Elk Strobe Light Output 3 Wiring for Dummy - PLEASE HELP

L

lstorm2003

New Member
Hi,
 
So I've got a strobe light I'm trying to hook up on Output 3 of my Elk M1G.  
 
The strobe light has 2 wires.  If I hook them directly to +12V / Ground then it flashes... Great
 
Now how the heck do I wire this to output 3.  I understand from other posts its a relay and has no power, so fine, how the hell do I get this to work?!?!
 
Someone please help, and don't say "get power from somewhere else".  I don't know what that means.  Please tell me which wire to hook to what on the Elk M1G.
 
For example, should I run a wire from a spot on the Elk that has +12V to the COM of output 3?  Or what do I do here?  I do not understand how to wire this and the instructions that came with the Strobe are awful and do not explain this either.
 
Btw I have no issues with creating rules and activating the relay.  The little LED even lights up when my rule is tripped.. But I get no power!  How do I make the strobe flash!!?>!?!?!@#$%#@#$
 
*Sorry I'm frustrated I've been f'ing with this damn thing for 3 hours...
 
Run a wire (pair,( 2 conductors)) from the power source to the location of the output 3 terminal strip. Run a wire (2 conductor) from the output 3 terminal location to the location of the strobe.
 
Assuming you used a wire with red and black conductors...At the strobe location connect the red wire to the red wire, connect the black wire to the black wire.
 
At the output 3 terminal strip location you have 2 reds and 2 blacks. Connect the blacks together with a wire nut, B Connector, or equivalent. Connect the power supply side red wire t the COM terminal on the green connector. Connect the strobe side red wire to the NO terminal.
 
At the power source connect the black wire to the power negative output and the red wire to the power positive output.
 
What can you use for the power source? Any source that will provide enough current for the strobe and other powered devices without overloading the supply or the alarm panel. You need to do a current calculation if you are not sure. I also would recommend using only 80% of the rated supply current available. (A 2 amp supply, you would only connect 1.6A worth of devices)
 
First of all, welcome to the world of DIY.  Sorry to tell you this, but I can see the result of your frustration as anyone taking on a project such as this should understand how a basic relay works BEFORE implementing it IMO. ;), but not to fear, as CocoonTech is here!  
 
A strobe light requires considerable amperage compared to most peripherals so you first need to establish how much current is being used via your existing Elk install. 
 
Look at all of your peripherals instruction sheets (motion sensors, glass breaks, keypads, etc...) and get a good feel for how much total current they are using from your Elk's auxiliary power output.  See if you have enough total available (from the Elk's manuals) to power that strobe.  
 
Second a relay will act like a simple light switch; but, instead of using your finger to flip it, a small current from another source will power its 'coil' and trip 'contacts' on the relay.  The contacts can carry a considerable amount of current compared to other outputs on the Elk, so this lets you switch a high current source (from an alternate supply if needed) via an Elk output (that has only enough current to 'trip' a small current draw such as the coil).  
 
Another advantage of using a relay is you can 'switch' power to a device using just about any power source (as long as the contacts are rated for that voltage and current).  This is handy when you want the Elk to perhaps switch 120 VAC to something via one of its rules (as it trips the coil of that relay internally and is shown as 'output 3').  
 
The contacts of this relay, as it is a 'single pole, double throw' (SPDT) have a "C", "NC", and "NO" which stands for common, normally closed, and normally open.  What this means is that there is ALWAYS a connection between the "C" and "NC" when the relay coil is "OFF" or not activated.  Also there is no contact between the "C" and the "NO".  
 
When the relay (output 3) is activated or turned on, the center contact moves to the normally open side, thus the opposite will happen as now there is no contact between the "C" and the "NC" and there IS contact between the "C" and the "NO".   Thus you can run a power lead between the "C" and the "NO" terminals and the power will switch to the peripheral when the relay is turned on, and power removed when the relay is turned off.  
 
To implement this for your scenario, ASSUMING the Elk auxiliary power source has enough current overhead to power the strobe, you would take the AUX +12 volt output, connect that to the "C" contact of the relay, then take the "NO" contact of the relay and run that to the strobe's positive lead.   You would then run the negative wire of the strobe back to the ground of the AUX output.
 
