So I really want a fire alarm control panel for Christmas, My friends and family are looking for Christmas presents and I am wanting to get an FACP for christmas, if anyone can help me find a panel $50 OR UNDER, please let me know, I have searched everywhere but all I find are either dress panels or non-working ones. again, pleases help me look for one, Big thanks to anyone that helps . I am looking for one of these panels:
Fire-Lite MS-10UD
Fire-Lite MS-10UD-7 (MOSTLY WANTING!)
Fire-Lite MS-5UD
Fire-Lite MS-5UD-3
Fire-Lite RP-2001
Fire-Lite MS-4
Fire-Lite MS-2
Silent Knight 6700
Silent Knight 5820XL
Silent Knight SK-4
Simplex 4004
Simplex 4005
Simplex 4006
NOTE: for the MS5UD/MS10UD,
ADT is fine too, if you find one with any other company, please notify me and let me see, there might be some I may not want.
Thanks!
I would toss the MS-2 & MS-4 off your list right away as theyāre very limited in capability (especially the MS-2) & are not that well-made quality-wise. As for the 6700 & 5820XL, both of those are addressable, & a general rule of thumb is to get a conventional panel as your first one since theyāre relatively easy to work with. That leaves only the MS-5UD & MS-10UD on said list, which Iād say are both good (particularly the MS-10UD-7, which has a full 4 NACs, 10 zones, & 7 amps of power, not to mention outputting filtered DC as opposed to the FWR that the MS-5UD-3 does (as filtered DC not only makes most devices sound nice but also doesnāt eventually kill Simplex devices). Good luck finding really any panel much less an MS-10UD-7 for at or under $50 though: heck I was lucky enough to find my nearly-identical-specs (to an MS-10UD-7 that is) SK-5208 for exactly $50! (though I did do so via Craigslist local pickup & thus I didnāt have to pay Ebayās ridiculous fees as well as shipping)
Thanks, I donāt really care if its addressable or conventional, Theres even a tutorial for the 5820XL that I can link if you want. I will add the panels you mentioned (That are the good ones) on the list, Thanks!
You should care since like I said conventional panels are easier for first-time FACP owners to use & thus is why theyāre recommended to start out with. As for the ones you āaddedā to your list, those are just the primary (if not only) models of the MS-5UD & MS-10UD, so theyāre just redundant if you put them on a second time. Youāre welcome I guess though.
I would advise you to stay away from the 5820XL, and any of the other higher-end Silent Knight products (5208, 6208, etc). These panels are not only expensive, but also are reaching the point in their age where they are experiencing issues with their power supplies, and will often go bad. Devices for the 5820XL (SD devices) are also absolutely outrageously expensive.
If you purchase a MS-2, MS-4, or any of the other counterparts rebranded by other companies, please be careful when wiring it. Accidentally shorting out the wrong thing will fry the entire panel.
Simplex 4004 is a great conventional panel. Additionally, the 4005 and 4006 are also good for beginners (I started w/ a 4006!) but do have access passwords that can be changed, with no easy way to perform a backdoor.
I would also try to raise your budget. You would be hard pressed to find a working panel for under $150. Just my two cents.
I would raise it if I could, except, My friends and family have gotten so much Christmas presents for me and others that I cannot raise the budget, however, I could see if they could save up. I will add the panels you specifically mentioned, thanks.
Does Hochiki have brand/vendor ID checking? Iām wondering if you could use Hochiki-branded or even Napco-branded (yes, Napco addressable is really Hochiki protocol) devices as substitutes for SDsā¦
Wise idea to remove the 6700 & 5820XL from your list, but as I pointed out the MS-2 & MS-4 really arenāt that good quality-wise, in addition to being extremely limited in terms of capabilities, so you really should shoot for the MS-10UD-7 (or one of Pineappleās suggestions) instead in my opinion (since then you should have a decent amount of zones, NACs, & filtered power to do things with, including if you want to expand your setup beyond say a single pull station & a single notification appliance).
I am just wanting something simple, I also donāt care how much quality the MS-2, MS-4, or SK-4, I just need one alarm, one pull station, just something that works and is simple.
Yeah, but what if whichever one of those you bought conked out not long after you got it (which the MS-2, MS-4, & their rebrands are infamous for doing I think) or you wanted to expand your setup but had run out of zones, NACs, &/or amperage? (not to mention the MS-2 & MS-4 having nowhere near as advanced of programming as the MS-10UD-7) Buying a panel like the MS-10UD-7 would be both hopefully ensuring that the panel you would have would last a long time & would also be āfuture-proofingā your setup in a sense.
You say that but Iām not sure Iāve ever gotten that feeling about Craigslist, & Iāve obtained at least one good thing via it (that SK-5208 for only a mere $50 like I said). Thereās also no guarantee that any seller you might find will be in your area: heck I think the one that sold me that SK-5208 was quite some distance away from where I live.
Oh, that. Well, there are things you can do to manage that potential risk, including going with a friend so that youāre not the only one present, & requesting that the seller meet you outside their house to do the transacting.
. I am looking for one of these panels: