Hello, I have an addressable pull station (well, a few) and I’m wondering if it is possible to connect it to a conventional system. Would I have to wire half of the pull station to the conventional panel and the other half to a horn strobe/any notification device? I am also confused as to how to tell which is addressable and which is conventional.
Connecting an addressable station to a conventional panel would require modifications that I would not recommend.
A pull station for connection to a conventional panel contains a switch and terminals to connect to the initiating device circuit (IDC) wiring.
A pull station for an addressable system the switch is directly connected to an electronic circuit that interfaces with the addressable circuit from the panel. This could be a visible circuit board or a circuit board in a plastic housing. Typically there are switches to set the station’s address.
In a conventional system the pull stations connect to the panel on the IDC. The notification appliances (horns and strobes) connect to the panel on their own circuit which is called the notification appliance circuit (NAC).
I have a Simplex dual action t-bar (don’t know the model number) and I noticed that there are four terminals on the back of it. I also noticed that the wires leading out from the button is connected to the bottom two terminals. Does 4 terminals mean addressable or am I thinking about this the wrong way?
The station model number should be on a sticker on the front of the metal frame. Open the front cover with a B key and you should see it. The drawing below seems to fit your description. The drawing is an addressable station.
When I got my pull station, there seems to be no sticker that shows the model number.
Would I have to wire up only the top two terminals to a panel or would I have to wire up all four? That’s what I’m stuck on.
It would be helpful if you say yes or no that the drawing in my previous post matches your pull station. It would also be helpful to know the make and model of the panel you are asking about.
If it is a conventional panel and the pull station matches the drawing then NONE of the terminals will be connected.
Please answer these questions:
Does the back of the station match the drawing? YES or NO.
What brand and model number of panel is it?
That diagram does match the back of my pull station. People say that I should start out with a conventional panel like the Simplex 4010 but I realized that it won’t work with this pull. I am currently looking for an addressable panel.
The Simplex 4010 is an addressable panel. That station is addressable and does work with a 4010.
Thanks! I’ll be keeping my eye on the Simplex 4010 panel! I also have some conventional devices like my BG-12, EST Genesis horn strobe, and EST strobe to name a few. Would I need to get special modules in order to make it work for addressable?
A standard BG-12 pull station, which is made for conventional hardwired systems, can be connected to a 4010 IDNet signaling line circuit (SLC) using a 4090-9001 IAM. The BG-12LX has an addressable module in it which is not compatible with Simplex addressable panels.
Most fire alarm manufacturers are producing horn/strobe appliances that can separately control the horn and strobe on a single pair of wires. The Simplex version is the SmartSync series of notification appliances. The EST Genesis is their version of these complex notification appliances. They use control pulses embedded in the NAC to do these controls. Of course, the different brands are not compatible with each other. However, most also make adapter modules that allow the complex appliances to be connected to ordinary NACs. EST makes a Genesis Signal Master which adapts those appliances to ordinary NACs. That would be needed to connect to a 4010 NAC.
You did not mention the model of the EST strobe. If it is a free run appliance it will work on an ordinary NAC. If it is a synchronized type an adapter may be needed.
Apologies, it’s the EST 202-5A-T remote strobe.
I have not found a datasheet or installation instructions on the EST 202-5A-T strobe. If anyone has some information on this please make it available.