Rare Find

Recently I went out on a trip to Ohio, and on my way there, I stopped at an old electrician’s place to pick up this absolute gem. This is a Simplex 4208AX, dated February of 1974. This panel is a simple single zone panel with two 6V AC bell circuits that was removed from a small church building in rural Ohio. The gentleman I picked this up from had told me the owner simply wanted a newer system, which is why after 46 years this panel was replaced. He made sure to grab the original devices as well (Simplex 4050 horns and 4251-20’s, also from 1974). The panel could use some work, as the inside of the cabinet has a decent amount of rust and imperfections in the paint. I would like to restore this panel to its original factory new condition some day. I thought I would share this on here because you don’t see these 4208’s at all anymore, especially the AX versions. Hopefully I can restore it to its original glory and get it up and running again some day.
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Wow, 46 years of mostly non-stop service. That is just incredible. I don’t think any panels manufactured today could ever last that long. Don’t get me wrong, I love where the evolution in fire safety (and technology in general) has brought us, but newer systems, in my opinion, have many more points of failure because of their complexity.

That’s a really neat find! I could immediately tell it was a 4208 (and not a 4207) by the lack of a divider down the middle. What does the AX stand for?

46 years of non-stop service is absolutely a testament to the build quality of these older control panels. The modern computerized ones will honestly never last that long. Most last 10 years at the greatest before developing serious issues that warrant replacement. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for these antique/vintage equipment like this for that reason.

And as far as what AX stands for, I am honestly not too sure on that one…

Perhaps being able to last 40 years is a bit too long - it might disincentivize replacement by a system greatly surpassing it in function. On the other hand, 10 years is complete crap when today’s fire alarm systems aren’t that much more advanced than ones in 2010. I’m not a big fan of “everything needs a separate license to unlock” business model I’ve heard about from the Honeywell brands either.

[quote="Simplex 2903-9101" post_id=87642 time=1599632582 user_id=3578]

Perhaps being able to last 40 years is a bit too long - it might disincentivize replacement by a system greatly surpassing it in function. On the other hand, 10 years is complete crap when today’s fire alarm systems aren’t that much more advanced than ones in 2010. I’m not a big fan of “everything needs a separate license to unlock” business model I’ve heard about from the Honeywell brands either.

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I most certainly agree with the last part. Seems like most companies want you to either purchase crazy expensive software licensing or have proprietary programming software that only their technicians have access to (so in other words, the client is forced to stay with the company if they want their system serviced). Sure, the new stuff brings many new advanced features to the table such as workstations, networking and MNS, however, in my own opinion, it won’t last as long. The old, less complex relay-based systems, albeit primitive in 2020, last longer due to them being less complex. Given the complexity of modern computerized systems, they are bound to fail quicker due to their complexity. The way most companies have gone this day in age is frustrating, too (with everything being proprietary). Some companies like forcing their clients to stay with them through proprietary software (I won’t mention names, I’m sure you know who I’m referencing :wink: ).