Door Contacts

[noshali]

I bought a couple NX-450 and am happy with these except for the size which the head office does not really like. SO I went ahead and bought NX-458. Wifey loved them but it really doe snot work well as an occupancy sensor as to save battery it transmits every 4 mintues or something so if someone opened and closed the door within 4 minutes I wouldnothear anything.

Is there a door contact (wireless) out there by GE (ELK compatible) that works the same as the NX-450 but is smaller in size. The signal strength of the NX-450 is ideal as the entire house is concrete.

What about the NX-650. need something that is easy to service also.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

regards,

 

[Steve]

That's weird. I thought only the PIR's only reset every 4 minutes or so for battery savings. I would think the 458 would work the same as the 450. Would really surprise me if it didn't. There is also the 454 which is what I have which is smaller than the 450 but not a recess like the 458.

 

[noshali]

454 would be ideal but isn't that crystal technology and uses the same tech as the pirs??? Does it transmit every time which is what the 458 did but elk would not register them. I could see the ligh blink. I think that it send less signals than it would under normal conditions.

EDIT: Just checked the GE website and the 454 uses the same 4 and half minute to conserve battery. What about the nx-650??

regards,

That's weird. I thought only the PIR's only reset every 4 minutes or so for battery savings. I would think the 458 would work the same as the 450. Would really surprise me if it didn't. There is also the 454 which is what I have which is smaller than the 450 but not a recess like the 458.

 

[Steve]

Are you going by what you read or did you try it? The PIR has a 3 minute motion lockout where it won't detect motion to conserve battery. The contact just says advanced circuitry conserves battery life if tripped more than once in 4.25 minute interval. That is different than not working. Maybe Spanky or a GE expert can says exactly what that means, but I can promise you a NX-454 will trip/send a signal every time. I just tested one with 3 trips in a 20 second period and they all registered fine.

If you like and prefer the 458, I would suggest you actually try it and you may be pleasantly surprised to see it work the way you expect.

And crystal is preferred with the Elk receiver, the signal is a bit more stable. The SAW's will work but there could be a bit of signal drift but I don't think it has really been an issue for anyone.

 

[noshali]

My experience is that I can see the signal reach the receiver as I can see the light blink.

This is what happened for me.

Open the door and it announces "Front door open" I close the door and the zone becomes unviolated. If I open the door again in the next 20 secinds then the zone stays the same (not violated) and I don't hear anything. I can see the lights on the receiver blink so the signal is getting there.

After 5 minutes I open the door and it works. This was my experinece with the nx-458. I also tried these stand about 3 feet away from the receiver and still the same.

I don't want to argue as to which is better saw or crystal but I just needed help with getting a receiver that updates right away and it announces everytime the door is opened as I have an autistic kid who can just wander off.

Since I have moved overseas it is tough for me to get stuff fromt he US and they don't sell the GE stuff there so I really cannot test till it gets there as was the case with the 458 and not one of them is stuck in the door and does not work and I cannot return it.

regards,

 

[tuantu]

My experience is that I can see the signal reach the receiver as I can see the light blink.

This is what happened for me.

Open the door and it announces "Front door open" I close the door and the zone becomes unviolated. If I open the door again in the next 20 secinds then the zone stays the same (not violated) and I don't hear anything. I can see the lights on the receiver blink so the signal is getting there.

After 5 minutes I open the door and it works. This was my experinece with the nx-458. I also tried these stand about 3 feet away from the receiver and still the same.

I don't want to argue as to which is better saw or crystal but I just needed help with getting a receiver that updates right away and it announces everytime the door is opened as I have an autistic kid who can just wander off.

Since I have moved overseas it is tough for me to get stuff fromt he US and they don't sell the GE stuff there so I really cannot test till it gets there as was the case with the 458 and not one of them is stuck in the door and does not work and I cannot return it.

regards,

I'm using both nx-454 and 458 with GE wireless receiver and M1 and I don't have the problem that you're describing. Are you using M1 with Elk receiver? If you are then there is a possibility of a bug or something else.

 

[noshali]

Why Me......I am using the GE receiver and ELK. Don't know what it could be.

What distance???

 

[Spanky]

As far as I know the door and window sensors from GE send a transmission with each violation and restoral of the zone input. The motion detectors have the 3 minute delay. I am NOT aware of any issues using the GE receiver on the M1.

If you see the light blink on the receiver when you open and close the door the transmitter is working.

 

[Steve]

I don't want to argue as to which is better saw or crystal but I just needed help with getting a receiver that updates right away and it announces everytime the door is opened as I have an autistic kid who can just wander off.

I wasn't trying to argue at all, just stating what Spanky has said several times in regard to the Elk receiver. I can certainly understand and appreciate the special needs child situation as I am right there with ya.

I have an Elk receiver but they should both work the same way. Like I said, I have a 454 in my mailbox. When it opens, CQC monitors that zone and plays a "You've got mail" .wav file. I can go and open and close the mailbox door as much as I want and the announcement will play each time, so I know for a fact the 454 is transmitting the status each time. Can you monitor that switch in RP, instead of playing your chime? Watch in RP and see if it opens/closes as expected. The only gotcha is RP is not updated immediately, it could take 5 or 10 seconds to update status.

 

[noshali]

Following is the text from the installation paper of the nx-458.


"We recommend you leave the sensor undisturbed, in the
closed or non-alarm condition, for 5 minutes before testing
it. Waiting guarantees accurate test results because the sensor
has enough time to turn off its built-in power-saver feature,
which automatically turns on when it is tripped more
than once in a 4 1/4 minute time period.
When the power-saver feature is on, the sensor transmits
only half the usual number of data rounds when tripped. For
example, during a dealer sensor test you normally expect to
hear up to 8 data rounds. When the power-saver feature is
on, you may hear only up to 4 data rounds."

I am assuming that this is the reason why I don't get anything till the sensor is undisturbed for 5 minutes.

The same aplies to the NX454.

regards,

 

[Steve]

Somebody more knowledgeable is going to have to speak for it or say what a 'data round' actually is, but I can't argue with my live test results where the thing does transmit more than once in a 5 minute period. And apparently Spanky has seen the same results. Maybe thats a 'feature' on the GE receiver where there is some handshaking of a battery save mode or something??? All I know is it works on the Elk and I know the switch does actually transmit the signal.

 

[noshali]

Thanks for keeping this one alive.

Did you enroll the sensor by going in the learn mode or type in the issue no (unique sensor number) in elkrp. I typed it in and like I said it worked with the same results that I have had.

I do agree with you that it does send the signal as I see the lights on the ge receiver blinking when the door is opened and closed. I just think that the signal is not strong enough for ELK to make the change.

Spanky,
Please comment if it makes a difference if I make ELK learn the sensor vs just typing the number in of the sensor.

regards,

 

[Steve]

It's been a long time, but I'm 99% sure I just typed them in. Is the only way your are validating it by the announcement? Is the announcement jut the chime, or a rule? Like I suggested, check the status in RP and see if in fact the M1 just isn't seeing it, or if there is just a problem with the announcement.

 

[noshali]

I checked the RP also and it is the same. I am sure of doing that. These days I am back in the US so really can't test much but need to get some contact and take them with me hence so many questions.

regards,

 

[mimitche]

Just to add another data point- I have a 458 and an Elk Wireless receiver with my M1. I always receive notification of zone state change- I can open and close the door every 10 seconds and it always goes off.

My belief is the 'power saving' feature only effects the number of 'data rounds' or packets that are sent with each state change- 4 in power saving and 8 without power saving.