Elk Output 2 Tone

[tmbrown97]

OK - been playing with the M1G for a little while now - actually stayed home sick today, so in between working remotely, I snuck in and finished wiring up the motions and the HAI thermostat and cleaned up quite a bit of the wiring... so not bad for being sick as a dog all day...

The Wife is scared to death of alarms, so while she's getting used to it, I've had the exterior siren and the interior screamers disconnected (ignoring the Output 2 Trouble on the keypads)... The other day I decided to hook up the 150RT siren just to a 5ft. cable in the closet where the panel is just so we'd know if/when we triggered it while getting used to the system or while testing without disturbing the entire neighborhood...

I noticed that the siren was putting out a noticeable buzzing sound continuously. I power cycled the M1, double checked the setting to make sure it was set to voltage and not speaker, etc... double checked the manual and even tried a search or two here, and didn't find any reason that might be causing that... so I'm looking for ideas.

Also... House already had an alarm, and we tested the existing siren - it's in my attic facing the street and plenty loud enough, so I'll probably just use that one instead of the 150RT... any reason why I shouldn't do that or any special consideration needed?

Thx!
-Todd

 

[briankelly63]

OK - been playing with the M1G for a little while now - actually stayed home sick today, so in between working remotely, I snuck in and finished wiring up the motions and the HAI thermostat and cleaned up quite a bit of the wiring... so not bad for being sick as a dog all day...

The Wife is scared to death of alarms, so while she's getting used to it, I've had the exterior siren and the interior screamers disconnected (ignoring the Output 2 Trouble on the keypads)... The other day I decided to hook up the 150RT siren just to a 5ft. cable in the closet where the panel is just so we'd know if/when we triggered it while getting used to the system or while testing without disturbing the entire neighborhood...

I noticed that the siren was putting out a noticeable buzzing sound continuously. I power cycled the M1, double checked the setting to make sure it was set to voltage and not speaker, etc... double checked the manual and even tried a search or two here, and didn't find any reason that might be causing that... so I'm looking for ideas.

Also... House already had an alarm, and we tested the existing siren - it's in my attic facing the street and plenty loud enough, so I'll probably just use that one instead of the 150RT... any reason why I shouldn't do that or any special consideration needed?

Thx!
-Todd

See if this is a power supply issue.... disconnect the power to the keypads and see if the buzz goes away, they may be injecting the buzz... I'm not sure from your desc whether you had the buzz when the siren was on or off.

 

[tmbrown97]

I haven't tried activating the siren through the M1 yet - this was just with it sitting hooked up on the table in the closet next to the panel. I know it's a supervised output, so I was wondering if that was generating enough current to make it buzz... (maybe buzz isn't the right term - it's a low volume constant tone - but loud enough that people walking by the house would notice and wonder what it was).

Wife & baby are asleep in that room right now - I can try later disconnecting the keypads though if that seems feasible.

 

[LaurentR]

If I understand well your question, this has been addressed a few times here. The panel monitors Out2 continuously and that small amount of current is enough to make some of the sirens buzz. I have a 150RT too and it does buzz a bit. Although you have to be close and at night to hear it. I am not surprised that you'd hear it indoor.

Just to check (has likely nothing to do with the buzzing): Did you configure Out2 properly for siren vs. speaker? I found the RP option to be a bit confusing. Also, do you use the millimiser setting in the siren? The M1G doesn't have enough oomph to drive a full-out 150RT IIRC, but it's ok on the low setting (requires splicing a wire in the 150RT).

Laurent

 

[tmbrown97]

Oh, that brought up an interesting point... As I mentioned, even though I have the 150, I had debated just using the one from my old ademco panel, but it's up in the attic and I have no idea what it's rated for.

Am I better off replacing the existing one with the 150 on the millimiser setting, or is there a fancy way I can check the current draw and avoid a trip into the attic?

I tried yet another search, but I must just not have my search terms right because I'm not coming up with anything...

 

[LaurentR]

I tried yet another search, but I must just not have my search terms right because I'm not coming up with anything...

You forget to include the search term "whispering" ;-)

Here's one of the threads:

http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=8470

First, you have to figure out if your exisiting siren is a siren or a speaker. If it's a siren, just plug it to a 12V 1000A supply and see how many amps go through it. You can always add a small resistor in series and measure the drop across it.

Laurent

 

[tmbrown97]

I tried yet another search, but I must just not have my search terms right because I'm not coming up with anything...

You forget to include the search term "whispering" ;-)

Here's one of the threads:

http://www.cocoontech.com/index.php?showtopic=8470

First, you have to figure out if your exisiting siren is a siren or a speaker. If it's a siren, just plug it to a 12V 1000A supply and see how many amps go through it. You can always add a small resistor in series and measure the drop across it.

Laurent

I'll have to read up on how to measure current draw on my multimeter. I know it's a siren and not speaker because the way I tested it was by taking the existing wire marked "Siren" and touching it to the battery contacts, then I walked around the house 'till I figured out the approximate location...

That one should wait 'till the weekend - instead of after work ;-)

Thx,
-Todd