HAI 45A00-1 wireless range?

I've seen the other discussions on the HAI 45A00-1 wireless range and how it can be finnicky.  I originally had my 45A00-1 behind a concrete firewall and expectedly was getting poor reception to my sensors on the other side.  I bit the bullet and drilled a hole through the 8 inch concrete wall so I could place the 45A00-a on the opposite side of the wall but I still get poor reception.  The best loop signal I get is 20 which is a fair signal, and a motion detector only 4 feet away with a straight line and no obstacles between gives me a 10 loop signal which signifies poor reception.  All interior walls are simple sheet rock with metal studs.
 
I'm at a loss as to what to do.  Is anyone aware of an external attennae I can attach to the 45A00-1 or anything that will allow me to boost the signal?  My furthest device is only 15-20 feet from the receiver and there really is no reason I should not be able tot get a good signal.

Maybe you have a faulty 45A00-1, mine gets signals from driveway sensors 100 ft away.

I have two driveway sensors more than 500' away from the main house

+ 1

Maybe you have a faulty 45A00-1

Click to expand...

 
I have no range issues with the HAI / 3rd party (GE-Interlogix?) HAI connected wireless devices.
 
I don't really utilize them much these days.
 
Still remember here my very first UPB PIM being purchased new and defective and the time I spent trying to get it to work with the OPII panel.

Thanks for the replies. I have two 45A00-1's in two separate locations each with poor reception. These were purchased at separate times so I doubt I got a bad batch or there is a hardware issue. There must be something in my vicinity which is causing poor signal reception. Maybe I need to try the GE version which at least offers repeaters.

Quote
simple sheet rock with metal studs

Click to expand...

The metal studs might be an issue too. In FL personally I personally just went to the GE-Interlogix device to play with it as I was already using the two HAI devices in the midwest (well not really using them). Testing the HAI devices to work fine as well. The exterior walls are all masonry with rebar wire inside. Using a little wireless FOB connected to the lighting can turn on the lights from the street, water and neighbors homes. The device is mounted high up near the ceiling and away from the can. The studs in the home are wood with regular dry wall walls and ceiling.

Did one of those google picture maps and visio drawing depicting the HAI wireless footprint and I was going to attach it but suffice to state that I have had no issues with the stuff.

Pete, yes it must be the metal studs but I can't believe it can't send a strong signal 10 feet in a straight line with no obstructions.   If the 45A00-1 is that sensitive to metal studs it should be stated in the documentation so users will not purchase this device.  Its been very frustrating as the poor signal started when I had the receiver behind a solid 8 inch concrete wall.  I wasn't surprised by the poor reception in this circumstance but when I spent the effort to drill through the solid concrete wall and wire on the opposite side and it didn't improve the reception I'm totally at a loss.  Hopefully the devices will maintain connections at the poor and fair signal strength.

After repeated attempts at different locations I haven't been able to get a reliable signal from the 45A00-1. I returned my two 45A00-1 to ensure I didn't have a hardware issue but I get the same poor reception with the replacements. As such all I can surmise is that I am getting radio interference. I've turned off cordless phones, wifi access points, wireless weather transmitter all with no improvement in signal strength. The fact I can't get a strong signal through 10 feet of unobstructed air space has me miffed.

I've seen many recommend the 42a00-1 as providing better reception and being able to incorporate repeaters so I bit the bullet and ordered this more expensive receiver (at least was able to get the 20% Labor Day sale). After ordering I re looked at the documentation and see the 42a00-1 operates on the 319.5 MHz frequency while the 45a00-1 operates on the 433 MHz frequency. Now I'm concerned my 47a00 motion detectors and 58a00 window transmitters will not pair with the 42a00-1. Im not sure if the wireless transmitters broadcast over a frequency range or a single frequency. Can anyone confirm if the 47a00-1/58a00-1 will pair with the 42a00-1?

I think I know the answer but figured I would confirm with the forum gurus before canceling my 42a00 order. If the 42a00-1 cannot pair anyone suggest how I can isolate what is in the 433 MHz spectrum that is causing me grief with the 45a00?

I have the GE version and it works great. I do use a repeater, but only because I had it at an old house with a problem with one far away sensor, so I moved it to my new house.  The Leiton sensors work at 433MHz where the GE ones work at 319MHz.  All else being equal, the lower freq. ones will go further, but interferance can cause problems on any frequency.  Do you have anything else at 433MHz?  With the GE sensors, a few comapnies make them so you have lots of choices. There are even at least two companies that make the repeaters. I have the Resolution Solutions RE120 repeater which I would recommend in any case. It never hurts. Mount it high in the center of your house, and as long as the receiver can "talk" to it, your set.  You can actually learn the repeater as a zone, and it will report a tamper if battery is bad. (This repeater uses 12V and has its own battery backup, 3 AAA cells.)
 
It might be noted, that Leviton outsourced the building of their GE receiver. (That is a positive) The receiver can supposedly detect low battery of the sensors, but I have never seen it.  What happens when the battery goes out (maybe 10 years) the receiver will loose supervision and then you get a "trouble" on the panel. Of course 99% of the time this happens between 2AM and 4AM in the morning.

ano said:

I have the GE version and it works great. I do use a repeater, but only because I had it at an old house with a problem with one far away sensor, so I moved it to my new house.  The Leiton sensors work at 433MHz where the GE ones work at 319MHz.  All else being equal, the lower freq. ones will go further, but interferance can cause problems on any frequency.  Do you have anything else at 433MHz?.

Click to expand...