Be aware that most strobes are not meant to be activated for a very long time (this situation should be described in the manual of the strobe itself).
 
Also, there are some very handy rule scenarios that a strobe can be used for.  For instance some people like to manually activate the strobe with a keypad's function key as it can, for instance guide an ambulance to your house in an emergency (I used this for my friend who lives out where there are no streetlights and road signs hard to read as he had to 'chase down' an ambulance once that could not find his house!).
 
Another scenario is to keep the strobe activated for a time period considerably longer than the siren timeout, as this could be an indication that 'something' happened inside the house without annoying neighbors of a loud siren (so family members would know not to enter).
 
If you need further assistance, please feel free to ask! ;)
 
As you can see there is more than one way to do this with the same end result. The end goal is to get electrons from point A to point B without letting out the smoke.
 
BSR, nice writeup!
 
gatchel said:
As you can see there is more than one way to do this with the same end result. The end goal is to get electrons from point A to point B without letting out the smoke.
 
BSR, nice writeup!
Click to expand...
LOL, we were posting at the same time and I did not see your reply until I submitted mine! :)  Thanks for that excellent reply gatchel (I'm slow at typing).
 
Since we are on the subject, another consideration should be taken into fusing of the peripherals using a common power supply such as the Elk's AUX output.
 
This is largely opinion and comfort factor, but I'm a big fan of using a fused power distribution module such as the one's Elk provides, as they will easily and economically fuse each peripheral with a resettable methodology.  This is beneficial as if you have a short on one peripheral's power lines, it will not take down the entire supply!
 
Of course others feel this is not necessary as if you do a good job on running your cables and keep the total current draw at about 80-85 percent capacity, this is not needed.
 
A lot of it is personal opinion, but I feel it's worth mentioning.
 
Here related and unrelated I used an external horn with too high of a draw (amperage wise) and it would cause a hiccup with my HAI OPII panel. 
 
I ended up switching it to a low mW very loud piezo tweeter; should have maybe gone to an external solenoid.
 
I utilize an "el cheapo" blue xenon $9.00 flasher.  It still draws 500ma though. 
 
Someone did comment that blue light use is restricted to police/trooper use only while red is used by fireman.  Same place does sell a white strobe that you can see during the day and night.
 
Question: Can a strobe and piezo siren be put on the same wires?
 
Thanks guys Gatchel & BraveSirRobin for your write ups. Very helpful. I'm going off to try it now. Will let you know if I am successful.

A question though, well more of a comment if the Elk guys read this...

Someone said I should already know how a relay works if I am going to undertake this. Why? Since the Elk is sold to end users like myself and touted as "easy" to use, which I agree it's not too difficult-- I did get the whole alarm wired and working with no help-- then why isn't the reccomended procedure to install the Elk Strobe light simply included in the instructions with the strobe? Elk could just take what is in this post and copy & paste it into the instructions and save a lot of headaches for people like me.

I'm not stupid-- show me how to do it once and I can do it... A couple extra sentences in the instructions would be great!

After I get this working my next task will be to figure out if I can get the Elk outdoor siren to stop buzzing continually. It looks like the panel is still sending it voltage even when it's off. I measure about 2V DC coming out of the panel when the siren is supposed to be "idle". Is this normal? The constant buzzing is very annoying...
 
I believe that item is also covered in our forum, something to do with a termination resistor if I remember correctly.
 
As far as additional documentation, you do make a good point, but I guess it's a matter of opinion to the level that someone needs to be established at to take these projects on.  For instance it's not as simple as say jumping a car, but not as complex as requiring a technical degree either.
 
Don't worry as this forum is very helpful for all technical abilities!!!  Just don't get discouraged and also, I'm betting you find a lot of your scenarios are already mentioned in this forum as well.
 
We also incorporated a lot of tutorials and How-To Guides as well to help new users with basic needs to take these tasks on (check out the How to Install a Home Security System for instance). ;)
 
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