Over Current

[Digger]

The intial charge current is a few hundred ma if I remember correctly so that is a very good point. If its in overcurrent state then its probably not charging (or very slowly if it is) and so its not clearing.

Good idea........... why didnt I think of that????

I think that a larger PS will correct the problem and I beleive he was obtaining one. Until he said he had a 230 V transformer I didnt even think of that end since the ELK comes with a 120 V, 45 VA transformer and it would be fine. Maybe they need to come out with a 230 V unit.

 

[Tombo]

I just installed my Elk M1G this past weekend. It is a great system and worth every penny. I had no trouble with any wiring at all which was a surprise. The only thing that is somewhat unusual to me was all the EOL stuff being the default for inputs. I have magnetic switches in the doors and I still see no benefit with EOL and trying to prevent tampering. I switched to normally closed. If the guy is smart enough to find the sensor wires and short them out he is smart enough to put two clips on with a 2200 ohm resistor. Besides, your wires would need to be exposed.

I realized I need a few more speakers.
I like the voice capability alot more than I thought I would. Next Zwave or Wireless Caddx or Listen In or strobe lights or thermostats or ............


Anyway, I am sure you will figure out the overcurrent problem and I bet it is your wiring. The nice thing is overcurrent warning is better than smoke which shows some of the nice safety features of Elk .

Good luck.
Tom

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I have magnetic switches in the doors and I still see no benefit with EOL and trying to prevent tampering. I switched to normally closed. If the guy is smart enough to find the sensor wires and short them out he is smart enough to put two clips on with a 2200 ohm resistor. Besides, your wires would need to be exposed.

I agree with you on this and I'm not using EOL's on my friend's install and I did not use them on my (current) home install (Caddx NX8e system, Elk was not out at that time).

I just want to point out that one advantage you might have overlooked using the EOL logic. If you had a short or open in your wiring your system would fault and you would realize the problem right away!

 

[Tombo]

I just want to point out that one advantage you might have overlooked using the EOL logic. If you had a short or open in your wiring your system would fault and you would realize the problem right away!

I did consider that feature of shorting out the sensor accidentally. Like hammering a nail into a wall where the wire is. I am sure it is a fine feature for many but overkill for most. I think your better off planning for multi-sensor detection, like multiple motion sensors with door/window contacts so if one fails others help out.

Speaking of wireless with GE Caddx systems. Is your overall impression that these are reliable easy to use systems. I have had a hard time finding technical information on the way the systems work. Seems like there will be other options available for wireless soon.

Tom

 

[Guy Lavoie]

Shorting out a cable with a 2200 ohm resistor with the intent to cut it would also trip the alarm because you would now have two such resistors in parallel, giving 1100 ohms. The intruder would need to put in the resistor and cut the wire at the exact same instant, which is not likely.

As BSR pointed out, the main advantage with having the resistor is that you have continuous integrity checking of your loop.

 

[Tombo]

Shorting out a cable with a 2200 ohm resistor with the intent to cut it would also trip the alarm because you would now have two such resistors in parallel, giving 1100 ohms. The intruder would need to put in the resistor and cut the wire at the exact same instant, which is not likely.

As BSR pointed out, the main advantage with having the resistor is that you have continuous integrity checking of your loop.

Good point. I wonder what the tolerance is? 2200 ohms +- 500ohms? The real reason I did not use EOL resistors is because the sensors were already wired in and the EOL is only useful at the actual sensor for NC contacts. If I add more contacts/sensors I will go with the resistor.

Thanks
Tom

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Speaking of wireless with GE Caddx systems. Is your overall impression that these are reliable easy to use systems. I have had a hard time finding technical information on the way the systems work.

Sorry, but I don't use any wireless security sensors with my system.

 

[Mike]

If the guy is smart enough to find the sensor wires and short them out he is smart enough to put two clips on with a 2200 ohm resistor. Besides, your wires would need to be exposed.

Wouldn't he/she need to also know which panel was being used as doesn't the value of the EOL resistor vary depending on the manufacturer of the panel?

I thought I saw different values referenced here for other panels but maybe I was off.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I wonder what the tolerance is? 2200 ohms +- 500ohms? The real reason I did not use EOL resistors is because the sensors were already wired in and the EOL is only useful at the actual sensor for NC contacts. If I add more contacts/sensors I will go with the resistor.

I'm not sure on the tollerance, but it believe there is a way to easily figure it out. I'm going from memory here (i.e. not looking directly at the menus), but you can view the realtime live status via a "keypad" icon at the top menu of the Elk RP software.

I think you can see the actual voltage being sensed way over on the right column of each zone. Just use a DC supply or a fixed supply with a variable resistance, or just plug in different series resistors to drop the voltage up and down till you see it faulted. Then just note what resistor it took to get the zone to fault (high and low voltage values).

Did any of that make sense?

 

[Tombo]

I think you can see the actual voltage being sensed way over on the right column of each zone. Just use a DC supply or a fixed supply with a variable resistance, or just plug in different series resistors to drop the voltage up and down till you see it faulted. Then just note what resistor it took to get the zone to fault (high and low voltage values).

Did any of that make sense?

Makes sense. I guess I don't really care that much. I trust it is hard to defeat. I did notice a column that shows the voltage. Thanks.