Ok thanks for confirming what I suspected. I'm going to try one final time to see if I can isolate anything in my home causing interference in the 433mhz spectrum. From searching the web I've found a suggestion to turn off the main power to eliminate anything within the home that may be in that frequency. I don't think it's the metal studs as no matter where I place the receiver it will not give a strong signal even in a short distance with no obstructions. I've seen handheld frequency scanners which I'm contemplating getting but not sure how that will help if the interference is being generated outside my home. In the end I wish I had gone with the GE version instead of the HAI. I mistakenly believed sticking with one manufacturer would ensure better compatibility and performance.

So frustrating for something that should be easy.

wdeertz said:

Ok thanks for confirming what I suspected. I'm going to try one final time to see if I can isolate anything in my home causing interference in the 433mhz spectrum. From searching the web I've found a suggestion to turn off the main power to eliminate anything within the home that may be in that frequency. I don't think it's the metal studs as no matter where I place the receiver it will not give a strong signal even in a short distance with no obstructions. I've seen handheld frequency scanners which I'm contemplating getting but not sure how that will help if the interference is being generated outside my home. In the end I wish I had gone with the GE version instead of the HAI. I mistakenly believed sticking with one manufacturer would ensure better compatibility and performance.

So frustrating for something that should be easy.

Click to expand...

 
Why don't you try someplace else?  To test, all you need to do is move the receiver and a transmitter to another location, simply supplying power to the receiver.  As it has LED's that will light, you can tell when you receive a signal.  Another location will also preclude that your interference is based on something at your location/in your area.
 
As example, had a customer with a similar issue.  Turned out to be a radio station in the area. Also had another, they were next door to a Radio Shack, also interfering with their signal.  Third case was metal studs acting as antennas and causing issues, as pete_c suggested.   We also had one with cast iron pipe throughout a historical building, also similar issue.   There is no reason your receiver and transmitters should not be working at another very different location, especially if you are on your third and fourth units.
 
If you test at an entirely different location, not in your area, or could find an open parking lot someplace away from everything (so you will know there is nothing nearby, you should have success.  If you do, you know it's your location, so can decide the next steps.  If it doesn't work, then you need to find out what's wrong with your transmitters.

@wdeertz
 
Well here have had issues (low on WAF) with wife's physical body or proximity of her body to RF sinking or blocking RF.  Many many years ago tested (stand here or there) her body and my body relating to blocking an RF signal.  Mine did not and hers did.  The work around was antenna placement and customizing (tweaking) antennas which was a bit of a PITA.  

Still unable to get the HAI receiver signal to improve so I purchased the 319.5MHz Interlogix/Caddx receiver to see if this worked better. The tech support sent me an ITI motion sensor to test before we figure out a swap out scenario for all my existing wireless devices. The Interlogix receiver seems to provide a better signal than the 45A00-1 as I'm able to connect to the ITI motion detector in my garage which is 2 floors below the receiver. PC Access shows the ITI motion with a loop reading of 0 and "secure" but this doesn't change when the motion is tripped. I know the motion detector is being tripped as it is programmed to turn on certain lights.

Anyone know why the ITI motion detector loop reading doesn't change in PCA when tripped or show insecure?

How can I confirm the signal strength from the ITI motion? With my other HAI motions with RSSI the loop reading would tell me if it was a poor, fair or good signal. Does the ITI motion work similarly? My loop reading stays at 0 regardless of where I place the motion detector.

Yeah, the loop number is always 0 with this receiver, so basically it doesn't mean anything. Let it run a few days, and if you don't get any trouble warnings, it works.  It sends a signal every hour, and if the receiver doesn't receive them, it will tell you. Put the receive at your furthest location and it will tell you if its not working after a day, at the most. If there still is a signal problem, you can always add a repeater.
 
I really doubt the HAI signal level was as accurate as you think it was.
 
By the way, I don't know about the HAI receiver, be the GE receiver only conveys three things to the panel; secure, not ready, or trouble. Not ready could be an alarm OR tamper, and trouble is a low battery OR supervision problem. If you look at the receiver itself, it tells you if its alarm, tamper, battery, or supervision.

ano said:

Yeah, the loop number is always 0 with this receiver, so basically it doesn't mean anything. Let it run a few days, and if you don't get any trouble warnings, it works.  It sends a signal every hour, and if the receiver doesn't receive them, it will tell you. Put the receive at your furthest location and it will tell you if its not working after a day, at the most. If there still is a signal problem, you can always add a repeater.
 
I really doubt the HAI signal level was as accurate as you think it was.
 
By the way, I don't know about the HAI receiver, be the GE receiver only conveys three things to the panel; secure, not ready, or trouble. Not ready could be an alarm OR tamper, and trouble is a low battery OR supervision problem. If you look at the receiver itself, it tells you if its alarm, tamper, battery, or supervision.

Click to expand...

 
Ano, thanks for the reply.  Yes I should have mentioned the receiver is properly showing the motion zone being tripped on its LED but PCA is not showing the zone being tripped.  In other words PCA continues to show zone status/current as "secure" even when the zone is tripped (but the tripped zone is causing lights to be turned on so I know the board is receiving the signal from the Interlogix receiver).  According to the 42A001 documention the OP2 console should show "NOT RDY", "TRBL NOW" and "HAD TRBL" when the zone has been tripped, back cover removed, supervisory failure or low battery. 
 
Any idea why it continually shows SECURE when the zone is tripped?  When I remove the back cover PCA shows "NOT READY" however the funny thing is if I remove the motion detector batteries (while back cover is on) PCA continues to show "SECURE" rather than "HAD TROUBLE".  Maybe I have a bad ITI motion detector.
 
Where do i look to see if there has been supervisory errors or disconnects?  Will this show in the event log?