Hey Everyone
The Other day i went to a concert at a college performing arts center and when i looked at the simplex voice evac strobe and speaker alarms a red light would flash every three seconds or so i’m guessing but why is it flashing is it a nac or something?
Simplex supports that on their addressable notification appliances. Similar to addressable initiating devices that flash periodically when they ‘check in’ with the fire panel. Information about how exactly this works would require an article to be written over on the wiki, but in short - each device has an individual address. The panel polls the address and awaits a response. When everything is working you’ll see the light blink on the notification appliance and the panel will remain normal. If the device does not respond to the panel, the panel will go into trouble and can provide details as to exactly which device isn’t responding.
Some features of addressable notification align very similarly with addressable initiating devices. T-Tapping is permitted (where Class B is used only) because the device is digitally supervised. If a device is taken down, regardless of if the circuit is complete or not, the panel will throw a trouble. Simplex takes it a step further on their ES series with self test, allowing the panel to briefly sound the alarms and flash the lights. Sensors within the device itself respond with failure or success.
Of course, with all technology, it should be considered a tool, not a replacement for a human inspection.
Simplex ES Series Devices, in this case most likely a 49SV-APPLR, can be set in the programmer to have the LED poll or “blink” to show communication with the panel. These are only compatible with the ES line of panels and the ES line of 4009 NAC panels. This is mainly used for inspections or troubleshooting applications. Just like the pull stations and smoke detectors, if the light is solid red it indicates a trouble on that device.