw and then the signal gets knocked down… but that’s their fault, not System Sensor’s.
The Wheelock Exceder is a fairly cheap feeling signal. I think Wheelock’s quality is starting to decline. The mounting plate does seem sturdier than the Advance’s plate however the signal does not seem so nice. It slides sideways on to the base and has a tendency to pop off if you don’t use the screw. I think they look alright, they’re kinda odd looking though. They are a huge improvement over Wheelock’s first attempt at a snap-on signal. The ZNS and ZRS series were a good idea at the time but they are a major pain to remove from their base after they have been installed.
I like the Gentex Commander 3 the best. I call it the “Swiss Army Signal” because they only have one product for nearly every application while System Sensor has 3 (horn, chime, low freq) and Wheelock has 4 (exceder, mt, hs, ch70). The mounting plate is made of zinc instead of plastic, and while being quite heavy in comparison, it is quite durable. All of the signals are 4 wire and have two DIP switches to set whether it is a 2 wire or 4 wire signal. The signal attaches to the plate by placing it on and sliding to the right to lock it down, and then the trim cover goes on top. The design allows for quick changes to the candela settings and tone settings without removing the signal. I hear from a Gentex rep that they are developing a newer Commander that is going to include a 520 Hz low frequency tone, and he said it looks exactly like the Commander 3.
Thanks, I wasn’t quite sure. 
Is the low frequencies to wake sleeping people up in hotels or something? I don’t quite remember why the new NFPA fire codes require them.
Lower frequencies have been known to wake people up faster than higher pitches, even if they have mild to severe hearing loss, 520hz is about the magic number for low frequency devices, which interests me because the Wheelock MT’s Code-3 Tone tone is around 500hz, yet Wheelock still came out with a low-frequency LED Exceder. Is it because it has to be square wave and not sawtooth wave?
Read the press release I wrote about 520hz low frequency sounders:
[quote] GAMEWELL-FCI RELEASES NEW FIRE ALARM SOUNDERS TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMERCIAL SLEEPING SPACES Studies Find Lower-Frequency Sounders to be More Effective at Waking Sleeping Individuals NORTHFORD, Conn., Mar. 3, 2014 - Gamewell-FCI by Honeywell (NYSE:HON) announces the SpectrAlert® Advance Series of low-frequency fire alarm sounders and sounder strobes to meet National Fire Alarm Association (NFPA) code requirements for sleeping areas in commercial buildings, such as hotels, school dormitories and assisted living facilities. The NFPA requirements went into effect January 1, 2014. The MarkeTrak series of surveys concludes 35 million Americans, or 11.3 percent of the U.S. population, have some degree of hearing loss. This and other similar studies estimate the number to rise to more than 40 million by 2025. A series of research studies, titled Optimizing Fire Alarm Notification for High Risk Groups and funded by the Fire Protection Research Foundation,concluded that a low frequency tone, around 520 Hz, is more effective at waking sleeping individuals, including those with mild-to-severe hearing loss. Due to these findings, a code change was initiated in the 2010 edition of NFPA 72: National Fire Alarm & Signaling Code, requiring new, commercial sleeping areas to utilize low-frequency sounders. This new requirement is located in Section 18.4.5: Sleeping Area Requirements and has been carried over to the current 2013 edition of NFPA 72.“As awareness and enforcement of this new code grows, we expect customer demand for these low-frequency appliances to pick-up quickly,” says Brian Carlson, Gamewell-FCI marketing manager. “We [Gamewell-FCI] always aim to produce technology to increase occupant safety, and we support those who adopt code changes quickly.”
The new SpectrAlert Advance sounders and sounder strobes from Gamewell-FCI produce a low frequency alarm signal centered around 520 Hz. Both devices are UL-listed for wall and ceiling mount installations and the strobes produce a high-candela output.
[/quote]
Pretty glad i own one then