I have a GE Concord 4 panel and instead of supervised NAC outputs, I just have unsupervised outputs. The problem is that these outputs are Form-C relays, so naturally, they can’t easily be supervised. All I have is normally open, normally closed, and common. I have an output programmed to close during a fire alarm, with a 24vdc power supply connected to power my fire alarm NAs. I’m looking for a way to supervise the circuit. The circuit is normally open. The negative is always connected to the supply, and positive is controlled by the relay. I can isolate the negative if required for reverse-polarity supervision. Note that the 24v supply is independent of the panel (panel is 12v by the way). Is there any such device that can be connected to my NAC to supervise the wiring somehow? Preferably if it has a relay that will open/close if the circuit is open/shorted. If it matters, all my NAs are System Sensor SpectrAlerts and I’m using an MDL. Any device, even if you don’t think that it’ll work in this situation.
There are two ways to do this. First is to use a small fire alarm panel and use the relay output of the Concord like a pull station on a IDC. The second way (and looks to be cheaper) is to connect a NAC extender panel to operate and supervise your notification appliances. You need one that has a trouble relay that can be monitored by the Concord. Some only open the NAC used as the driver to cause a trouble on the host panel.
Two I saw that have a trouble relay are the Silent Knight 5495 and the Firelite FCPS-24FS6. Some of these are available on Ebay for around $100. These will also need a set of batteries. 24 volts switched by the relay on the Concord then becomes the input driver to activate the extender’s NACs. Both of the extenders mentioned above have an AUX 24 VDC source available to use through the Concord relay.
Take a look at these but ask questions BEFORE buying one.
I think I’ll go with a NAC extender. I think the Silent Knight extender would be more installer-friendly. What do you think? Also, which version of System Sensor sync protocol does it use? Does it sync only classic SpectrAlerts or can it sync advances? I don’t know how old the SK extender is.
I am not a Silent Knight expert and have not worked with the product much. I know what I can find on the internet. The Rev M installation manual (8/12/2013) has a long list of System Sensor compatible appliances. https://www.silentknight.com/CatalogDocuments/151161.pdf That would apply to new units (approx $350) On pre-owned units the compatible devices may depend on the firmware chip revision in the unit. Silent Knight would have that information. If not compatible with your NA devices it can be set for a constant output that can then go into your MDL. The extender will supervise the circuit through the MDL.