My house has a 30 year old Securitec alarm system.
Even though the alarm was not enabled, it triggered at 2:30am a few nights ago following a brief power cut.
I could tell there had been a power cut because a mains alarm clock, with no battery backup, had reset itself and the clock display was flashing.
The problem was quickly traced to the sealed 12V lead acid battery in the alarm control panel. It was completely flat and the case was cracked. I have a replacment on order.
When the alarm was triggered, I noticed that the external wall mounted bell was not working properly.
Instead of a loud ring, it gave a pathetic tinkling noise.
This is an old electomechanical device, so it's most likely corroded contacts.
The bell is situated just below the eves with a lean-to roof below it which makes it very difficult to access with a normal ladder.
If I could get access, I'm pretty sure I could repair it simply by cleaning the contacts.
As it's so difficult to get to, I was thinking about leaving the existing bell in place and fitting a new piezo sounder in a different position on the wall which would allow access using a standard extension ladder.
I was hoping I could cut the existing bell cable inside the loft and re-route it to the new sounder.
The problem I have is this:-
Most modern sounders appear to require a permanent 12V supply.
The cable that currently runs to the existing bell has just two pairs of wires - one pair activates the bell, the other pair form part of the anti-tamper loop.
Hence I don't have a spare pair of wires for a separate 12V supply.
There are a pair of terminals inside the control panel that could be used to feed a 12V supply, but that would mean running a new cable with three pairs of wires from the new sounder all the way to the control panel.
That would not be easy.
I'm also not keen on the idea of having to climb a ladder to change the internal backup battery you get in modern piezo sounders.
What I would like is a simple piezo sounder without an internal battery that only requires two pairs of wires - one pair to activate the alarm and one pair for the anti-tamper loop.
So far, I've not been able to find anything suitable. Are such sounders available?
Even though the alarm was not enabled, it triggered at 2:30am a few nights ago following a brief power cut.
I could tell there had been a power cut because a mains alarm clock, with no battery backup, had reset itself and the clock display was flashing.
The problem was quickly traced to the sealed 12V lead acid battery in the alarm control panel. It was completely flat and the case was cracked. I have a replacment on order.
When the alarm was triggered, I noticed that the external wall mounted bell was not working properly.
Instead of a loud ring, it gave a pathetic tinkling noise.
This is an old electomechanical device, so it's most likely corroded contacts.
The bell is situated just below the eves with a lean-to roof below it which makes it very difficult to access with a normal ladder.
If I could get access, I'm pretty sure I could repair it simply by cleaning the contacts.
As it's so difficult to get to, I was thinking about leaving the existing bell in place and fitting a new piezo sounder in a different position on the wall which would allow access using a standard extension ladder.
I was hoping I could cut the existing bell cable inside the loft and re-route it to the new sounder.
The problem I have is this:-
Most modern sounders appear to require a permanent 12V supply.
The cable that currently runs to the existing bell has just two pairs of wires - one pair activates the bell, the other pair form part of the anti-tamper loop.
Hence I don't have a spare pair of wires for a separate 12V supply.
There are a pair of terminals inside the control panel that could be used to feed a 12V supply, but that would mean running a new cable with three pairs of wires from the new sounder all the way to the control panel.
That would not be easy.
I'm also not keen on the idea of having to climb a ladder to change the internal backup battery you get in modern piezo sounders.
What I would like is a simple piezo sounder without an internal battery that only requires two pairs of wires - one pair to activate the alarm and one pair for the anti-tamper loop.
So far, I've not been able to find anything suitable. Are such sounders available?