Need help ID-ing this alarm

Hello all. Once again I have a question that may or may not be a stupid one. I took this picture on my phone, hence the Instagram link (I was into Instagram when I took the photo.) It looks like a Wheelock 7002 but the grille is different. As you can see, it’s much more rounded. I’ve never seen an alarm like this, and I’ve seen plenty of alarms. Maybe it’s a 7002 rebranded by some other company? What is it?

I’m pretty sure that somebody did ID this alarm here on the forums before. I can’t find the specific post where that happened, but what I do know is that it wasn’t made by Wheelock.

That’s what I thought. Maybe it’s a Federal or Autocall alarm.

It’s a United Security Products (USP) FHS-24, a Wheelock knock-off that was available with the strobe on top or on the side. There’s a hardware store near me that has these along with CPG 4050 pulls and was built in 1995.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-UNITED-SECURITY-FHS-24-24V-24-VOLT-FIRE-ALARM-LOUD-HORN-STROBE-ALERT-BOX-/380395687200

Is it a speaker or a horn?

It is a electromechanical horn. A 7002 clone.

That’s very interesting… And they didn’t get sued by Wheelock, but Siemens/Faraday/Cerberus Pyrotronics did?!

Ok it kinda looks like a speaker tho doesent it?

I think it is actually an electronic horn or sounder.

Siemens was sued over patent infringement regarding strobe technology. I would imagine that similarity in design is not enough grounds for fire alarm companies to sue one another. Generally, housing designs are only patented if they add a game-changing feature or are critical to the competition of the product. In this case, Wheelock did not patent their design, and it was generic enough for USP to use it without fear of litigation. Copycat products are cranked out all the time in just about every industry, but litigation is only warranted if enough toes are stepped on to seriously threaten a company’s core assets.

So when was the strobe lawsuit filed? Many other companies at the time had strobes, didn’t they? Or was it the synching feature? Someone said that sync-able Siemens alarms were compatible with Wheelock sync modules… Was this the case? If it was due to design similarities, I guess Simplex would be suing RSG and Sigcom, I guess.

That’s more than likely what happens wheelock got mad because of there sync able products similar to there as’s

I don’t know specifics, but it had to do with synchronization. The case goes beyond the fact that the two companies had similar synchronization and was based on the underlying patented technology.

It’s worth noting that the case was settled out of court via mediation in 2006. Most likely, Wheelock proposed their binding settlement and Siemens accepted in order to avoid the massive compensatory damages that may have been incurred if the trial had proceeded. Wheelock came out on top by forming a unilateral exclusivity agreement with Siemens; they probably pulled in several times more revenue as a result of that settlement than they would have from damages. Many companies these days are using lawsuits as a bargaining chip and then proposing alternative dispute resolution to get what they really want. Most of the time it works, since the defendant is left with a bifurcated choice of either spending years in court with an unpredictable outcome, or choosing to play it out on the plaintiff’s ground through the quicker and seemingly-less-intimidating process of mediation. Ultimately, Wheelock didn’t sue for Faraday to make amends to their infringing products - they saw an opportunity to become a guaranteed exclusive client with one of the world’s largest brands while simultaneously wiping out their competing products, and they seized it. Pretty smart.

Interestingly, Siemens-branded Wheelock devices only sync properly to Siemens panels.

http://www.boliven.com/legal_proceeding/2:05-cv-00454-DF-CMC?q=

Really? Wow. I thought it was the same product, just with the Siemens label slapped on it. Interesting…

How did they find out there sync code was similar to theres?

Maybe they tested the two alarms with Wheelock sync modules, like we hobbyists do…

You just wouldn’t think wheelock would buy a product other than there’s

Wait, what? I don’t quite get what you mean…

I think he’s saying that, since Wheelock’s the one that sued them and wiped out their line of alarms, why would they use Wheelock’s alarms and not one of their competitors?

I think it might have had something to do with the terms of the settlement. Or maybe it was just that Wheelock could supply the volume of alarms that they needed at a reasonable price.

I explained all the reasons in my previous post.

I think Netscape was asking how Wheelock would find out about Faraday’s infringement and why/how they would own a competitor’s product to refer to. It’s probably quite common for companies to have samples of competitors’ products in order to be familiar with what the rest of the industry is doing. I have no doubt that there’s a room in every company’s headquarters covered wall-to-wall in competitor’s panels.

But remember that none of this is as simple as “hey, their products look similar to ours and even sync like ours do, so let’s sue them!” The basis of the lawsuit was the underlying technology detailed in Wheelock’s patent and is not obvious at a macro level. It’s possible that Wheelock reverse-engineered a Faraday alarm, but it’s more likely that word began to spread through the grapevine from one company to the other. Designers and engineers often jump ship to competing companies if a better opportunity arises, so I’d imagine there’s a lot of hearsay that goes on about trade secrets and such. To better understand their motive for the lawsuit, re-read the post that I made about the settlement.

No,i asked that.